Williams Grove Amusement Park
Williams Grove Amusement Park is an abandoned amusement park near Williams Grove, Pennsylvania. The park operated from 1850 until 2005.
History[edit]
The Williams family began hosting picnics in 1850 at a small grove located in the village of Williams Grove outside Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Within a few years, the grove was developed into a park. Two decades later, the park became the Mechanicsburg Fairgrounds. After World War I, the park's ownership changed several times. The first rides were installed at the park in 1928. The adjacent Williams Grove Speedway half-mile track opened in 1938.[1] In the 1960s, the park was a popular country music venue, featuring well-known acts such as Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash.[citation needed]
An entrepreneur named Morgan Hughes purchased the park in 1972 for US$1.2 million (equivalent to $8.74 million in 2023). Several rides were relocated to Williams Grove from the defunct New Jersey Palisades Amusement Park, which closed in 1971. Williams Grove Amusement Park was nearly destroyed in June of 1972 due to Hurricane Agnes and subsequent flooding from nearby Yellow Breeches Creek. The park was rebuilt, and operated through the end of the 2005 season, when the Hughes family decided to focus their attention on the Williams Grove Speedway instead. Hughes, who was in his mid-80s at the time of the park's closure, attempted to sell the property in 2006 to a prospective owner who would keep the park intact and operational, but was unable to find a buyer. Several rides were auctioned off that year. Hughes passed away on April 12, 2008, at the age of 88.[2]
Former rides[edit]
Cyclone was a wooden roller coaster which served as the main attraction of the park. Cyclone rose to a height of 65 feet and traveled at a top speed of 45 mph. It remains standing at the park to this day, with the train still parked at the loading station.
In 2001, the park opened Wildcat, a Schwarzkopf Wildcat[3] that previously operated at Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Upon the park's closing, Wildcat was relocated to Adventure Park USA in New Market, Maryland.
Two smaller coasters also operated at the park. One of these coasters was Kiddie Coaster, which operated from 1992 until the park's closure. It had previously operated at Fantasy Farm Amusement Park in Monroe, Ohio.[4] Another coaster was Little Dipper, which operated from 1950 until 1963.
The park featured a dark ride called Dante's Inferno, which is still standing. It also used to have a walk-through funhouse called Allotria.
In the early 1980s, the park opened one of the first water slides in the area. The slide's platform is still standing, although the slides themselves have since been removed.
References[edit]
External links[edit]
- Williams Grove Amusement Park at Abandoned
- Williams Grove Amusement Park at the Roller Coaster DataBase