Silver Dollar City
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| Location | Branson, Missouri, U.S. |
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| Coordinates | 36°40′02″N 93°20′20″W / 36.6671°N 93.3389°WCoordinates: 36°40′02″N 93°20′20″W / 36.6671°N 93.3389°W |
| Owner | Herschend Family Entertainment |
| General Manager | Brad Thomas |
| Opened | May 1, 1960 |
| Operating season | March - December |
| Visitors per annum | 2 million |
| Area | 61 acres (250,000 m2) |
| Rides | |
| Total |
31 |
| Roller coasters | 6 |
| Water rides | 4 |
| Website | http://www.bransonsilverdollarcity.com |
31
Silver Dollar City is a theme park in the state of Missouri. Opened on May 1, 1960, the park is located between Branson and Branson West off of Missouri Route 76 on the Indian Point peninsula of Table Rock Lake. The park is an 1880s-themed experience that fits Branson's vision as a family-friendly vacation destination with down-home charm. Silver Dollar City's operating season runs from mid-March until late December, with the park closed during the months of January and February. Silver Dollar City is owned by the Herschend Family Entertainment.
Silver Dollar City is situated at the site of one of the Ozarks' oldest attractions, Marvel Cave. Henry T. Blow, a lead mining magnate, explored the cave with six miners. They found no lead, but were convinced that the flat ceiling of one room was composed of marble, they originally named the cave Marble Cave. The cave remained undisturbed until 1882 when a group led by T. Hodges Jones and Truman S. Powell entered the cave in hopes of finding lead. Jones and Powell instead found huge amounts of guano and a flat wall which they also believed to be marble. Two years later Jones bought the property and formed the Marble Cave Mining and Manufacturing Company. The company planned a town, Marble City, on the rough hilltop near the cave and in 1884 recorded a plat map at the courthouse in Galena, Missouri. By 1889 much of the guano had been mined from the cave, the marble wall proved to be limestone, and no lead ore was found. The mining company ceased operation.
In 1889, William Henry Lynch, a Canadian miner and dairyman, purchased the cave and a square mile around it for $10,000. Lynch, with the aid of his family, proposed to open the cave to sightseers. The Lynches began operation of the sightseeing venture in 1894. The venture was not immediately profitable and was closed until Lynch raised additional capital to reopen the cave sometime after 1900. The cave has remained open since, making it one of the oldest continuously running tourist attractions in the Ozarks.
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