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Williams Grove Amusement Park
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

     The Williams family began hosting picnics a few miles west of Harrisburg way back in 1850.  A few decades later the park had become a fairground.  After World War I, the park's ownership changed hands several times.  In 1928, the first rides appeared at the park.  The adjacent Williams Grove Raceway half-mile track opened in 1938.

    Morgan Hughes purchased the park in 1972 for $1.2 million.  He then moved many of the rides from the recently closed New York's Palisades Park to Pennsylvania.  Tragically, Williams Grove was nearly destroyed that next summer due to Hurricane Agnes and the flooding of the nearby Breeches Creek.  The park was rebuilt and operated until the end of the 2005 season when it was permanently closed.  Wildcat has been moved to Adventure Park USA in Maryland and the Kiddie Coaster was purchased by an individual in West Virginia, but the wooden Cyclone coaster has been sitting and rotting in place for a decade.

Cyclone
Click to enlarge Cyclone Cyclone roller coaster Wooden roller coaster Cyclone SBNO Standing But Not Operating Williams Grove pictures Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania pics Amusement park pics Cyclone coaster pics Cyclone roller coaster in the woods

Kiddie Coaster
Kiddie Coaster  Click to enlarge Herschell kiddie coaster

Wildcat
Click to enlarge Wildcat thumbnail  Wildcat coaster  Relocated roller coaster  Schwarzkopf Wildcat  Pictures of the Wildcat

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