North Park was established in 1860 when a quarter acre was purchased by Daniel C. Lamberton for twenty-dollars. The boundaries of North Park span from the Grand River to the West, 4 Mile Rd. to the North, 3 Mile Rd. to the South and as far as one-half mile East of Lamberton Lake. The first North Park schoolhouse was purchased in 1862 and lasted until 1908 when a new school building was built in 1909.

Grand Rapids attempted to annex North Park two different times before it was voted through in 1960. The first was in 1956 and the next was in 1958, both voted against annexation for the same reasons; the issue of taxes. That same issue was at hand during the 1960 elections. The people who were supportive of the annexation to Grand Rapids argued that it would be financially better for North Park residents to be annexed by Grand Rapids instead of consolidating with North View High School in order to be taken out of the school debt of the North View school bond picture. North Park officially joined the city of Grand Rapids on September 17th, 1960 after North Park residents voted favorably August 2nd.