Starr Island , located in what today is Indian Park in Montoursville, opened in 1898. The popular recreation area had a merry-go-round, a train ride, Ferris Wheel, and trolley service. In 1908, the park was sold to new owners, who made major improvements. After a brief mention that the new park would be named Luna Park, the park would officially open in 1909 with the name Indian Park.
A 1910 Booklet For Indian Park Amusement Park
See Photos Of Each Of The Pages Here:
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Photos Of
STARR ISLAND
STARR ISLAND
The Dam on Mill Creek, at Starr Island Park
The trolley crossing Mill Creek on the road to Starr Island
Read more about the Montoursville Passenger Railway (Trolley Line) here:
The Train At Starr Island Park
The Park was "monetized" in 1905, with a variety of amusements being added.
A dancing pavilion, roller skating rink, and theater were all built in 1905. Vaudeville shows, a shooting gallery, and a Ferris wheel were added to the park.
In 1908, a 17 day long Firemans Festival was held at Starr Island
The Starr Family also owned a Lumber Mill in the Montoursville area.
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1909 Indian Park Deed
In 1909, The Park Reopened as
Indian Park
Indian Park
May 5th 1909
"The charter of the intended corporation to be called The Indian Park Coaster Co. the character and object of which is to lease land in Indian Park Borough of Montoursville, Lycoming County Pennsylvania, and to erect thereon a riding device known as a Roaster Coaster..."
"The
Here the carousel can be seen on the left, and part of the roller coaster to the right.
The Train At Indian Park
The above newspaper photo, shown below in full color:
Path To Boats & Bathing, Indian Park
The Dip To Dip Roller Coaster
The Largest On The East Coast?
Many histories of the park state that that park hosted the "largest roller coaster on the east coast", but roller coaster historians examined photos and found that it was a standard figure eight coaster, no different from many others around that time. Historian Don King is quoted in a newspaper article - "King said the roller coaster was named the Dip-to-Dip and was made of wood. It ran the length of the park and was known by all the locals." So perhaps it was larger than what the roller coaster historians were estimating.
"The more adventuresome have but one aim, the largest roller coaster in the East. The line is long, but never mind. Many of those courting decide on a boat ride; some twenty acres are covered by water. Still others head for the theater; it seats a thousand people and possibly lines at the rides may thin a bit later.
a section of the 1912 sanborn fire map, showing the layout of the park.
Some of the elderly rock on the porch which surrounds the giant merry-go-round. This day there are family reunions and the men and boys play baseball while the women prepare a picnic lunch.
By nightfall the Park is lit up like a Christmas tree and music fills the air as couples expend their last energy dancing before beginning that return journey. The sounds of insects and the smell of wildflowers soothe the tired but happy riders as they leave this place of enchantment." - http://www.montoursvilleborough.org/Pages/Indian%20Park%20History.aspx
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1916 - Trolley taking Salvation Army guest to Indian Park for a picnic, July 1916.
Market St Square, Williamsport
The Loyalsock Creek flooded the park nearly once a year, and reconstruction costs eventually forced the park to close in 1924. By the mid-1930s a large portion of the land that was Indian Park was owned by George Nicely.
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BIBLE CONFERENCE GROUNDS
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In 1937 Nicely sold 13 acres of this land to the Indian Bible Conference (group) organized by Charles and Bill Young. They would hold youth bible conferences and other events on the grounds. An October 17, 1937 Grit article shows a picture of the tabernacle being built. Also constructed were dormitories and cottages.
1943 photo showing the tabernacle. It's said that this tabernacle was the original gift shop at Starr Island Park.
In 1947, the Tabernacle was dis-assembled piece-by-piece by men from the camp from Indian Park and trucked to its existing location by these men’s personal trucks. Re-assembled piece-by-piece at its Lamar Lighthouse Camp along Route 64 in Clinton County.
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JALOPY RACES
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In the early 1940's, Jalopy Races were held at the former Indian Park
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Indian Park Recreation Area
Today
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In 1988 Indian Park was reestablished as a recreational facility. It is once again a great place for outdoor concerts and picnic, with both walking trails and a connection to a nice bike path. There is playground equipment, basketball courts, and baseball fields.
See more here:
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READ MORE
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March 1905
To Monetize Starr Island
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IGNORE THIS
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8/25/26
Blogger, the host of this blog, has flagged this post for "violating their policies". I cannot for the life of me figure out what policy I could possibly have violated with this post... but it is possible that the post does not have enough text, to balance out the photos? I do not know. Here's some random text to see if it fixes whatever algorithm was triggered this time...
