Camden Park (amusement park)

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Camden Park
Camden Park logo.png
The entrance sign to Camden Park, a 26-acre amusement park just outside Huntington, West Virginia LCCN2015631867.jpg
This happy clown has greeted visitors to Camden Park for several decades.
Location Huntington, West Virginia, U.S.
Coordinates 38°23′51″N82°31′50″W / 38.39750°N 82.53056°W / 38.39750; -82.53056
Opened1903
OwnerBoylin Family
SloganFirst in Fun Since 1903!
Operating seasonMay - October
Area26 acres (110,000 m2)
Attractions
Total25 Operating
Roller coasters3
Water rides2
Website Camden Park
Camden Park (amusement park)

Camden Park is a twenty-six acre amusement park located near Huntington, West Virginia. Established in 1903 as a picnic spot by the Camden Interstate Railway Company, it is one of only thirteen trolley parks that remain open in the United States. Whereas most trolley parks were located at the end of trolley lines, Camden Park is unusual in that it was built where riders traveling between Huntington and nearby cities would stop to change lines. Not long after opening, the park soon gained a carousel and other roadside attractions. Camden Park is West Virginia's only amusement park. The park is home to more than thirty rides and attractions, including a full-size traditional wooden roller coaster, the Big Dipper, and several other vintage rides.

Contents

Over the years, Camden Park has featured a swimming pool, a roller rink, and even a small zoo. Today, the park hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including live musical performances as part of the "Hot Summer Nights" concert series. Other events include the "Children's Festival," "Coca-Cola Days," and the "Halloween Spooktacular." The park is typically open six days a week from late May to early August, with a more limited schedule in late August, and select dates in September and October.

History

Camden Park was established as a picnic spot by the Camden Interstate Railway Company in 1903, and named after former West Virginia Senator Johnson N. Camden. As steamboat traffic gave way to intercity trolleys, the park was located near the mouth of Twelvepole Creek, where riders traveling between Huntington, Ceredo, Kenova, Ashland, and Coal Grove would stop to change lines.

The first amusement park ride, a carousel, was built around 1903; the park owners consider this to be the official date of the park's founding, celebrating the park's eightieth anniversary in 1983, and centennial in 2003; promotional materials produced in 2013 describe the park as having provided "110 years" of fun. About 1912, the park's first roller coaster was added. Described as the "new sensation," the attraction featured a tall hill, a spiraling section, and several dips of various lengths.

Eustace Via purchased Camden Park from the Ohio Valley Electric Railway in 1916, and operated the park until the end of World War II, adding various rides and attractions. The park was subsequently sold to a group of investors, including Harry Nudd, who operated the park. Deeming the original roller coaster unsafe, the owners demolished it in the summer of 1957. Nudd obtained plans for what became the Big Dipper, a new wooden roller coaster that opened in the summer of 1958.

Children enjoying the Umbrella Car ride. Ride at Camden Park, an amusement park on the outskirts of Huntington, West Virginia LCCN2015631917.tif
Children enjoying the Umbrella Car ride.

The park subsequently came into the hands of J.P. Boylin, whose family continues to operate the park and its attractions. Many of the attractions are vintage amusement park rides, such as the carousel, The Whip, Tilt-A-Whirl, Paratrooper, Dodgem Cars, and Scrambler. The park also features a miniature railway with a covered bridge, a vintage Pretzel Haunted House ride, swan-shaped pedal boats, a miniature golf course, arcade games, shooting galleries, and a restaurant. The park once featured a roller rink, and a paddleboat attraction known as the Camden Queen, which took riders on a short excursion up the Ohio River.

In the center of the park is an Indian mound, once used as a picnic area, but now heavily grown over with trees. Many large sycamores formerly lined the park's midway, but these appear to have been cut down in the 1990s. [1]

Major rides and attractions

Roller coasters

NameImageManufacturerOpening yearTypeDescription
Big Dipper
Big Dipper roller-coaster at Camden Park 1.jpg
National Amusement Devices 1958WoodenCamden Park's most famous attraction, a traditional wooden roller coaster built in 1958. The ride replaced an earlier roller coaster that had been built on the same site about 1912, and which was demolished in 1957. The Big Dipper features original Century Flyer cars with working headlights, and a classic figure-eight track design. [2] The ride's name refers to a big dip measuring almost the full height of the roller coaster after the first turn. A second, shallower dip leads into an unlit tunnel, from which the cars emerge shortly before returning to the pavilion to let off passengers. The Big Dipper is one of only three National Amusement Devices roller coasters still in operation; one of the other two is Camden Park's miniature roller coaster, the Lil' Dipper. American Coaster Enthusiasts lists the Big Dipper as an "ACE Coaster Classic." [3]
Lil' DipperNone National Amusement Devices 1961WoodenA miniature wooden roller coaster with steel supports.
SlingshotNone SBF Visa Group 2016SteelA figure eight roller coaster with spinning cars and Camden Park's latest ride that opened in May 2016.

