It’s official — Alderbrook Park will be renamed Conna Park after a resolution was passed Oct. 15 by the Federal Way City Council.

Smooth grass and a colorful play structure of Alderbrook Park now provide a space for kids to play, but 100 years ago, that land was a 157-acre homestead that belonged to the Conna family.

The park is located at 32730 17th Ave. SW in Federal Way, and the former homestead stretched between what is now 21st Avenue SW, SW 320th Street, 1st Avenue SW and SW Campus Drive.

Maisha Barnett, the great-granddaughter of John and Mary Conna, shared a few points on their legacy at the city council meeting. She described John and Mary Conna as “trailblazing pacific northwest Black pioneers who left an indelible mark on their community. Active in local and state politics, John held several appointed and elected political positions and championed social policy such as the 1890 Public Accommodations Act. And on their homestead in Federal Way, John and Mary cultivated the land, built three structures and a two and a half mile road. Also in 1887, they hosted the Adelaide precinct polling place at their home. John partnered with A.R. Steele and O.L. Steele and advocated for the widening of military road.”

Barnett told the Mirror that naming something after the Conna family on the land they actually lived on is especially important because it is an amplification of the history in the landscape itself.

“You have a layer of history there, not just their own history, but our collective history and awareness raised in terms of who the pioneers were in what is now the city of Federal Way,” Barnett said.

While Barnett has been involved in the naming process in her role as his descendant, the push to name something in the city after the Connas came from members of the Federal Way community.

“When I started digging up the Federal Way Black history, I came across John and Mary Conna and their story, so I went to city council one night after I found him, and I was like, hey, do you know who he is?” local resident Tirzah Idahosa told the Mirror.

She was working on finding elements to add to the Federal Way time capsule in 2021 as part of her role in the Federal Way Black Collective at the time. When she learned about the story of the Conna family, she saw similarities between their contributions and that of the Steele family in the area.

There were many places named after the Steele family in Federal Way including Steel Lake, but nothing at all recognizing the Connas.

“We have to do better than this … you know, representation matters. We need to do something for this man now that we know who he is,” Idahosa said of what she expressed to the council and her feelings at the time.

The Historical Society of Federal Way included information about John and Mary Conna in the book “Federal Way (Images of America),” published in 2008, and also shared information about him in the Mirror in this article in 2017.

Idahosa said that until the proposal to name something after the Connas, there was no process or criteria for naming city facilities. The city determined the need for such criteria during these conversations and ultimatley adopted Resolution No. 23-845.

In the resolution regarding the renaming Alderbrook Park, the city stated that “John and Mary Conna overcame significant challenges as African Americans in the late 1800s to successfully run businesses, serve in the Washington State Legislature and own land in what is now Federal Way.”

Honoring and uplifting families like the Connas is important “in particular, for African Americans, who are often written out of history,” Barnett said. “We’re making the invisible visible because we are essential to history, a central part of history in America. Otherwise, the story is incomplete.”

Idahosa said she and others advocated for the Performing Arts and Event Center (PAEC) to be named after him, and other ideas were pitched as well, including a trail.

The proposal was discussed for a while and gained momentum after what Barnett called an act of tactical urbanism, “going above the local government to the county level to design and build a bus shelter mural so that people could know who they were,” Barnett said. “We took it upon ourselves to do something since the various departments etc. were having disagreements and how and if they should honor John and Mary Conna.”

Federal Way City Administrator Brian Davis said the city looked at several possibilities for honoring the Connas.

“We worked with the family, we worked with the school district, we worked with several other partners on this possibility,” Davis said. “We feel that they represent what is good in Federal Way, and therefore the mayor is proposing to honor their legacy by renaming Alderbrook Park on their behalf.”

Mayor Jim Ferrell said at the city council meeting: “I think this is really a momentous time to honor somebody, both John and Mary Conna as you stated that had such a tremendous impact not only on this area but for the entire state … this was a very historic individual and I think it’s high time that the city of Federal Way formerly recognizes him.”

Councilmember Honda celebrated the renaming of the park in her comments and added that “I will say again I hope the school can be named after this family and maybe one day that will happen,” referring to Silver Lake Elementary.

“With all of this going on I’ve learned that I have lived for the last 38 years right in the middle of the Conna homestead,” Councilmember Jack Walsh said.

“John and Mary represent the diversity and richness of Federal Way and memorializing their contributions in this fashion really brings a lot of pride to our family,” said family member Ghanya Thomas.

Federal Way community member Ed Taff shared during public comment at the Parks, Recreation, Human Services and Public Safety Committee meeting on Oct. 8: “I’ve lived on the edge of that park since ‘85 … I’m so tired of hearing streets renamed, forts renamed … when I first heard about this, I thought, why rename this park, it’s got alder all over it. Then I read that man’s history and I’m thinking that that park needs to be changed to [Conna] Park. … There needs to be a monument there listing all the tributes he did for this state and this county.”

More local tributes to the Connas

Brian Davis shared at the parks meeting that the city is also working with the family on an “appropriate tribute to the Connas at the park site.” More details on that will come through a future proposal, but a plaque and statue have been mentioned in conversation around these next steps.

In unincorporated East Federal Way, another effort is underway to recognize the Connas. Through the King County participatory budgeting process, five unincorporated areas in King County are going through a process to allow community members to have a voice in naming what they would like money spent on in their community.

Diversity Commissioner Trenise Rogers shared during public comment that East Federal Way has received over 300 ideas in this participatory budgeting process and a proposal to honor John Conna has risen to one of four final proposals that are now being voted on.

“The John Conna memorial street marker, which King County is contributing $56,000 toward this effort, is to rename part of Military Road South to honor John Conna. It installs signs and adds historical markers, it brings community impact and also brings community and cultural awareness in the historical content of Black pioneer John Conna,” Rogers said.

This area is specifically located between 320th Street and 340th Street in unincorporated King County, Rogers shared.

These proposals are currently available to be voted on for anyone who lives, works, learns or worships in East Federal Way.

Ghanya Thomas, Maisha Barnett and Mayor Ferrell at the unveiling of the first historical marker celebrating the Conna’s legacy in Federal Way – a bus station shelter mural. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror