The park across the street from Silver Lake Elementary School has a new name, a new sign and will soon have new playground equipment and amenities.
These updates were kicked off by unveiling the new sign and hosting a groundbreaking on June 18 for Conna Park, located at 1401 SW 325th Place in Federal Way.
The ceremony took place immediately after the Juneteenth flag raising ceremony at City Hall and involved descendants of the Conna family and local leaders.
“It’s incredibly meaningful that this park, which lies within the original boundaries of the Conna Family Homestead, now bears their name,” Mayor Jim Ferrell said at the unveiling. “It’s a fitting tribute to a family whose story is deeply woven into the fabric of our community.”
“Today we honor the Conna family’s enduring legacy, not just here in Federal way, but in the broader history of Washington State,” Ferrell added.
The park’s name change — from the former Alderbrook Park — was confirmed by a Federal Way City Council resolution at their Oct. 15 meeting in 2024.
John Newington Conna was born into slavery in Texas in 1836, and was a veteran in the Civil War. He eventually settled in Tacoma. Here in Washington state, he founded a real estate brokerage company, served as a sergeant at arms in the first Washington State Legislature, and helped pass the 1890 Public Accommodations Act.
In Federal Way, Conna and his wife, Mary, had a homestead of 157 acres in an area that includes the King County Weyerhaeuser Aquatic Center and the newly renamed park.
Maisha Barnett is John Conna’s great-grandaughter who shared at the ceremony that the unveiling of the new sign is “a moment of profound gratitude celebrating the cultural diversity of this land and the lasting contributions the Conna family made to this region’s culture and well being. This recognition is a testament to their indelible mark on our collective history.”
Barnett extended sincere appreciation to everyone involved in making the renaming possible, thanking them for their “dedication to a more inclusive and diverse recognition of our shared heritage.”
“This honor makes their story, contributions and legacy more visible, intricately weaving their narrative into the cultural fabric of our community,” Barnett said.
Five years ago while working on a time capsule project for the city, Tirzah Idahosa said she first learned of the Conna family and began advocating to honor their legacy.
“We need to make sure the true history is told of Federal Way and the contributions made by people like John Conna,” Idahosa told the Mirror.
The legacy of other homesteaders and local leaders from the late 1800s has lived on in place names throughout the Federal Way area, like the A.R. Steele family and Father Peter Francis Hylebos.
Steel Lake and the Hylebos Wetlands are just two examples of these landmarks, but until a bus shelter mural near a Safeway was installed in October 2023, nothing in Federal Way bore the Conna family’s name.
Idahosa and other community members initially proposed to name the Federal Way Performing Arts and Event Center (PAEC) after the Conna family. The PAEC is located on a street that was named after King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer.
The city responded to this proposal by developing an entirely new naming policy and framework on how to name places in Federal Way.
Federal Way community members continued to advocate for honoring the Conna family in the city, working with the Conna descendants to find an appropriate way to do so. Ultimately the park located within the bounds of John Conna’s original homestead seemed a perfect place to start.
A portion of Military Road South will also be renamed after John and Mary Conna in a separate endeavor through a participatory budgeting process in unincorporated East Federal way.
New park features
In addition to the name on the sign, Conna Park will soon feature some other ways to interact with and learn the history it represents.
This will include an education path with signage along one of the park’s pathways detailing more information about the Conna family’s legacy. An information board will provide more background.
The existing play structures at Conna Park were also due for an upgrade, according to the Federal Way Parks Department schedule.
Parks Director John Hutton shared that on the othe side of the historical information board will be a visual communication board that is especially helpful for those with verbal communication issues.
Hutton added that the park will also feature the city’s first 360 loop and Temple Trolley, two inclusive equipment structures for individuals with disabilities.
The 360 loop is a climber, transition and slide all in one. It’s designed to have space for someone to move from a wheelchair onto the structure, then use their upper body strength to climb up to the top and slide down, according to the product description on a website.
The Temple Trolley was designed in collaboration with noted inventor, author and autism advocate Dr. Temple Grandin, and offers gliding, spinning, and swinging all in one, according to a product description.
Federal Way community members Brett and Kia McGlone and their son Drew live about a mile away from the park and attended the renaming.
“Young people see names everywhere, but they don’t always see themselves in the history,” Kia McGlone said. “This is a step in balancing that.”
Chavela Johnson, Maisha Barnett, Averionna Wade and Ghanya Thomas are all descendants of John and Mary Conna. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror
Mayor Jim Ferrell speaks at the unveiling of the new sign for Conna Park along with Chavela Johnson, Maisha Barnett, Averionna Wade and Ghanya Thomas who are all descendants of John and Mary Conna. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror
Descendants of the Conna family unveil the new sign for Conna Park in Federal Way. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror
Brett, Kia and Drew McGlone are Federal Way community members who attended the ceremony for the new sign and groundbreaking at Conna Park. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror.
Tirzah Idahosa championed the effort to find a way to honor the legacy of the Connas through public renaming. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror
Federal Way community member Tirzah Idahosa and descendants of John and Mary Conna, Ghanya Thomas and Maisha Barnett. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror.
