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.

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.

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.http://www.herald-dispatch.com/multimedia/galleries/historicalphotos/x655256376/Gallery-Camden-Park-through-the-years "Gallery: Camden Park through the years", in ''The Herald-Dispatch'', June 3, 2013.

Major rides and attractions

Roller coasters

Other rides

*West Virginia Adventure Golf - An 18-hole miniature golf course, designed b
Castle Golf
featuring various West Virginia-themed landscapes, including a grist mill, covered bridge, cabin, chapel, and various animatronic figures. One hole depicts a shootout between the Hatfields and the McCoys. The course is located on the site of an earlier miniature golf course, and the former ''Thunderbolt Express''.
*Mound Builder Pavilion - a covered outdoor picnic area and stage where live musical performances are featured. The pavilion is named for the park's Indian mound.

Kiddie Land

Former rides and attractions

* Bull's Eye – A roundup wheel ride that goes in diagonal directions. Formerly known as The Rainbow. It was closed following the 2016 season and replaced with Slingshot.
* Camden Park Zoo – located North of the train station; it was removed in the early 1970s.
* Caterpillar – a classic amusement park ride operated at Camden Park in the 1950s. The cars followed an undulating circular track. A similar Music Express-type ride, the ''Hot Cat'', was featured at the park from the 1990s to 2011.
* Cloud 9 – located between the ''Little Dipper'' and the railroad tracks in the early 1980s.
* Dodgem Cars – a traditional bumper car ride from the 1940s; a series of center islands consisting of firmly anchored tire bumpers usually keeps traffic moving counter-clockwise, but cars can pass between the islands to engage one another and cause chaos. In the 1980s and 1990s, the cars were painted in glossy orange, yellow, green, blue, white, and black. Destroyed by an electrical fire in July 2013.
* ''Enterprise'' – a fast, looping, inverted "Ferris wheel"-like ride, featuring a mural of the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The ride was closed in 1993, after a hydraulic malfunction resulted in injuries to more than fifty riders.
*Fun Slide – a tall, multi-lane slide that stood between the ''Little Dipper'' and the railroad tracks in the early 1980s. Riders climbed a long series of stairs, and slid down one of the lanes on a burlap mat. Camden Park's slide featured blue lanes, and its steps were painted brown.
*''Hot Cat'' – a Music Express-type Caterpillar ride, the ''Hot Cat'' featured a train on an undulating circular track, half of which was enclosed in a darkened shed-like structure. The exterior was brightly lit with flashing lights, while loud music played both inside and out. The ''Hot Cat'' was a featured attraction at Camden Park from the 1990s to 2011, but was dismantled in 2012. It stood south of the ''Big Dipper'', and west of the ''Paratrooper'' and ''Magic Rainbow''.
*Hurricane – a classic Hurricane ride manufactured by Dartron Industries. Camden Park's Hurricane ride was painted blue with yellow cars, each adorned with the name of a famous hurricane from the 1950s or 1960s, including Audrey, Betsy, Beulah, Camille, Carol, and Hazel. The ride was a fixture of the park during the 1980s, and was located in the park's northeast corner, behind the log flume, and next to the Tilt-a-Whirl. It was replaced by the Kite Flyer.
* Miniature Golf – in the 1970s and 1980s, a miniature golf course was located north of the skating rink. This area was later occupied by the ''Thunderbolt Express''. A new, 18-hole miniature golf course has opened in its place.
*Roller Coaster – Camden Park's first wooden roller coaster, originally described as the "new sensation." Riders were taken to the top of a tall hill, then sent down a gentle dip, and then into a counter-clockwise spiral, followed by an elliptical course featuring several smaller dips, and returning to the pavilion. Painted white, the roller coaster was complemented by a red-roofed tower adjacent to the top of the first hill. This ride was demolished in the summer of 1957, and construction began on the ''Big Dipper'', which opened the following summer.
*Scrambler – an Eli Bridge ride in which riders are spinning in cars that look like they will crash into each other.
*Skydiver – a "looping ferris wheel" ride, opened in 2001 on the site of the former Camden Park skating rink. The ride was closed following the 2009 season, and was replaced by the ''Rockin' Tug'', in a different location, for 2010.
* Spider – A classic amusement park ride, featuring eight arms, each with two independently spinning two-seater cars (larger Spiders sometimes featured four cars per arm). The cars traveled diagonally in a circle, and paused to let riders on and off at the lowest point, until all of the cars were occupied. This left some riders suspended at the ride's highest point, pointing upwards at the sky, and a large sycamore to the south of the Indian mound. For many years, the Spider was located along the park's midway, between the restaurant and the Indian mound. It was closed and dismantled following a 2011 accident, in which one of the arms broke off and fell to the ground, injuring three riders. Camden Park's Spider was painted black, with white car interiors, and was usually illuminated after dark with yellow and white fluorescent tubes and clear incandescent bulbs; toward the end of its life, the yellow fluorescent bulbs were replaced by red.
*Tip-Top – a flat ride manufactured by Hrubetz featuring ten tub-like cars, each with two bench seats and a large, horizontal wheel in the center. The ride would spin and be propelled upward by compressed air. Each car would spin independently, and riders could influence the speed and direction of their spin by pulling or pushing against the wheel. In the 1980s this ride was located south of the Indian mound, between the Scrambler and the Spider. The Flying Scooters ride has occupied this location since 2006.
* ''Thunderbolt Express'' – a shuttle roller coaster, originally known as Kings Island's ''Screamin' Demon – a classic amusement park ride, featuring a series of swings suspended on long chains from a rotating upper carousel. This ride was located south of the ''Big Dipper'', immediately west of the ''Paratrooper'' and ''Magic Rainbow'' rides during the late 1980s. Camden Park's was painted yellow, with black and white trim. The same type of ride had previously been operated at Camden Park in the late 1970s.

Popular culture

*Camden Park is a location in the video game ''Fallout 76''.
*One of Camden Park's rides makes an appearance in the opening titles to the TV adaptation of the podcast ''My Brother, My Brother and Me''. The hosts of the show, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, and Griffin McElroy are natives of Huntington, and have made reference to the theme park in their podcast.

References

External links

Park websiteHurricane ride
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Camden Park (Amusement Park)
Amusement parks in West Virginia
1903 establishments in West Virginia
Buildings and structures in Wayne County, West Virginia
Tourist attractions in Wayne County, West Virginia