Other rides

RideYear OpenedManufacturerDescription
Paratrooper1965 Hrubetz A classic amusement park ride featuring ten cars, each large enough for two adults or three children. Each car is suspended from a framework that can be raised and lowered as the cars circle the ride, so that the cars continually rise and fall as they travel. The cars pivot above a canopy, giving the impression of a parachute or umbrella. Camden Park's Paratrooper ride is located on the south side of the park, adjacent to U.S. Route 60, and west of the carousel. During the 1980s and 1990s, each car sported a different color of metallic paint, with a yellow interior. In recent years, the exteriors have been repainted metallic blue.
Carousel1907 Philadelphia Toboggan Company An ornate merry-go-round, featuring undulating horses and stationary seats. The park's current carousel celebrated one hundred years of operation in 2007.
Haunted House1919 Pretzel Amusement Ride Company A dark ride inspired by ghost stories, monster movies, and mad scientists. The narrow, winding corridors feature sudden and unexpected lights and noises, luminescent paint and models, and animated props. The ride is said to be one of only two gravity-fed Pretzel rides remaining in the United States.
Camden Princess1999 Zamperla A customizedRockin' Tug.
Log Flume1983 Hopkins A basic log flume ride, featuring two-seated cars molded in the shape of logs; each car can hold from two to six passengers. The cars float down a winding channel surrounded by tall grass, cat-tails and other wetland plants, and are pulled up two hills, from which they rapidly descend, resulting in large splashes. Camden Park's log flume was constructed in 1983, as part of the park's 80th anniversary celebration. The ride is located in the northeastern portion of the park, and typically has the park's longest lines on hot summer days.
Miniature Train1980 Crown Metal Products A miniature railroad, featuring a replica steam locomotive and four cars with wooden bench seating and one fully open side. In the 1980s and 1990s, the cars were decorated in a wild west theme, and each was named for a city made famous in western folklore, including Dodge City and Tombstone. The ride begins near the midway, and circles the northeastern portion of the park, passing through a covered bridge before turning for home. Until the 1980s, the wild west theme was portrayed with life-sized dioramas of Indian attacks on settler cabins; as the train passed, riders heard and saw gunfire from the rifles, and saw fallen settlers and panicked housewives. The dioramas were removed in the 1990s, but recently a Hatfield–McCoy motif has been added in their place.
Kite Flyer2001 Zamperla A ride in which the riders lie flat and experience a sensation similar to hang-gliding.
Tilt-A-Whirl1990Sellner ManufacturingA classic ride, featuring seven gondolas attached by center pivots to an undulating floor. As the ride speeds up, the gondolas turn in a circle around the center pivot, sometimes picking up enough speed to fling riders against the backs of their seats.
Flying Scooters2006Larson InternationalA ride consisting of a center post with ride vehicles suspended from arms attached to the center post.
Skyliner1970s Hopkins A chairlift ride, which gives two or three riders an aerial view of the park. Riders board and get off again in the center of the park, just south of the miniature railroad tracks. The ride parallels the southern path of the railroad tracks, and overlooks the miniature golf course and part of the parking lot. In the 1980s and 1990s, the ride was painted bright orange, but since that time it has been repainted in lime green.
Swan Lake1970s Hopkins A paddleboat ride located in the northern end of the park, between the log flume and the Tilt-A-Whirl. The boats are shaped like giant swans.
The Rattler2018 SBF Visa Group Riders are suspended from an overhead axis and go through dual swinging and spinning motions.
The Whip 1924 William F. Mangels A classic flat ride, built at Coney Island by William F. Mangels; one of a handful still in existence. Another is the Kiddie Whip featured among Camden Park's children's rides.

Kiddie Land

RideYear OpenedManufacturerDescription
Junior Whip1930 William F. Mangels A miniature Whip ride located near the park entrance, together with other children's rides.
Dune Buggies1980UnknownA set of miniature cars that follow a preset track.
Skyfighter1945 Allan Herschell Company A children's airplane ride.
Handcars1950UnknownA series of hand-powered sledges that travel along a path of winding rails. This ride is adjacent to the park entrance.
Boat ride1941 Allan Herschell Company A miniature boat ride designed for younger children; the two-seater gondolas appear to be floating in water.
Pony Carts1957S.D.C.A miniature, flat carousel-style ride for small children. This ride is located near the skyliner, just south of the miniature railroad.
Umbrella Car Ride1950HamptonA flat, carousel-style ride for small children, featuring automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, and other vehicles.

Former rides and attractions

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References

  1. Century Flyer cars
  2. "ACE Coaster Classic Designation". Archived from the original on 2004-09-06. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
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  4. Platania, Joseph. "Camden Park History - West Virginia Encyclopedia". West Virginia Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
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  6. Herald-Dispatch, The (2013-04-14). "Readers remember 100 years of Camden Park". The Herald-Dispatch. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  7. Herald-DispatchHerald-Dispatch.com, 2011/The (2011-07-24). "Three hospitalized after Spider ride collapses at Camden Park". The Herald-Dispatch. Retrieved 2024-06-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. "Thunderbolt Express - Camden Park (Huntington, West Virginia, United States)".
  9. LAVENDER, DAVE. "Video game to be based in a post-apocalyptic Mountain State". The Herald-Dispatch. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  10. Gorski, Sam; Rather, Joey (May 3, 2024). "What Fallout 76 gets right, and wrong, about West Virginia". WBOY . Retrieved August 9, 2024.