Frank Bacon Hathaway was an unassuming businessman with a big heart. A native of Denison, Texas, Hathaway was an executive in the Oklahoma City office of the General Electric Company. A bachelor, Hathaway lived simply and saved his money, becoming a philanthropist in retirement and donating large sums of money through the Frank Bacon Hathaway Foundation. In 1966 he created a perpetual fund of $500,000 to the Oklahoma City parks department with the aim of bettering the lives of children through safe and healthy play.

The Oklahoma City Council named this park in honor of Frank Hathaway in 1966.