Old Indiana Fun Park was an

amusement 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 ...

near

Thorntown, Indiana Thorntown is a town in Sugar Creek Township, Boone County, Indiana. The population was 1,432 at the time of the 2020 census. Thorntown is located in northwestern Boone County, about halfway between Lafayette and Indianapolis. History The first p ...

, off the I-65 highway. The site is now used for a privately owned

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...

farm and processing facility.

Early years (1983–1987)

The park first opened in August 1983 under the name "Middle Country Renaissance Festival". It ran for six weekends until the end of the first weekend of October 1983. Construction of a ride park started in 1984, and it opened on June 9, 1985 as “Middle Country USA”. More rides were gradually added until 1986, but remained mostly a picnic area and campground with a few attractions. In spring 1987, the park filed

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

because attendance was not sufficient to meet expenses and further development costs. It opened for that season under bankruptcy court supervision.

Later years and closure (1988–1997)

On Sunday, August 11, 1996, 4-year-old Emily Hunt was paralyzed from the chest down and her 57-year-old grandmother, Nancy Jones, was killed after a miniature train ride at the Old Indiana Fun Park derailed and overturned as it approached a curve. The two victims were crushed under the weight of the cars. Upon investigation, the train was traveling much faster than its design speed of . The ride attendant claimed to have applied the brakes as the train neared the curve, but it was discovered that many of them were either broken, missing, or not connected, and that most of the anti-derailment devices were missing. The speedometer was broken, along with the governor, which limits the speed of the train. The track was littered with broken ride parts. The ride passed two state inspections in the 3-month period prior to the accident, before the safety inspector admitted that he was not qualified to inspect amusement rides. A state review of the park's own records showed that the train had derailed 79 times in the 2 months prior to the accident, and as many as 15 times in a single day. The owners of the park admitted negligence, but denied knowing anything about the condition of the ride prior to the accident. They later declared bankruptcy, and most of the rides were auctioned off on February 22, 1997.

Six Flags years (1997–2002)

Premier Parks was planning to redevelop the park and open it in 1999, but after acquiring

Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It was formed on July 2, 2024, following a merger between longtime rivals Cedar Fair and the former Six Flags ...

in 1998, the refocused Premier Parks (which had by then adopted the Six Flags name) eventually cancelled the project. Prior to the project cancellation, the company purchased four

roller coasters A roller coaster is a type of amusement ride employing a form of elevated railroad track that carries passengers on a train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usually designed to produce a thrilling experience, though some r ...

from the closed

Opryland USA Opryland USA (later called Opryland Themepark and colloquially known as Opryland) was a amusement park, theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The park was located between the Cumberland River and Tennessee State Route 155, Briley Pa ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

(

Chaos Chaos or CHAOS may refer to: Science, technology, and astronomy * '' Chaos: Making a New Science'', a 1987 book by James Gleick * Chaos (company), a Bulgarian rendering and simulation software company * ''Chaos'' (genus), a genus of amoebae * ...

, Rock n' Roller Coaster, Screamin' Delta Demon and

Wabash Cannonball "The Great Rock Island Route" ( Roud 4228), popularized as "Wabash Cannonball" and also known by various other titles, is a 19th-century American folk song that describes the scenic beauty and predicaments of a fictional train, the ''Wabash Cann ...

), and transported them to the park, planning to reconstruct them there. During 2000, two more roller coasters from the former Riverside Amusement Park (Black Widow and Little Rickie's Little Twister) in

Agawam, Massachusetts Agawam is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 28,692 at the 2020 census. Agawam sits on the western side of the Connecticut River, directly across from Springfield. It is considered part of the Springfie ...

(renamed to

Six Flags New England Six Flags New England, formerly known as Gallup's Grove (1870–1886), Riverside Grove (1887–1911), Riverside Park (1912–1995) and Riverside: The Great Escape (1996–1999), is an amusement park located in Agawam, Massachusetts. Opening in ...

in 2000) arrived at the park and were placed in the old parking lot along with the other four and, again, the park sat with no activity. In July 2002, Six Flags sold the property to Trevor Gray, former owner of Sunshine Holdings (containing a tanning bed company, ETS, and a lotion company, Australian Gold) and now of Sunshine Properties, which planned to turn it into a

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

Sunshine Properties years (2002–2006)

Six roller coasters were still on site when Six Flags sold the property. One roller coaster, however, the Rock n' Roller Coaster, would be taken to Six Flags Great Escape in

Queensbury, New York Queensbury is a town in Warren County, New York, United States. The population was 29,169 at the 2020 census.US Census 2020 Report, QUickFacts Queeensbury town https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/queensburytownwarrencountynewyork It contains the c ...

and would reopen on June 27, 2003 as

Canyon Blaster Canyon Blaster may refer to the following: *Canyon Blaster (Adventuredome), a roller coaster at the Adventuredome theme park in Las Vegas, Nevada *Canyon Blaster (Great Escape), a family roller coaster at Great Escape theme park in Queensbury, New ...

. When Six Flags sold the property, it included provisions for them to keep the rides there for a period of four years. This ended on April 1, 2006 and some were still on the site as of that time. By June 11, 2006, all of them were gone.

References

External links