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Forest Park |
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The park was a typical railroad park. People from the area and from Philadelphia would take the train to the park for a day of fun.
The park was located in the center of Chalfont, Pa. It was surrounded by Rte. 202, Limekiln Pike (Rte. 152), and Park Ave.
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| Forest Park Townhomes |
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| Carousel Pointe Condos |
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| Boating on the Creek |
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| Bridge over the Creek |
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| Bridge over Creek |
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| "Ghostly" Remains of Benches |
One of the more unusual rides was called the Boomerang. "It was an older ride and kind of rickety. Five or six round cars were attached to a central hub like petals on a flower. The whole thing spun around and one by one a car was released to travel along a wooden path.....banging the sides and shaking the occupants until they came to rest at the end of the ride. It was quite an experience!!!" - Debra Shively
In the 1962 season, a "swimming hole" was introduced. Lake Suzanne, as it was called, was "several hundred feet wide" and had a white sand beach encirling the entire lake.
One section of the park was known as Frontier Town. This section was designed to look like an Old West town, complete with the employees dressed in western-style clothing.
Fourth of July was always a big celebration at Forest Park. There would be dancing all day, and when the sun went down, the park would be lighted by hundreds of Japanese lanterns. Then the evening would be brought to a close with a display of fireworks.
Forest Park even had a part in bringing the sport of baseball to the area. In the 1880s, then-owner Isaac Funk built a baseball field in the park for the new sport. It was one of the first in the area.
At one time, the park was owned by the Lusse Brothers, of bumper car fame. Apparently, the factory was somewhere in the area, too.
Hank Miller, Sr. reminisces -
"The name of the band stage was The Pavilion. Numerous shows were put on there; including the 'bird guy' with his various colored parrots. Whenever a Mummers Band was performed, they really filled up the stage. Boy did they make a melodious racket!!!
The swimming pool water was drawn from above a dam that also made the little lake for "The Swan" ride. Rented rowboats could go about a mile upstream - by then only a few feet wide. Some boaters stopped in Frontier town for a drink or two.
I was a member of the Chalfont Volunteer Fire Company during the great flood. It was the second storm in 6 days. The railroad was washed out just west of the bridge by the Park. The train could not go any further at the flood's crest.
My great grandfather was born in the Lusse house (which later became the park headquarters) back about 1850.
Hartzells feed mill used water power at one time. Their mill pond was on the North Branch of the Neshaminy, a relatively few feet from the above mentioned Pavilion. The temperature of the North Branch was several degrees cooler than the main Neshaminy Creek. Therefore the mill pond had good bass fishing. And stocked trout would live through about one summer.
A kids delight - indeed."
Bill Bartleman Reminisces about Forest Park
The new Forest Park Water Company stands on another piece of the site. And more housing is being built next to that.
Some of the site, though, is still a wooded area, with a few ruins.
One can still locate the remains of many picnic tables and a couple of cement slabs that once served as the foundations of rides. The footbridge over the Pine Run Creek, though decrepid, is still passable. There are many little walls that still line the swimming area and a small picnic area, and one long wall divides the woods from a clearing. The creek is still there sided by collapsing walls.
Looking closely you can still find some of the original wiring running through the trees. And in one spot, you can find some big cement blocks that once served as a foundation for some unknown ride.
One of the eeriest sights is apparently an old pavilion that once contained about 40 park benches, all facing the same direction, as if facing a long-gone stage. The wooden planks of the benches rotted away long ago, leaving the 80 cement sides still standing upright in the woods, like a platoon of ghostly soldiers standing at attention.
It is interesting to note that the Forest Park Water Company, which was built on a section of the land, has cleared a small section of the park to be used as a picnic area for its employees. They have rebuilt some of the original walls lining the picnic area and have even refurbished a few of the original picnic tables scattered about the site, to be used by the picnicers.
So, many years after the closing of Forest Park Amusement Park, one small section is being given a second life.
If you have any additional information, stories, photographs, or remembrances of Forest Park, please email Kurt Bell at kbell7312@earthlink.net. All material will be acknowledged in the book.
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| Footbridge Through the Trees | Pine Run Creek (Taken from the Footbridge) | Pine Run Creek |
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| Wall Hidden in the Woods | Ruins of Picnic Tables | More Picnic Tables in the Woods |
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| One Complete (but Deteriorated) Picnic Table | Ruins of a Fireplace in Picnic Grove | Cement Blocks that were Once a Ride's Foundation |
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| Close-Up of One of the Cement Blocks - Note the Year "1950" Inscribed in it | Another View of the Pine Run Creek and Footbridge | Remains of Benches |
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| Picnic Grounds Now Used by the Forest Park Water Co. | Picnic Grounds | Another View of the Picnic Grounds - Note the Horseshoe Boxes Spanning the Footbridge |
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| Boating on the Creek | Toboggan Entrance | Lake Suzanne (now a lily pond) |
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| Boating on the Creek | Train Arriving at the Park |