Landscape Information
This 223-acre park is situated just outside Cleveland’s southern boundary, nestled between Turney Road and Broadway Avenue. The park was established in 1894 when Cleveland’s newly formed Board of Park Commissioners acquired approximately 145 acres located in a wooded valley formed by the Mill and Wolf Creeks. Originally called Newburgh Park, the park was renamed in 1897 to commemorate President James Garfield. Following improvements planned by Ernest Bowditch, including a looped curvilinear circuit drive accessed from both Turney Road and Broadway Avenue, stone bridges, and spaces for active recreation, the park opened to the public in 1900. That same year, John Charles Olmsted of Olmsted Brothers visited the park and recommended improvements, which were not implemented.
In the early twentieth century Wolf Creek was dammed, creating two connected ponds that were later improved by New Deal-related projects. The northern pond was deepened and footbridges, retaining walls, and a boathouse were established along the southern water feature. The boathouse and stone bridge crossing Mill Creek were designed by Cleveland city architect Herman Kregelius. Landscape architect Ashburton Tripp oversaw improvements throughout the park, establishing paths and retaining creek banks. In the second half of the twentieth century as sediment accumulated in the ponds, the water features became dominated by vegetation and are no longer extant.
Maintained by Cleveland Metroparks since 1986, the park features rugged, forested terrain punctuated by irregularly-shaped rolling lawns edged by deciduous shade trees. The park is traversed by more than six miles of paved and unpaved trails, including the original two-mile circuit drive, whose southern half is now closed to vehicular traffic. A paved, curvilinear trail, unveiled in 2002, connects the looped drive with an overlook of Mill Creek Falls, long blocked from public view. In 2022 Cleveland Metroparks announced plans to rehabilitate the ponds and establish additional trails.
