The park was previously the site of a city workhouse. Acquired in 1935, it was simply called the Workhouse Site Playground until being officially renamed after a prominent settler of the area, John C. Bohanon, in 1946.

The park was developed with the assistance of the Works Progress Administration in 1940 and has benefited from further development and expansion efforts in the years since; including the conversion of a section of 50th street into green space to connect the park to the school.