The park was dedicated on May 27, 1910, and named in memory of Waco philanthropist and lumber baron William Cameron.

[3] Mrs. Cameron revealed that she had purchased the land with Lawson as a liaison with the intention of donating it as a park in memory of her late husband.

During the Great Depression, federal workers affiliated with New Deal programs constructed trails, water drains, and retaining walls to improve the park.

[3][6] In that decade, however, a controversy developed over plans to construct a bridge across the Brazos at Herring Avenue that would link East Waco more directly with the park.

Congressman W. R. Pogue made a donation of $100,000 towards a wildflower preserve in honor of his late mother, known as Miss Nellie's Pretty Place.