Ida Bell Jones Park

Ida Bell Jones is a .5-acre neighborhood park in Vancouver’s Rose Village neighborhood. The park features a space-themed playground with a disc swing, interactive games, climbing structure and colorful, accessible soft fall ground covering.

Opened in 2022, the park is named after Ida Bell Jones, a matriarch of Vancouver’s post-World War II African American community. Born in 1908 outside of Blackwell, Arkansas, she moved to Vancouver at age 34 to follow the economic opportunity created by the newly opened Kaiser Shipyards in 1942.

Ida Bell Jones and her family settled in the area now known as Rose Village. She was quick to establish roots in both Vancouver and North Portland and was a founding member of the Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church in Portland and active in the Vancouver branch of the NAACP. Her community-building efforts to create trusted networks of support on both sides of the river made it possible for Black families to find work and establish roots in Vancouver, despite the racism and discrimination they faced.

Ida Bell Jones died in 2018, at the age of 109. She was known for her warm smile, positive attitude and acceptance for all people who crossed her path.

Need to report a maintenance issue? Fill out an online service request form with Public Works. If the issue is more urgent (water line break, downed tree, etc.) call 360-487-8177.