Henderson Park (Chehalis, Washington)

Henderson Park is located in Chehalis, Washington in the city's South Market district and is a block northeast of nearby Recreation Park.

The 1 acre park hosts several buildings used by various city government divisions, most notably the Chehalis Parks and Recreation Department, and as a command center during emergencies in the city.

History
The plat for Henderson Park, described as having a "pretty clump of trees", was originally offered to the city in 1906. The land was officially donated to Chehalis by the Henderson Lumber Company in 1908 but forgotten by the city until 1913, though the area was treated as a park by local residents. The park was not formally recognized by the city until 1916. Full ownership was given to Chehalis, by deed, in 1962.

During its early history, the grounds had been used as an automobile stop, a market place, picnic area, and a playground. At the end of 1916, the city commissioners, led by the actions of a local auto club, began to convert the land into a park for automobile travelers. The grounds were slightly expanded in 1923 when the city authorized the purchase of nearby residential lots to add to the park. Improvements, actual and planned, were begun in the mid-1920s and into the 1930s, first with a concrete concession stand in 1924 and the planting of Hawthorne trees the following year. A log lodge, with an original footprint of 28 x, was introduced as a possible rest area for travelers in 1933. The lodge was planned to be modern for the times and was to contain a dance floor and host a large front porch. The combination rest area and recreation building was never constructed.

Henderson Park, along with other recreation spots in the city, received a small Works Progress Administration (WPA) grant for improvements and the addition of playground equipment in 1937. In early 1938, the Henderson Park Garden Club was first organized. By the 1940s, the space began to be primarily utilized for the State Department of Natural Resources and then later by the Chehalis fire department and the Jaycees.

Rose bushes were dispersed through the site during a transfer of plantings from the closure of the Chehalis Municipal Rose Garden but the roses did not flourish. Beginning in 2009, the park's pumphouse is dressed as a gingerbread house during the winter holiday season.