Willis M. Farr, a Michigan native born August 1, 1844, was a Civil War veteran, industrialist, and Dowagiac city alderman in the 1880's. He was a partner in Dowagiac Manufacturing Co., a maker of grain drills, and later became a partner and then sole owner of Stark Sand Band Co. He gave the property at Division and Main streets to the City of Dowagiac and spearheaded the drive to erect the Cass County Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Main Street. In tribute to him, the City Council renamed the former Fountain Park as Farr Park on September 2, 1919.