The Swamp Fox is a wooden roller coaster located in

Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...

, South Carolina, United States. It is one of 37 rides at

Family Kingdom Amusement Park Family Kingdom Amusement Park is a seaside amusement park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Located on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, the amusement park has 37 rides for adults and children of all ages, including thrill rides, family rides, ki ...

. The coaster is named after American Revolutionary War leader,

Francis Marion Brigadier-General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the Swamp Fox, was an American military officer, planter and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the Ameri ...

. The Swamp Fox is a wooden roller coaster that runs over a , figure-eight track. The "double out and back" design takes riders to heights of at speeds up to and features dramatic drops of up to . In one experiment performed on the Swamp Fox, operators found that the train ran its track anywhere from eight to 10 seconds faster at 9 p.m. than it did around 2 p.m.. The Swamp Fox roller coaster, built by the

Philadelphia Toboggan Company Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world. Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry Auchey and Chester Albright under the name Philadelphia T ...

of Pennsylvania, opened in 1966 as one of the rides at Grand Strand Amusement Park. In 1992, that park was purchased by the Ammons family and rechristened "Family Kingdom Amusement Park". The Swamp Fox was then totally refurbished according to the original specifications of the original design by

John C. Allen John C. Allen (May 21, 1907 – August 17, 1979) was a roller coaster designer who was responsible for the revival of wooden roller coasters which began in the 1960s. He attended Drexel University. He started working for the Philadelphia Tobogga ...

. In 2016,

American Coaster Enthusiasts American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) is a non-profit organization focusing on the enjoyment, knowledge, and preservation of roller coasters as well as recognition of some as architectural and engineering landmarks. Dues-paying members receive the ...

marked the 50th anniversary of the Swamp Fox by adding a historical marker. The Swamp Fox was declared a historic structure by the city in March 2017.

References

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External links

Review of the Swamp Fox Roller Coaster at TheCoasterCritic.com
Roller coasters introduced in 1966 Roller coasters in South Carolina