William Allen White (8 Wonders of Kansas People) and his wife, Sallie, donated the land for this park in memory of their daughter, Mary, who died in 1921 at age 16 in a horseback riding accident. The Whites named it Peter Pan Park because Mary, like Peter Pan, never wanted to grow up. At the south edge of the lake is a bust of White, dedicated in 1950 by former President Herbert Hoover, along with White's moving editorial to his daughter. A statue of Peter Pan stands at S. State and Kansas near the wading pool.