Williams Grove Amusement Park
The Williams family began hosting picnics in 1850 in a small grove located in the village of Williams Grove outside Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The grove would within a few years grow into a park. Within two decades the park had grown into the Mechanicsburg Fairgrounds. After World War I, the park's ownership changed hands several times. In 1928, the first rides appeared at the park. The adjacent Williams Grove Speedway half-mile track opened in 1938.
Morgan Hughes purchased the park in 1972 for $1.2 million. Many of the rides were relocated to Williams Grove from the defunct New Jersey's Palisades Amusement Park, which closed in 1972. Williams Grove Park was nearly destroyed in the summer of the same year due to Hurricane Agnes and the subsequent flooding from nearby Yellow Breeches Creek. The park was rebuilt and operated until the end of the 2005 season, when the Hughes family decided to focus all of their energies on Williams Grove Speedway. Morgan Hughes, who was in his mid-80s when the park closed, attempted to sell the property in 2006 to a prospective owner who would keep the park intact and operational, but was unable to find a buyer. The rides were auctioned off the same year. Hughes died in his sleep at his Pennsylvania home on April 12, 2008 at age 88.
Read more about Williams Grove Amusement Park: Rides
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