Much of the state park was created from land originally preserved by William Poole Bancroft in the early 1900s to be used as open space parkland by the city of Wilmington as it expanded.

In addition to walking trails, athletic fields, and playgrounds for children, one of the park's primary features is a rock climbing wall.

In addition to being a businessman, Bancroft was also a philanthropist and conservationist and had played a key role, including donating land, in establishing other city parks due to his desire to preserve the scenic beauty of the Brandywine.

Bancroft and du Pont then jointly paid for the paving of Alapocas Road, which separated the park from the Nemours estate.

In 1999, as part of its efforts to convince pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to relocate its headquarters to the Wilmington suburbs, the state launched the $127 million Blue Ball Project to redo the area's network of roads in addition to creating additional parkland by purchasing open space, developing recreational facilities, and preserving local historic structures.

[8][9] The project included the purchase of roughly 152 acres (62 ha) of land from the nearby Nemours Foundation to be used as open space parkland.

[10][11] The new Alapocas Run State Park was officially dedicated in 2002, with the existing parkland near the Brandywine combined with the additional open space purchased as part of the Blue Ball Project.

Development of various park amenities, including the restoration of the historic Blue Ball Barn, was slated to take place over the next three years.

If the ball was on top of the pole, that served as a signal to illiterate stagecoach drivers that there were passengers which needed to be picked up.

The public golf course, owned by the city of Wilmington, was first opened in 1921 and was named after the Rock Manor estate where Alfred du Pont stayed while Nemours was being built.