Amusement parks, from Wikipedia -
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often featuring multiple areas with different themes. Unlike temporary and mobile funfairs and carnivals, amusement parks are stationary and built for long-lasting operation. They are more elaborate than city parks and playgrounds, usually providing attractions that cater to a variety of age groups. While amusement parks often contain themed areas, theme parks place a heavier focus with more intricately designed themes that revolve around a particular subject or group of subjects.
Amusement parks evolved from European fairs, pleasure gardens, and large picnic areas, which were created for people's recreation. World's fairs and other types of international expositions also influenced the emergence of the amusement park industry.[2]
Bakken ("The Hill") in Klampenborg, Denmark, Wurstelprater in Vienna, Austria, and Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark are the three oldest operating amusement parks in the world.[3] Lake Compounce, which opened in 1846, is considered the oldest continuously operating amusement park in North America.[4][5][6][7][8]
History
Origins
Frederick Savage's 'Sea-On-Land' carousel, where riders would pitch up and down as if they were on the sea, was the first amusement ride installed in Dreamland Margate in 1880 England.
Vauxhall Gardens in Lambeth, United Kingdom, founded in 1661, one of the first pleasure gardens
The amusement park evolved from traditions in the European Middle Ages. An amusement park is a contemporary arrangement, designed to combine components of a fair, carnival, and theme park. An early example of an amusement park is the Bartholomew Fair.[9] By the 18th and 19th centuries, they had evolved into places of entertainment for the masses, where the public could view freak shows, acrobatics, conjuring, and juggling, take part in competitions and walk through menageries.
A wave of innovation in the 1860s and 1870s created mechanical rides, such as the steam-powered carousel (built by Thomas Bradshaw, at the Aylsham Fair), and its derivatives, notably from Frederick Savage of King's Lynn, Norfolk whose fairground machinery was exported all over the world; his "galloping horses" innovation is seen in carousels today.[10] This inaugurated the era of the modern funfair ride, as the working classes were increasingly able to spend their surplus wages on entertainment.[11]
The second influence was the pleasure garden. Bakken ("The Hill"), the world's oldest amusement park, opened in mainland Europe in 1583. It is located north of Copenhagen in Klampenborg, Denmark.[12][13] In many European countries, traditional amusement parks evolved from pleasure gardens, combining mechanical rides with landscaped spaces, live music, and seasonal festivities.
Another example in early gardens was the Vauxhall Gardens, founded in 1661, in London. By the late 18th century, the site had an admission fee for its many attractions. It regularly drew enormous crowds, with its paths often noted for romantic assignations; tightrope walkers, hot air balloon ascents, concerts and fireworks providing amusement. Although the gardens were originally designed for the elites, they soon became places of great social diversity. Public firework displays were put on at Marylebone Gardens, and Cremorne Gardens offered music, dancing, and animal acrobatics displays.[14]
Prater, located in Vienna, Austria, began as a royal hunting ground which was opened in 1766 for public enjoyment. There followed coffee-houses and cafés, which led to the beginnings of the Wurstelprater as an amusement park.
The concept of a fixed park for amusement was further developed with the beginning of the world's fairs. The first World fair began in 1851 with the construction of the landmark Crystal Palace in London, England. The purpose of the exposition was to celebrate the industrial achievement of the nations of the world and it was designed to educate and entertain the visitors.[15]
The original Ferris Wheel at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893
In the United States, cities and businesses also saw the world's fair as a way of demonstrating economic and industrial success.[15] The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, Illinois was an early precursor to the modern amusement park. The fair was an enclosed site, that merged entertainment, engineering and education to entertain the masses. It set out to bedazzle the visitors, and successfully did so with a blaze of lights from the "White City".[2] To make sure that the fair was a financial success, the planners included a dedicated amusement concessions area called the Midway Plaisance.[15] Rides from this fair captured the imagination of the visitors and of amusement parks around the world, such as the first steel Ferris wheel, which was found in many other amusement areas, such as the Prater by 1896. Also, the experience of the enclosed ideal city with wonder, rides, culture and progress (electricity), was based on the creation of an illusory place.[2]
The "midway" introduced at the Columbian Exposition would become a standard part of most amusement parks, fairs, carnivals, and circuses. The midway contained not only the rides, but other concessions and entertainments such as shooting galleries, penny arcades, games of chance, and shows.[16]
Trolley parks and pleasure resorts
Main article: Trolley park
Many modern amusement parks evolved from earlier pleasure resorts that had become popular with the public for day-trips or weekend holidays, for example, seaside areas such as Blackpool, United Kingdom and Coney Island, United States.[17] In the United States, some amusement parks grew from picnic groves established along rivers and lakes that provided bathing and water sports, such as Lake Compounce in Connecticut, first established as a picturesque picnic park in 1846, and Riverside Park in Massachusetts, founded in the 1870s along the Connecticut River.[18]
The trick was getting the public to the seaside or resort location. For Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, on the Atlantic Ocean, a horse-drawn streetcar line brought pleasure seekers to the beach beginning in 1829. In 1875, a million passengers rode the Coney Island Railroad, and in 1876 two million visited Coney Island. Hotels and amusements were built to accommodate both the upper classes and the working class at the beach. Its first amusement ride, a carousel, was installed in 1876; the first roller coaster, the "Switchback Railway", in 1884.
