The land on the east side of the Don River was originally owned by John Scadding, one of the early settlers to Toronto and the estate manager and clerk for John Graves Simcoe, Governor of Upper Canada. John Scadding's cabin, built in 1794 just south of the present day park, was relocated to the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition in 1879. of Scadding's farm property had been purchased by the City of Toronto in 1856 for the Don Jail, and the rest of the lands opened as a park in 1880. The park acquired a 32-pounder cannon from Quebec City and since relocated to Marie Curtis Park. More land was added later to bring the park up to in size, but the construction of the Don Valley Parkway in the 1960s reduced this to the current figure of . On Broadview Avenue east of the park is John Cox Cottage, an 1807 log home.
