The ball park was built on swampy ground located near the shore of a mill pond and the Gowanus Creek. When the streets and avenues were built around it in the 1850s, they were elevated on embankments above the low ground.

The first home game of the "Brooklyn Baseball Club" and the Grand Opening of Washington Park was Saturday, May 12, 1883 (they beat Trenton 13‑6). During 1883 they played in the minor leagues ("Inter‑State Association") and won the Inter‑State championship. In 1884, they joined the major leagues as an expansion team in the old "American Association."

The original owner (and, for a couple of years, the manager) of the Brooklyn team was Charles H. Byrne. During their first season, he hired Charles H. Ebbets to work as a ticket taker at Washington Park. Ebbets gradually worked his way up in the organization, and took control of the team on Jan. 1, 1898, just a few hours before New York City annexed Brooklyn, and just 3 days before Byrne died.

Brooklyn's first few seasons were shaky, but in 1887 the team got a big boost when Byrne purchased the entire New York Metropolitans franchise, and merged the Mets with the Dodgers. The star player was first baseman (and former Met) Dave Orr, who weighed 250 pounds and was their best hitter. When he batted in Brooklyn, the fans would chant "Knock it into the Gowanus Canal." Supposedly he succeeded once, hitting a ball over Fourth Avenue into the boat basin. He was the only player who ever hit a home run over the center field fence at the original Washington Park.

In 1889, the Dodgers won their first pennant, and played a World Series against the New York Giants (Brooklyn lost). This would have been the very first "Subway Series," except that Brooklyn and New York were then separate cities, and the subway hadn't been built yet.

In 1890, Brooklyn switched to the National League, won the NL pennant, and played a World Series against the Louisville Colonels. This series attracted very little interest, and the last games were canceled, leaving the series tied 3–3.

In 1891, they moved to Eastern Park. In 1898, Charles Ebbets brought them back to a new Washington Park, located across Fourth Avenue from the old field (between Fourth and Third Avenues, First and Third Streets). They played there through 1912, then moved to Ebbets Field in 1913. While playing at the second Washington Park, they twice won the National League pennant (in 1899 and 1900). However, no World Series were played in those years (after the disbanding of the American Association but before the recognition of the American League). The second Washington Park was demolished in 1926, except for the left field wall which still stands on Third Avenue near First Street.