Anna Leverich’s major contribution to her city was donation of a park that still carries her name.
In 1924, she deeded 42 acres on the north side of Vancouver to the municipality, with the provision that she be paid $500 a year for the rest of her life. She was said to have loved the beauty of the tract, and wanted it preserved.
Anna Leverich died in January 1930 at age 86.
Washington state later took some of the park property, near Burnt Bridge Creek, for highway improvements. However, a considerable amount still remains in park land.
Anna Leverich had crossed the Plains with her family when she was a girl and had settled in Lane County, Ore. She married Benjamin Leverich, and they came to Clark County in the 1870s. Benjamin Leverich was the second postmaster at Battle Ground, from 1873 to 1876. The post office was in his home, where he manufactured chairs.
Later the couple moved to Vancouver, where Benjamin Leverich was employed as a wheelwright for the Army at Vancouver barracks, and worked as a carpenter.
The Leverich’s adopted a small girl, Ida Russell, after the death of the child’s mother. Her father was D.L. Russell, a legislator from this area. In later years, Ida married John Elwell, a prominent Vancouver businessman.
Benjamin Leverich died in the early 1900s on a trip in California.