The Legend of the Park

An interesting document surfaced in the files belonging to the Trafford Historical Society. We do not know who wrote down this information, or when it was written. It possibly came from someone gathering stories that could appear in one of the Trafford Anniversary publications. While this post is not necessarily about the former steps or the Park itself, the photos were added here to add context to the location of a legend that appears on this document. By definition, a “legend” is regarded as historical but unauthenticated, so this posts will uphold that definition by considering the story as legend without having any other evidence.

 

There are other interesting matters written on this paper, but for now, we will focus on this one sentence: “During the Pioneer days a stockade was built on what is now the Park area and an Indian – friendly – was killed and buried there.”

Is it possible that the present-day Trafford Veterans Memorial Park holds the remains of a Native American? Have you ever heard this story? Was this ever part of the “folklore” that came from earlier generations in your home?

   
 Fifth Street, early photo of the Park steps. Present-day Fifth Street, steps removed.