Fun Fact #71 How many city Parks were combined to create Forest Park in 1947?
Answer: Four Parks
Macleay Park, Georg F. Holman Park, Clark & Wilson Park (O.M. Clark Park) Linnton Park (Pioneer Park)
Forest Park was once Native American Land. In 1847 there are records of squatters on the land that practice continued through the Great Depression. Many prior donation land claims make up what we celebrate as a park today. The larger claims were: Solomon Richards, George Watts, W. W. Baker, George Kittridge, Marcus Neff, Levi C. Potter, Milton Doan and William Cornell. The park is not only a combination of prior official parks other land was acquired though liens, purchases and land swaps. Go to our blog on website to lean the names an history of some of the prior parks.
Macleay Park was gifted to the City of Portland by Donald Macleay. The oral narrative is that he was ranting about having to pay taxes on his holdings that were unable to be developed and that he should just gift them to the city. The gift included a vision to have access for patiences of the four local hospitals.
George F. Holman Park to the north of Macleay Park 52 acres. It was give to the City of Portland in 1939 by George and Mary Holman once their dream of a city suburban residential development fell flat.
Clark & Wilson Park 18 acres was gifted in 1927 to the city by Clark and Wilson Lumber
Company in 1927.
Linnton Park (also called Pioneer Park) 287 acres of land clear cut by timber industry transferred to the City of Portland when A. Meier died in 1938.