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The park property was first granted to a pioneer from crown lands. In 1813, 44.52 hectares (110 acres) of this land were resold to Colonel James Matthew Whyte (1788-1843), who completed the building of a great mansion there, Barton Lodge, at the end of Beckett's Drive in 1825.
Col. Whyte's brother, John Lionel Whyte (-1847), and sister-in-law Isabella (1791-1865), who lived in England, inherited Barton Lodge on the Colonel's death, but only moved there in 1847. Their daughter, Emily Ester Whyte, married Colonel William Gourlay in 1850. Mr. Gourlay was well respected, and had played an important historic role as one of the "Men o' Gore" in the Gore Militia. This particular army regiment had stopped the 1837 rebellion led by William Lyon Mackenzie.
In 1881 Edward Alexander Colquhoun (1844-1904) married Evelyn Ester Elly Gourlay, the daughter of Emily and William Gourlay. An accountant, agent, and later manager of the Bank of Hamilton, he was also a Hamilton alderman, and city mayor for 1897 and 1898.
The Colquhoun family, consisting of husband, wife, seven daughters and three sons, were the last people to live in Barton Lodge. In 1930, an unexplained fire destroyed the building along with one of the best collections of rare books and historic documents in Canada. The lodge's empty stone walls stood alone on the property for many years.
The City bought the land January 23, 1956, and transferred it to the Parks Board January 14, 1958. The park was named May 4, 1959, but opened in 1960. Another 0.65 hectares (1.6 acres) were added to Colquhoun Park in 1961.
The people of the area, who use Colquhoun Park, organized a skate-a-thon in 1989. They got to meet other neighbours, and raised $15,000 for playground equipment. The City gave an additional $10,000.
