The park gets its name from the Washington state chapter of the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC-WS), which raised the initial $25,000 that was used to purchase the land for the park from a lumber company in 1928. GFWC-WS members were concerned about the rapid pace of deforestation around the country and wanted to preserve the remaining old-growth forest in the state of Washington. The original park was located about west of Snoqualmie Pass and was dedicated in 1934. In the following years, windstorms, widening of an adjacent highway, and logging on the adjacent property took a toll on the park, and the land was eventually sold back to the lumber company in 1938.