Buckeye Lake Park - Buckeye Lake, Ohio
Posted by: 
Mr. 0
N 39° 55.957 W 082° 28.705
17S E 373676 N 4421324
A once popular vacation destination along the shore of Buckeye Lake, in Buckeye Lake, Ohio.
Waymark Code: WM4QMN
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 09/20/2008
Views: 52
The amusement park that once stood here is all gone, save for an original fountain that was built on the grounds. Now it is known as North Shore Park, and an Ohio Historical Marker, in conjunction with another informative sign near the fountain tell the history of the area.
From the Ohio Historical Marker on site:
"Using a four-mile long dam, the state of Ohio impounded the Licking Summit Reservoir in the mid-1820s to supply water for the Ohio and Erie Canal. In 1894, the state renamed it Buckeye Lake and developed it for recreational use. The Columbus, Buckeye Lake, and Newark Traction Company developed an "electric park" here, bringing in excursionists on interurban cars between 1904 and 1929 and creating one of the region's most popular resorts. Hotels and summer cottages proliferated on leased ground. Nine acres in size, the park featured daily free admission during the summer. Promoted as offering "every amusement consistent with good morals and behavior," Buckeye Lake Park featured the "Dips" roller coaster, a 100-by-200-foot swimming pool, a roller skating rink, and dozens of other attractions. During the park's heyday in the 1940s, many big bands-including those of Guy Lombardo, Glenn Miller, and Tommy Dorsey with his singer Frank Sinatra-played at the Crystal Ballroom and Lake Breeze Pier Ballroom. The park declined in the 1960s and was subsequently acquired by the state. The adjacent fountain is the last remaining feature of Buckeye Lake Park.