Senator from New York who served from 1849 to 1861 and later went on to be Secretary of State in the Lincoln administration.

New York City lacked the funds to do anything with it, so the Outdoor Recreation League (ORL),[3] a playground and recreation advocacy group that built playgrounds in the undeveloped parks using temporary facilities and equipment, built it[4] as the first permanent, municipally built playground in the country.

[5] Opened on October 17, 1903, it was built with cinder surfacing, fences, a recreation pavilion, and children's play and gymnastic equipment.

A large running track encircled the play area and children's garden.

Seward Park also holds one of the few statues in the U.S. dedicated to Togo,[9] the sled dog who led the most treacherous route of the 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska.