Dogpatch USA
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Dogpatch USA old entrance sign in 2008
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| Slogan | "Have A Heckuva Day at Dogpatch USA!" |
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| Location | Marble Falls, Arkansas, USA |
| Coordinates | 36°06′24″N 93°07′56″W / 36.10678°N 93.13221°WCoordinates: 36°06′24″N 93°07′56″W / 36.10678°N 93.13221°W |
| Theme | Li'l Abner |
| Owner | Charles L. "Bud" Pelsor |
| Opened | 1968 |
| Closed | 1993 |
| Area | 124-acre (0.50 km2) |
Dogpatch USA is an abandoned theme park located in northwest Arkansas along State Highway 7 between the cities of Harrison and Jasper, an area known today as Marble Falls. It was opened in 1968, and was based on the comic strip Li'l Abner, created by cartoonist Al Capp and set in a fictional village called Dogpatch.
Dogpatch USA was a commercial success in its early years. Investors tried to parlay that success into a sister park, "Marble Falls," planned with a ski resort and convention center. The venture failed and led to the park's closure in 1993. The property fell into disrepair. In August 2014, the park was purchased by Bud Pelsor and a business partner, who announced plans to restore the park and eventually re-open it. Beginning in December 2014, Pelsor opened the park to visitors for several events; these were the first occasions on which the park was open to visitors since its 1993 closing. In March 2016, Pelsor's business partner wanted to sell his share of the park, so the park was put up for sale again; however, Pelsor said he would be happy to maintain half-ownership in the park and sell the other half to a new business partner.
In 1966, Albert Raney, Sr. decided to sell his family's Ozark trout farm and listed it with O. J. Snow, a Harrison, Arkansas real estate agent. Snow examined the property and decided that the Raney farm was ideal for an amusement park based on pioneer themes, which was an idea he had entertained for years. He noted that features of the area resembled those pictured in the Li'l Abner comic strip: he imagined Mill Creek Canyon at the base of a 55-foot (16.8 m) waterfall could be the "bottomless canyon" featured in the comic strip, and the nearby tourist attraction Mystic Caverns (also owned by the Raney family) could become "Dogpatch Cave", where Kickapoo Joy Juice was brewed by a few unsavory Dogpatch characters.
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