Aaron T. Bliss, governor of Michigan from 1900 to 1904, and his wife, Allaseba, purchased this land and donated it to the city of Saginaw as a park in 1903 as part of a deal that provided for the establishment of the State Employment Institution for the Blind on a parcel just north of here. Originally a farm, the property had long served as a popular gathering place and informal recreation ground before becoming part of the park system. The Cottage Garden Company of Queens, New York, created an artistic plan that made the park seem larger than its actual size, and the completed park featured two small brick buildings, more than 2,800 shrubs, vines, trees, and plants, with a large heart-shaped flower garden as its centerpiece. Charles Willis Ward, one of the most important carnation horticulturists of the Victorian era, oversaw the work. Distinct landscapes came to define the park area: an open recreation ground, a playing field, a wooded picnic grove, and a ceremonial plaza. The Blisses believed the park would beautify Saginaw, enhance the city’s reputation, and draw visitors, and their gift helped inspire the creation of a Park and Cemetery Commission in 1905 to care for the city’s open spaces. After Aaron Bliss died in 1906, his will established a trust fund for the park’s continued upkeep and beautification for future generations. The parking area was constructed in the late 1930s as part of a Works Progress Administration project.