[4] The park also features what the state bills as the largest collection of operational steam cars in the world, and a miniature coal-powered train that runs on tracks encircling the estate.

Tom Marshall, the owner of a local estate, began donating portions of his land to the Delaware Nature Society for conservation purposes.

[5][6] The state also acquired conservation easements on much of the remaining NVF land and began working with its purchasing developer to establish a plan which would maintain open space, build a network of trails through the valley, and help revitalize the mill town by adaptive reuse of historic structures.

Senator Tom Carper, DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin, and other state and local officials in attendance at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

[7] The Auburn Heights Mansion was built in 1897 by Israel Marshall, the descendant of a family of local farmers that immigrated to the United States in the seventeenth century.

Contained within the farm property are stretches of forest, freshwater marshes, open fields, and scenic views of Red Clay Creek.

[9] Following its donation in 2008 by Tom Marshall, the collection is owned by the nonprofit Friends of Auburn Heights Preserve which operates the park in partnership with the state.