When opened in 1974, it was named in honor of Republican Jefferson County Judge/Executive Erbon Powers "Tom" Sawyer (18 November 1915 - 23 September 1969), who was killed five years before in a car accident on Louisville's Interstate 64 in 1969 at age 53 while still in office.

The park's amenities include an activities center with a gymnasium that has indoor courts for badminton, basketball, and volleyball as well as an Olympic-sized swimming pool and weight room.

The park also has 12 tennis courts (which used to be lighted but the lights have been removed), 14 soccer fields, 3 lighted softball fields, a mile-long fitness trail, a 1¼ mile nature trail, a permanent BMX track, a model aircraft airfield, a dog park, playgrounds, and picnic facilities.

[2] The park is also the site of the Louisville Astronomical Society's "Urban Astronomy Center."

[3] Six years later finally in 2010, the state took over the city's Otter Creek Park in a separate deal and it reopened the following year in 2011 after renovations and improvements as an outdoor recreation area operated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.