It contains wetlands, floodplains, springs, and forests as well as the only remaining McAteen magnolia bogs in the District of Columbia.

[3] Part of the parkway road was built in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland but the name was later changed to Oxon Run Drive.

[7] After a 1937 flood, NCPPC decided to purchase 144 additional acres of land in the valley from the District line to the Camp Simms rifle range north of 14th.

The land would widen the Parkway above the high water mark, thus preventing the construction of homes that might be prone to flooding.

[13][14][15][16][17] Another 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) were purchased in 1944 as the 8-year long Oxon Run Parkway and flood control project wrapped up its work.

The portion they sought for the park was between Mississippi Ave and Valley Avenue, as the Parkway already included the land on both sides of the rifle range.

[22] In 1958, the Defense Department transferred the land to the General Services Administration and later 94 acres (38 ha) of the site was added to the parkway.

[23] In July 1994, while digging wells in preparation for the Green Line tunnel, Metro discovered 6 Stokes mortar rounds, prompting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) to begin a clean-up of the site.