1920s
Middletown, Ohio, resident Edgar Streifthau opened LeSourdsville Lake Amusement Park on May 8, 1922. Edgar's dream was to transform the former ice manufacturing facility in the tiny village of LeSourdsville into an area for residents to enjoy a decent and clean place to picnic and swim with friends and family. Construction began on the park in 1921. Edgar and his business partner, Bill Rothfuss, built a bathhouse, a restaurant, dance hall and a bridge crossing the abandoned Miami-Erie Canal that passed through the property linking the parking lot and the park. They also constructed a concrete bottom in the man-made lake for swimming.
Admission was 10 cents per person, 25 cents for swimming and 10 cents for a jitney dance per couple. LeSourdsville Lake was open for business and attracting thousands of area residents.
Edgar by constructing the first of several "vacation" cabins surrounding the lake and platforms for camping tents. Edgar's brother, Ernest, joined his brother as a partner as Bill Rothfuss advanced his career at nearby ARMCO Steel (now known as AK Steel).
Within two years, Edgar stopped hosting dances at the park due to numerous fights that occurred on a regular basis.
Read more about this topic: Americana/Lesourdesville Lake Amusement Park