This little park was named for the William Washburn “Fair Oaks” estate. The brother of Cadwallader Washburn, founder of the famous Washburn-Crosby milling company. Washburn had a long career as a politician and served in the United States Senate from 1889-1895. Washburn High School is named for him. After the Minneapolis park board was created Washburn donated land for Minnehaha Parkway. In 1911 Washburn offered to sell his land to the park board including his mansion, barns, stables and a small lake to the city for about $250,000 on the condition that Washburn and his wife, Lizzie could remain in their home for the remainder of their lives.
After Lizzie Washburn passed away in 1915, the stables and greenhouses were demolished. The mansion was used as a meeting place by civic groups and the Women’s Welfare League during World War I. The park board considered making the huge home its headquarters, but these plans were never realized and the mansion, once the largest in the city, was demolished in 1924. The Minneapolis Institute of Art building is located across the street south of the park.