Cochran Park gets its name from former Council Bluffs mayor Addison Cochran. A colonel and veteran of the Mexican-American War, Cochran settled in Council Bluffs around 1852 and immediately engaged in the real estate business. Cochran engaged in land speculation by buying up huge swathes of land in anticipation of selling the land when it was more valuable. However, Dexter Bloomer noted in The Annals of Iowa that “he bought more property than he could handle or pay for and when crowded begged his creditors to take all and release him.” Unfortunately for Cochran, his creditors would not release his debts and he fled to the mountains of Colorado to engage in mining operations. He later returned to Council Bluffs around 1866, sold some of the land he owned, paid his debts and made a fortune.
Cochran served as Council Bluffs mayor in 1879. His most notable achievement as mayor, according to Dexter Bloomer, was “establishing Fairmount Park.” In addition, The Daily Nonpareil reported a day after his death that “he inaugurated the sewer system of the city and the straightening out of Indian creek was due to his efforts." After his stint as mayor, Cochran retired to his farm in Harrison County near Little Sioux, Iowa.
During the late 1880s, the city of Council Bluffs sought land to create another city park. According to the February 21, 1979 issue of the Daily Nonpareil, M. F. Rohrer, mayor of Council Bluffs from 1888-89, visited Cochran on his farm and approached him with an offer from the city of $5,000 for a tract of land in Council Bluffs. Cochran handed Rohrer an envelope that gave the city the land where Cochran Park is located today and asked that the $5,000 be used for improvements at the park. In 1893 the land was graded for use as a park and in 1896 cement sidewalks were installed. It was named Cochran Park to honor Addison Cochran’s gift to the city. He passed away on May 20, 1896.
Over the years, various improvements were made to Cochran Park and it was used as a playground area for nearby Edison Elementary. In the 1950s, this shared use of the park sparked a debate between the City Park Board and the School Board over increasing maintenance costs for upkeep of the park. In a September 28, 1956 Daily Nonpareil article, both boards agreed to split the cost of redesigning Cochran Park “to provide adequate picnic and play areas for neighborhood use [and] space for recess and physical education activities for the Edison School children.” The joint plan was apparently “the first such plan ever attempted together by the two agencies." After the redesign, Cochran Park hosted many picnics, social gatherings, concerts, and sporting events at its tennis courts, basketball court, and baseball field. The park also featured an ice skating rink in the winter.
In 2015, Cochran Park received a new sign as part of the “Art in the Park” initiative started by the Council Bluffs Public Arts Commission in 2013. The new sign was designed by artist Jeffery L. Day. In 2020, a donation from PowerTech was put towards purchasing new playground equipment for Cochran Park. Pickleball courts and a mini-pitch were also added to the park’s amenities. In May 2023, a grand opening celebrated the Cochran Park renovations and the completion of the First Avenue Trail, located just north of the park. In July 2024, the Council Bluffs Public Library opened the Cochran Library Kiosk and local artist Ilaamen Pelshaw painted the kiosk as part of the Murals on First Ave project.
Sources:
Bloomer, Dexter C. “Notable Deaths: Colonel Addison Cochran.” Annals of Iowa, 3rd ser., vol. 2, no. 6, 1896, pp. 484-485. https://pubs.lib.uiowa.edu/annals-of-iowa/article/10044/galley/118646/view/
"Cochran Park." City of Council Bluffs, https://www.councilbluffs-ia.gov/2315/Cochran-Park
"Cochran Park bench\sign." Actual Architecture Company, https://www.actual.ac/project/previous-project/
Daily Nonpareil articles