Facilities

Lyon Park

Lyon Park sits on 12.23 acres in West Central Durham.

Picnic Shelter

Visit the picnic shelter rentals page for complete details on renting the shelter at Lyon Park.

Athletic Rentals

Visit the athletic rentals page for complete details on renting a field or court at Lyon Park.

Park History

The original Lyon Park School (or Lyon’s Park as it was first named) was one of the Rosenwald Schools in Durham. This four-teacher school was built for the 1922-23 school year. It was constructed on two acres of land and cost $5,500.

The park itself was built on land that was once a City dump and incinerator at the outer edge of the City of Durham and later became a public school. The park was opened in 1964; it included a ball field at which local residents including Thomas Womble, Willie Haskins, and Frank Jacobs coached youth and junior league teams named the “Lyon Park Elites.” The site was also home to a slow-pitch softball teamed named the “Bombers.”

There have been Lyons in Durham’s history since Ed Lyon who is noted as a friend of Dr. Bartlett Durham. However, the neighborhood and school probably got their names from George Leonidas Lyon, a grandson of Washington Duke who built his home in the Morehead Hill neighborhood and built a community ball field on land across from the Maplewood Cemetery.