Clementon Amusement Park
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Clementon Park and Splash World is a mid-sized combination
theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
and
water park A water park (also waterpark, water world, or aquapark) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming ...
in Clementon,
Camden County, New Jersey Camden County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Camden. ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Also known as Clementon Lake Park, it is one of the world's oldest operating amusement parks and is one of only thirteen
trolley park In the United States, trolley parks, which started in the 19th century, were picnic and recreation areas along or at the ends of streetcar lines in most of the larger cities. These were precursors to amusement parks. Trolley parks were often cre ...
s that are still in the United States. It was owned and operated by Clementon Lake Holdings LLC a subsidiary of
Premier Parks, LLC Premier Parks, LLC (formerly Rapids Holdings, LLC and Premier Attractions Management, LLC) is a limited liability company based in the United States. The company owns and operates several amusement parks and water parks across the country and o ...
. The park had been closed since September 2019 and was put up for auction on March 23, 2021. At the auction, the park in its entirety was purchased by Indiana Beach Holdings, LLC (now known as IB Parks & Entertainment), a company operated by real estate developer Gene Staples, for $2,370,000, with plans to reopen later in 2021 The park reopened on June 25, 2021.


History


1907–1919

The park was founded in 1907 by New Jersey Assemblyman Theodore B. Gibbs"Images of America, Clementon". Arcadia Publishing. 2007 (October 17, 1838 – October 27, 1909) and his sons, Edgar B. and Willard. Theodore Gibbs was a
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
veteran who was a corporal in Company D, Twenty-ninth New Jersey Volunteers. He held many local offices including postmaster and sheriff; he was also a member of the
Atlantic City Railroad The Atlantic City Railroad was a Philadelphia and Reading Railway subsidiary that became part of Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in 1933. At the end of 1925, it operated of road on of track; that year it reported 43 million ton-miles of ...
's Board of Directors. The amusement park was a popular destination in the early decades of the twentieth century with a trolley running from
Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...
, to the park entrance. In the early twentieth century, amusement parks were built at the end of trolley lines to encourage weekend ridership.


1920–1939

In the 1920s, the park included a
nickelodeon movie theater The nickelodeon was the first type of indoor exhibition space dedicated to showing projected motion pictures in the United States and Canada. Usually set up in converted storefronts, these small, simple theaters charged five cents for admissi ...
, a "dancing casino", a steam-driven carousel, the
Jack Rabbit Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The genu ...
roller coaster, and a "razzle-dazzle" ride. The Jack Rabbit roller coaster was considered state-of-the-art when added to the park in 1919 for the cost of $80,000, equal to $ today. On June 22, 1931, a fire almost destroyed the amusement park. According to
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
, "a vivid pyrotechnic display and the successive reports of exploding cartridges added to the spectacular aspect of a fire which swept through part of Clementon Park, a South Jersey pleasure resort." The fire had reached the cartridge supply of the shooting gallery, setting off explosions. Firemen from six adjoining towns fought the fire which was contained to the shooting gallery and a "pretzel ride." The damages were estimated to be $2,000, equal to $ today. Socialist presidential candidate
Norman Thomas Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian religious minister, minister, political activist, and perennial candidate for president. He achieved fame as a socialism, socialist and pacifism, pacifis ...
campaigned at Clementon Park in 1932. In a July 4 speech in front of 3,500 people, Thomas said, "It is not against foreign domination we must fight, but against a system that denies us bread, security and any assurance of peace. The men of 1776, in convention assembled at Philadelphia, found no successors in the old party conventions at Chicago in 1932." In 1936, Philadelphia boxer Al Ettore trained at Clementon Park for the heavyweight title fight against
Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...
to occur in Philadelphia on September 22, 1936. Thousands of fight fans visited the park to see Ettore train. On September 20, 1936, a section of grandstand collapsed under the weight of about 500 spectators. No one was seriously injured.


1940–1969

Throughout the 1930s to 1950s, Clementon Park's ballroom hosted dance marathons that were hosted by various celebrities such as Red Skelton and Dick Clark. Clementon Park survived
the Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
by holding these marathons, offering a $100 prize (equal to $ today) to partners who lasted the longest.


1970–1999

In 1977, the Gibbs family sold Clementon Lake Park to Abram Baker (1904–1994). Baker owned a nightclub in
Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, and the Fascination Parlour in
Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...
. From 1955 to 1968, he owned
Glen Echo Park, Maryland Glen Echo Park is an arts and cultural center in Glen Echo, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Located about northwest of the city's downtown area, the park's site was initially developed in 1891 as a National Chautauqua Assembly. Following ...
. In 1979, operation of the park was turned over to Larry Baker, Abe's son.


