The Lenexa Historical Society worked with the Lenexa Parks and Recreation Department to research the city’s parks’ establishment dates, names origin and types of land acquisition. Here are is the background on how a few of the parks got their names.

STATE SYMBOLS
Ad Astra Park comes from the Latin state motto, “Ad Astra per Aspera,” which means “to the stars through difficulties.” Buffalo Meadows Park celebrates our state animal.

MISCELLANEOUS MEANINGS
Scouting Park honors the many scouts from Lenexa. Bois d’Arc Park is a French term for the Osage Orange tree. Did you know that American Indians used its hard, hearty wood for bows and clubs? Freedom Fields Park was named immediately after the 9/11 attacks, combining the concepts of our American freedoms with the “unbound freedom of play” in Lenexa parks.

HISTORIC FIGURES
Na Nex Se Park is in honor of Lenexa’s Shawnee Indian namesake, Na-Nex-Se. Black Hoof Park is named for her husband, Quasky Black Hoof. Bradshaw Park honors the family that donated the land for the 1869 railroad right-of-way and the Lenexa Depot. Wild Bill Hickok Park is a one-acre park that was part of a 160-acre land claim in the 1850s by James B. Hickok, before he became known as “Wild Bill.”

GEOGRAPHIC SITES
Flat Rock Creek Park served as a campground on the Santa Fe, California and Oregon trails as wagon trains went west. Cedar Station Park and Craig Crossing Park are both reminders of long-ago railroad stops in Lenexa. Electric Park is situated next to an electric substation. The City could have named it anything, but nearby residents would have continued to call it Electric Park.