Blackpool Beach in Blackpool, United Kingdom, in 1895
In England, Blackpool was a popular beachside location beginning in the 1700s. It rose to prominence as a seaside resort with the completion in 1846 of a branch line to Blackpool from Poulton on the main Preston and Wyre Joint Railway line. A sudden influx of visitors, arriving by rail, provided the motivation for entrepreneurs to build accommodation and create new attractions, leading to more visitors and a rapid cycle of growth throughout the 1850s and 1860s.
The photochrom at the Promenade in Blackpool, United Kingdom, c. 1898
In 1879, large parts of the promenade at Blackpool were wired. The lighting and its accompanying pageants reinforced Blackpool's status as the North of England's most prominent holiday resort, and its specifically working class character. It was the forerunner of the present-day Blackpool Illuminations. By the 1890s, the town had a population of 35,000, and could accommodate 250,000 holidaymakers. The number of annual visitors, many staying for a week, was estimated at three million.
In the final decade of the 19th century, electric trolley lines were developed in many large American cities. Companies that established the trolley lines also developed trolley parks as destinations of these lines. Trolley parks such as Atlanta's Ponce de Leon Park, or Reading's Carsonia Park were initially popular natural leisure spots before local streetcar companies purchased the sites, expanding them from picnic groves to include regular entertainments, mechanical amusements, dance halls, sports fields, boat rides, restaurants and other resort facilities.
Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey, c. 1910s
Some of these parks were developed in resort locations, such as bathing resorts at the seaside in New Jersey and New York. A premiere example in New Jersey was Atlantic City, a famous vacation resort. Entrepreneurs erected amusement parks on piers that extended from the boardwalk out over the ocean. The first of several was the Ocean Pier in 1891, followed later by the Steel Pier in 1898, both of which boasted rides and attractions typical of that time, such as Midway-style games and electric trolley rides. The boardwalk also had the first Roundabout installed in 1892 by William Somers, a wooden predecessor to the Ferris Wheel. Somers installed two others in Asbury Park, New Jersey and Coney Island, New York.[19][20]
Another early park was the Eldorado Amusement Park that opened in 1891 on the banks of the Hudson River, overlooking New York City. It consisted of 25 acres.[21]
Modern amusement parks
Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark, opened in 1843. Tivoli is always evolving, Georg Carstensen said in 1844: "Tivoli will never, so to speak, be finished", a sentiment echoed just over a century later when Walt Disney said of his own Tivoli-inspired theme park, "Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world".[22]
The first permanent enclosed entertainment area, regulated by a single company, was founded in Coney Island in 1895: Sea Lion Park at Coney Island in Brooklyn. This park was one of the first to charge admission fee to get into the park in addition to sell tickets for rides within the park.[2]
In 1897, Sea Lion Park was joined by Steeplechase Park, the first of three major amusement parks that opened in the Coney Island area. George Tilyou designed the park to provide thrills and entertainment. The combination of the nearby population center of New York City and the ease of access to the area made Coney Island the embodiment of the American amusement park.[2] Coney Island also featured Luna Park (1903) and Dreamland (1904). Coney Island was a huge success and by the year 1910 attendance on days could reach a million people.[2] Fueled by the efforts of Frederick Ingersoll who borrowed the name, other "Luna Parks" were quickly erected worldwide and opened to rave reviews.