2000–2019

In 2007, the park was purchased by
Adrenaline Family Entertainment Adrenaline Family Entertainment, Inc. was an amusement park operator headquartered in Edmond, Oklahoma. It was created in 2007 by private equity firm Angelo, Gordon & Co. when it acquired Clementon Park in Clementon, New Jersey. The company orig ...
for an undisclosed amount. Over the next three years, Adrenaline Family Entertainment made major renovations and added attractions to bring renewed life to the park. Laguna Kahuna, a large interactive water playland, was added in 2008, followed by Ring of Fire and Thunder Drop in 2010, and Torpedo Rush in 2011. On November 21, 2011, the park was purchased by Gary Story and Kieran Burke of
Premier Parks, LLC Premier Parks, LLC (formerly Rapids Holdings, LLC and Premier Attractions Management, LLC) is a limited liability company based in the United States. The company owns and operates several amusement parks and water parks across the country and o ...
through a new subsidiary, Clementon Lake Holdings LLC. Big Wave Bay, a 23,000 square foot wave pool, was added for the 2012 season. For the 2019 season, the park added four new rides; a swinging ship,
Tilt-A-Whirl Tilt-A-Whirl is a flat ride designed for commercial use at amusement parks, fairs, and carnivals. The ride consists of a number of cars which rotate freely while moving in a circle. As the cars revolve, the floor of the ride undulates so that th ...
,
Scrambler In telecommunications, a scrambler is a device that transposes or inverts signals or otherwise encodes a message at the sender's side to make the message unintelligible at a receiver not equipped with an appropriately set descrambling device. Wher ...
, and a kiddy coaster, Dragon Coaster. The latter ride had been relocated from
Bowcraft Amusement Park Bowcraft Amusement Park or Bowcraft Playland was a small amusement park located on U.S. Route 22 West in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. At the time of its closing, it contained 21 rides appropriate for both children and adults. Bowcraft Amusement Pa ...
in
Scotch Plains, New Jersey Scotch Plains is a Township (New Jersey), township in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is located on a ridge in North Jersey, northern-central Jersey, central New Jersey, within the Raritan R ...
, which had closed permanently the season beforehand.


2020–present

On September 8, 2019, the park abruptly closed without warning, despite tickets being sold for future events, and other planned events later in the season had been canceled. Following the closure,
TD Bank Toronto-Dominion Bank (), doing business as TD Bank Group (), is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The bank was created on February 1, 1955, through ...
filed a lawsuit against the park owners for failing to make payments on a $4.5 million loan. On January 25, 2021, a court order granted Howard Samuels and Rally Capital Advisors,
receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...
of the park. On February 19, 2021, Capital Recovery Group LLC, acting on behalf of its client, Howard Samuels, issued a press release announcing the sale of the park at a public auction to be held on March 23, 2021. During this time, it was also reported that a local investors group, Fresh Development LLC, was in the process of raising the $7 million needed to buy and rejuvenate the park. On March 23, 2021, the park auction commenced, and the park in its entirety was sold to an undisclosed buyer for $2,370,000. The buyer was quickly revealed to be real estate developer Gene Staples, who had bought and reopened the closed
Indiana Beach Indiana Beach is an amusement park located on Lake Shafer in Monticello, Indiana. The resort was developed by the Spackman family, who owned it from 1926 to 2008. The park was then sold to Morgan RV LLC, Apex Parks Group, LLC, and now is owned an ...
amusement park in
Monticello, Indiana Monticello ( ) is a city in and the county seat of White County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,508 at the 2020 census. Monticello is known as a tourist destination in north-central Indiana and is home to the Indiana Beach amuseme ...
, the year before. Following a two-year hiatus, Clementon Park and Splash World reopened on June 25, 2021. All eight of the waterpark attractions were open, but only a limited number of the thrill and family rides were in operation. Discounted admission tickets were offered through end of June.


Attractions


Roller coasters


Thrill rides


Family rides


Children's rides


Water rides


Former attractions


Roller coasters


Thrill Rides


References

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External links


Official websiteIB Parks & Entertainment
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Clementon Amusement Park aerial photo

Clementon's entry
on ultimaterollercoaster.com {{PremierParks 1907 establishments in New Jersey Amusement parks in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Camden County, New Jersey Clementon, New Jersey Tourist attractions in Camden County, New Jersey Premier Parks, LLC IB Parks & Entertainment