The History of the Park Site

The City of Hillsboro Parks & Recreastion Department began purchasing properties for this park in 2001 with the western 20 acres which feature the protected woodlands.  Additional purchases occurred in 2004 and 2005 and development began on the artificial turf fields which opened for use in June 2008.

Ben and Josephine Heineck owned and operated a farm on the western 20 acres of the park property from 1937 to 1981. They raised seven children, milk cows, hogs, strawberries and cucumbers on the farm over the years.  They sold cucumbers to a pickle cannery in Cornelius and milk to the Carnation plant in Hillsboro.  When Ben followed Josephine in death in 1981, the property passed to their children and was eventually sold.  The photo at left was taken by Hugh Vanderzanden and shows the property in 1960 with grandchildren playing in the yard.

The photo at right, taken in the 1970s by Norman Vanderzanden, depicts the Heineck homestead in front of the forested land which remains in the park.  When the City of Hillsboro purchased the property, the home was no longer on the land and the entire property, excepting the wooded area, was in farmland.