Looking Back at Camden Park - West Virginia's ONLY Amusement Park! (And... Can You Help Me Find Something From Here?)
For over 120 years the tri-state area of Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia has been home to one of the older amusement parks in the country – Camden Park. Located on the west side of Huntingdon, WV near the Ohio River, the park was founded in 1903 as a Trolley Park by the Camden Interstate Railway Company. Originally it was a basic picnic spot, but not soon after rides were added like a carousel its first year and its first rollercoaster in 1912. That rollercoaster was removed in 1957, and replaced with The Big Dipper wooden coaster, which debuted in 1958 and can still be enjoyed today!
Being originally from the area (Ohio), the park was enjoyed by both sides of my family for decades. Camden Park was about an hour and a half drive from my grandparents’ house, and as a kid that felt like about seven hours! In my youth I was able to take trips there with my parents, grandparent’s, aunt and uncle, and even a solo trip while I was attending Ohio University. To this day when I am traveling on I-64 in the area I always start looking for that familiar Camden Park sign, with its massive “Happy Clown” mascot pointing at the park, as I pass by! That sign was constructed in 1955, so it’s something I have seen all of my life! Of course, that was well back before clowns were marketed as being “scary”, which I personally never really understood.
The “Happy Clown” actually leads me to one of the main reasons for writing this post. When I was a kid in the 80s, we would get wristbands to be able to ride the rides in the park. Granted, this has been over 40 years ago so my memory MAY not be exact, but I recall them being made of a small metal tab, that is folded over a piece of colored string or thread and tied around the wrist. I seem to remember the metal tabs were various colors, and the “Happy Clown” was printed on the tab itself. I would LOVE to find one of those wrist bands, if possible! Or at least see some close-up photos if someone were to have one stashed away somewhere? Google image searching has really come up short on these, and I have been searching on eBay for years with no luck. I have sketched a photo of what I THINK they look like, as well as a photo of my brother and I with our maternal grandparents while visiting. You can see closely on my little brother’s arms one of the wristbands below. If you have one, or can get a photo of one I would really appreciate it! You can email me at [email protected]
Camden Park is a unique place. It is the only amusement park in the state of West Virginia and for many that grew up there whose parent’s didn’t travel that was IT. Going there is a throwback to a different time and a different type of park. This is not Disney World or Disneyland. To me it’s like a time warp back before I could afford to go to those places. It’s an “old school” type of amusement park with older rides that can be appreciated for their historical importance, like the manual brake system on The Big Dipper Roller coaster! That coaster is approaching 70 years old, and the smaller kiddie coaster Lil’ Dipper is 65! One of my favorites there, the flat ride ‘The Whip’, is from 1924 one of the few left in the country! The Haunted House there is a gravity fed style ride dating back to 1919 that the ride operators literally have to catch you at the end to stop your ride! It’s truly something from another time and a real gem if you are in to historical rides and theme parks.
Thought? Comments? Please reach out to me at [email protected]
