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Bushnell Park in Hartford, Connecticut is the oldest publicly funded Park in the United States . It was designed to replace tanneries and garbage dumps along the Park River on the edge of downtown Hartford. The park has grown considerably since it was created in 1861 . The distintive Soldiers And Sailors Arch was added and land was used in the extreme south of the park for Connecticut 's new State Capitol Building . In the 1940s the Park River was buried in underground conduits to control flooding, taking a main feature from the park. The Bushnell Park pond was added to return water to the park. Today Bushnell Park is a focal point of downtown Hartford and Connecticut state government.