Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and Works Progress Administration provided the basis for construction of Abilene's swimming pool, stadium, rose garden, and other buildings in this park, one of thirty such projects in the state sponsored by the federal government. Construction of the swimming pool began in December 1936 with sixty men working four days a week, using shovels and wheelbarrows to dig the pool area and horses to haul the dirt away. A second and third stone quarry had to be located on area farms when natural stone for the park buildings ran short. As the swimming pool neared completion, work began on the stadium, but changes in plans after appropriations and bonds were secured left no money to complete it with the roof originally planned. The pool and stadium were completed in 1937 and 1938 respectively. In June 1944, the forty acre park was dedicated to Dwight D. Eisenhower and thereafter became known as Eisenhower Park. From the park stadium on June 6, 1952, General Dwight D. Eisenhower announced his candidacy for President. A portion of Eisenhower Park and its WPA structures has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior.