Sherwood Park History Files
Seattle Parks and Recreation's Sherwood History Files are the incredible
legacy of Donald N. Sherwood (1916-1981), who worked as an engineer
for Parks for 22 years from 1955 to 1977.
In the course of his work, which included designing buildings and producing
brochures, Sherwood began compiling sketch maps of the parks, annotating
them with historical information. He started writing individual histories
for each facility when the information didn't fit on the maps.
In the early 1970s, Sherwood discovered that older department files
were being destroyed as employees retired. Sherwood urged that valuable
Parks records be sorted and preserved. In 1972 he was assigned the responsibility.
Although given little time to perform this duty, Sherwood threw himself
into the activity with vigor, and continued this work until his position
was eliminated, due to a budget reduction, in 1977.
Some additional material was added to the collection after this date
by various Park Department employees. Sherwood continued his research
and writing on the history of Seattle parks until his death in November
1981. The original histories and drawings of the parks he generated
after leaving City employment were donated to the Museum of History
and Industry following his death.
For more detailed information about the Sherwood History Files, please
visit the
Guide to the Don Sherwood Parks History Collection in the Seattle
Municipal Archives.
This site also includes a list of Parks Superindendents, Park Board
of Commissioners, and an "Interpretive Essay on the History of
Seattle's Parks and Playgrounds" by Donald Sherwood, written in
1979.
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Updated
September 30, 2015
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