The first amusement park in England, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, opened in 1896, developed by W. G. Bean. In 1904, Sir Hiram Maxim's Captive Flying Machine was introduced; he had designed an early aircraft powered by steam engines that had been unsuccessful and instead opened up a pleasure ride of flying carriages that revolved around a central pylon. Other rides included the 'Grotto' (a fantasy ride), 'River Caves' (a scenic railway), water chutes and a tobogganing tower.[23]
Fire was a constant threat in those days, as much of the construction within the amusement parks of the era was wooden. In 1911, Dreamland was the first Coney Island amusement park to completely burn down; in 1944, Luna Park also burned to the ground. Most of Ingersoll's Luna Parks were similarly destroyed, usually by arson, before his death in 1927.
20th century
During the Gilded Age, many Americans began working fewer hours[24] and had more disposable income. With new-found money and time to spend on leisure activities, Americans sought new venues for entertainment. Amusement parks, set up outside major cities and in rural areas, emerged to meet this new economic opportunity. These parks served as a source of fantasy and escape from real life.[2] By the early 1900s, hundreds of amusement parks were operating in the United States and Canada. Trolley parks stood outside many cities. Parks like Atlanta's Ponce de Leon[25] and Idora Park,[26] near Youngstown, OH, took passengers to traditionally popular picnic grounds, which by the late 1890s also often included rides like the Giant Swing, Carousel, and Shoot-the-Chutes. These amusement parks were often based on nationally known parks or world's fairs: they had names like Coney Island, White City, Luna Park, or Dreamland. The American Gilded Age was, in fact, amusement parks' Golden Age that reigned until the late 1920s.
The Golden Age of amusement parks also included the advent of the kiddie park. Founded in 1925, the original Kiddie Park is located in San Antonio, Texas, and is still in operation as of 2022.[27] The kiddie parks became popular all over America after World War II.
This era saw the development of new innovations in roller coasters that included extreme drops and speeds to thrill the riders. By the end of World War I, people seemed to want an even more exciting entertainment, a need met by roller coasters.[28] Although the development of the automobile provided people with more options for satisfying their entertainment needs, the amusement parks after the war continued to be successful, while urban amusement parks saw declining attendance.[2] The 1920s is more properly known as the Golden Age of roller coasters, being the decade of frenetic building for these rides.[28]
In England, Dreamland Margate opened in 1880 with Frederick Savage's carousel the first amusement ride installed. In 1920 the Scenic Railway rollercoaster opened to the public with great success, carrying half a million passengers in its first year.[29] The park also installed other rides common to the time including a smaller roller coaster, the Joy Wheel, Miniature Railway, The Whip and the River Caves. A ballroom was constructed on the site of the Skating Rink in 1920 and in 1923 a Variety Cinema was built on the site. Between 1920 and 1935 over £500,000 was invested in the site, constantly adding new rides and facilities and culminating in the construction of the Dreamland Cinema complex in 1934 which stands to this day.[30]
Until 2011, the Blackpool Pleasure Beach ranked among the top free of charge attractions in Britain.[31] Blackpool Pleasure beach was developed continuously, requiring frequent large-scale investments. The construction of many new rides could be counted on. Rides included the Virginia Reel, Whip, Noah's Ark, Big Dipper and Dodgems. In the 1920s the "Casino Building" was built, which remains to this day. In 1923, land was reclaimed from the sea front. It was at this period that the park moved to its 44-acre (18 ha) current location above what became Watson Road, which was built under the Pleasure Beach in 1932. During this time Joseph Emberton, an architect famous for his work in the amusement trade was brought in to redesign the architectural style of the Pleasure Beach rides, working on the "Grand National" roller coaster, "Noah's Ark" and the Casino building to name a few.
The Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II during the 1940s saw the decline of the amusement park industry. War caused the affluent urban population to move to the suburbs, television became a source of entertainment, and families went to amusement parks less often.[2]
By the 1950s, factors such as urban decay, crime, and even desegregation in the ghettos led to changing patterns in how people chose to spend their free time.[citation needed] Many of the older, traditional amusement parks closed or burned to the ground. Many would be taken out by the wrecking ball to make way for suburb and housing and development. In 1964, Steeplechase Park, once the king of all amusement parks, closed down for good. The traditional amusement parks which survived, for example, Kennywood, in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, and Cedar Point, in Sandusky, Ohio, did so in spite of the odds.
