Federal Way dedicates John and Mary Conner Park; announces playground groundbreaking

Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell and city officials on the eve of Juneteenth dedicated a city park to John and Mary Conner and announced a groundbreaking for new playground equipment to be installed at the site.

“This is a very momentous day,” Mayor Jim Ferrell said at the dedication, which drew council members, members of the city’s Diversity Commission and Conner family descendants. The ceremony included a flag-raising earlier in the program and the ceremonial unveiling and groundbreaking at the park that lies within the original Conner family homestead.

The renaming recognizes John Conner’s role in local and state history. According to remarks delivered at the ceremony, John Conner spent his first 20 years enslaved in Texas, fought in the Civil War in Louisiana between 1863 and 1865, then settled in what became Federal Way. He was described at the event as a civic leader who owned and improved a 157-acre homestead, helped build a 2.5-mile road on that property and was appointed the sergeant at arms for Washington’s first state legislature in 1889.

Members of the City Council present included Council President Linda Kochbaar and council members Susan Honda, Jack Doby and Hong Tran. The mayor thanked the Diversity Commission and singled out Tirzah Idahosa for championing the recognition. Local historical society member Diana Noble Gulliver was also acknowledged for initiating the effort to surface the Conner family’s history.

Maisha Barnett, identified at the ceremony as a member of the Conner family, thanked city officials and the community for preserving the family legacy and called the renaming more than symbolic. “Renaming this park is more than a symbolic gesture. It honors the diversity that defines the Pacific Northwest,” Barnett said, adding that the family appreciated the community’s support amid “challenging times.”

An unidentified speaker at the event reviewed the Conner family’s biography and civic contributions, including the family’s migration through Connecticut and Missouri before arriving in Washington Territory via the Northern Pacific Railway. The speaker noted John Conner’s political appointments and described the renaming and sign unveiling as a recognition of the family’s lasting contributions to the region.

The mayor said information boards will be installed in the park in the future and that the city will begin constructing new playground equipment for the site; no funding amounts or construction timeline were specified at the ceremony. The program also included public acknowledgment of other family members and community champions, and the mayor led the group in a ceremonial countdown to unveil the park signage and begin the playground groundbreaking.

The dedication was framed at the ceremony as part remembrance and part forward-looking investment in the neighborhood: officials described the park as a welcoming public space for families and neighbors and emphasized plans for interpretive signage and new play structures to make the site more inviting for the next generation.