Westfield, Massachusetts, was incorporated as a town in 1669, and as a city in 1920. Until 1725, it was the most western town in the Massachusetts Colony. Before brick, buggy whip, and cigar manufacturing became important in the early 19th century, the people of Westfield were mainly employed in agriculture. This park was originally common ground where the inhabitants  could let their livestock graze. Elm trees were planted in the middle of the 1800s, making the area seem more park-like.