Camden Park (amusement park)
| Slogan | First in Fun Since 1903! |
|---|---|
| Location | Huntington, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 38°24′46.92″N 82°26′1.11″W / 38.4130333°N 82.4336417°WCoordinates: 38°24′46.92″N 82°26′1.11″W / 38.4130333°N 82.4336417°W |
| Owner | Boylin Family |
| Opened | 1903 |
| Operating season | May - October |
| Area | 26 acres (110,000 m2) |
| Rides | |
| Total | 25 Operating |
| Roller coasters | 2 |
| Water rides | 2 |
| Website | Camden Park |
Camden Park is a twenty-six acre amusement park located near Huntington, West Virginia. Established in 1902 as a picnic spot by the Camden Interstate Railway Company, where riders traveling between Huntington and nearby cities would stop to change lines, the park soon gained a carousel and other roadside attractions. Camden Park is West Virginia's only amusement park. The park is home to more than thirty rides and attractions, including a full-size traditional wooden roller coaster, the Big Dipper, and several other vintage rides.
Over the years, Camden Park has featured a swimming pool, a roller rink, and even a small zoo. Today, the park hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including live musical performances as part of the "Hot Summer Nights" concert series. Other events include the "Children's Festival," "Coca-Cola Days," and the "Halloween Spooktacular." The park is typically open six days a week from late May to early August, with a more limited schedule in late August, and select dates in September and October.
Camden Park was established as a picnic spot by the Camden Interstate Railway Company in 1902, and named after former West Virginia Senator Johnson N. Camden. As steamboat traffic gave way to intercity trolleys, the park was located near the mouth of Twelvepole Creek, where riders traveling between Huntington, Ceredo, Kenova, Ashland, and Coal Grove would stop to change lines.
The first amusement park ride, a carousel, was built around 1903; the park owners consider this to be the official date of the park's founding, celebrating the park's eightieth anniversary in 1983, and centennial in 2003; promotional materials produced in 2013 describe the park as having provided "110 years" of fun. About 1912, the park's first roller coaster was added. Described as the "new sensation," the attraction featured a tall hill, a spiraling section, and several dips of various lengths.
Eustace Via purchased Camden Park from the Ohio Valley Electric Railway in 1916, and operated the park until the end of World War II, adding various rides and attractions. The park was subsequently sold to a group of investors, including Harry Nudd, who operated the park. Deeming the original roller coaster unsafe, the owners demolished it in the summer of 1957. Nudd obtained plans for what became the Big Dipper, a new wooden roller coaster that opened in the summer of 1958.
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