William F. Harn trained to be a lawyer in his native Ohio but chose the newspaper business instead. His skills as a lawyer and a journalist won him an appointment to the Land Office in Oklahoma City as a special agent investigating illegal land claimants (or sooners) in 1891. After successfully settling dozens of claims, Harn remained in Oklahoma City with his wife Alice, practicing law and developing real estate.

The land for this park was part of the 160-acre farm the Harns purchased from Land Run participant James Carter in the 1890s. The Harns donated some of their land for the state capitol grounds in 1911 and converted some into a housing addition, but the Harn family lived on the homestead adjacent to this park until the 1960s.  Six homes once stood on the site of this park which was created in 2015 as part of the city’s Strong Neighborhoods Initiative.