More than 400 Irish immigrants came to this area between 1827 and 1829 to build the canal next to where this park now stands. They lived in makeshift camps and worked from dawn until dusk in hard and dangerous conditions to build a safe bypass of the Connecticut River Rapids and make a home for themselves in a new land. It is believed that the remains of many laborers and their families lie in a forgotten Irish Catholic burial ground now located under the railroad tracks 100 yards north of this spot on the opposite side of the canal.