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The world's oldest roller coasters descended from the "Russian mountains", which were hills of ice built in the 17th century for the purpose of sliding, located in the gardens of palaces around the Russian capital, Saint Petersburg.[1] Other languages also reference Russian mountains when referring to roller coasters, such as the Spanish montaña rusa [es], the Italian montagne russe [it], and the French montagnes russes [fr]. The Russian term for roller coaster, американские горки [ru] (amerikanskie gorki), translates literally as "American mountains".[2]
The recreational attractions were called katalnaya gorka (Катальная Горка) or "sliding mountain" in Russian. Most were built with a height of 70 to 80 feet (21 to 24 m), a 50-degree drop, and were reinforced by wooden supports on either side. The slides became popular with the Russian upper class. Catherine the Great of Russia constructed a summer version of the ride at her estate in the 18th century, which relied on wheeled carts that rode along grooved tracks instead of sleds.[3][4][5]
The Riding Mountain (aka La Grande Glisade) entertainment pavilion designed by Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli for Tsarskoye Selo royal residence was built in 1754–1757. It was a huge building in the shape of rotunda. It had a trail with five hills which were covered with ice during the winter. In the summer, the trails featured wheeled trolleys secured in steel grooves mounted on the wooden trails. Due to a pendulum-like motion drawn from inertia, all five hills could be traversed in one ride.[6] The ride was engineered by Russian scientist Andrey Nartov.[7] The Anglican clergyman John Glen King mentioned that some Englishmen visiting Russia called them "Flying Mountains" and described them as follows:
You will observe that there are five mounts of unequal height: the first and the highest is full thirty feet (9 m) perpendicular altitude; the momentum with which they descend this carries them over the second, which is about five or six feet (1.5 or 1.8 m) lower, just sufficient to allow for the friction and resistance; and so on to the last, from which they are conveyed by a gentle descent, with nearly same velocity, over a piece of water into a little island. These slides, which are about a furlong and a half (300 m) in length, are made of wood, that may be used in summer as well as in winter. The process is, two of four persons fit in a little carriage and one stands behind, for more there are in it the greater the swiftness with which it goes; it runs on castors and in grooves to keep it on its right direction, and it descends with a wonderful rapidity. Under the hill, is a machine worked by horses for drawing the carriages back again, with the company in them. Such a work as this would have been enormous in most countries for the labour and expense in cost, as well as the vast quantity of wood used in it. At the same place, there is another artificial mount which goes in a spiral line, and in my opinion, for I have tried it also, is very disagreable; as it seems always leaning on one side, and the person feels in danger of falling out of seat.[8]
Katalnaya gorka was dismantled in 1792–1795. Currently in its place is the Granite Terrace in the Catherine Park.[7]
Promenades Aériennes in Paris, 1817
Russian soldiers occupying Paris from 1815 to 1816, after the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, may have introduced the Russian amusement of sledding down steep hills to the French.[9] In July 1817, a French banker named Nicolas Beaujon opened Parc Beaujon, an amusement park on the Champs-Élysées. Its most famous attraction was the Promenades Aériennes or "Aerial Strolls".[10] It featured wheeled cars securely locked to the track, guide rails to keep them on course, and higher speeds.[4] The three-wheel carts were towed to the top of a tower, and released to descend two curving tracks on either side. King Louis XVIII came to see the park, but it is not recorded if he tried the ride. Before long, there were seven similar rides in Paris: Les Montagnes Françaises (The French Mountains), Le Delta, Les Montagnes de Belleville (The Mountains of Belleville), Les Montagnes Américaines (The American Mountains), Les Montages Lilliputiennes, (The Miniature Mountains), Les Montagnes Suisses (The Swiss Mountains), and Les Montagnes Égyptiennes (The Egyptian Mountains).[9]
In the beginning, these attractions were primarily for the upper classes. In 1845, an amusement park called Tivoli Gardens opened in Copenhagen, which was meant for the middle class. These new parks featured roller coasters as permanent attractions. The first permanent coaster with a looping track was most likely also built in Paris from an English design in 1846, with a single-person wheeled sled running through a 13-foot (4 m) diameter vertical loop. These early single loop designs were called centrifugal railways. In 1887, a French entrepreneur, Joseph Oller, the owner of the Moulin Rouge music hall, built Les Montagnes Russes à Belleville (The Russian Mountains of Belleville) a permanent roller coaster with a length of 200 meters in the form of a double-eight, later enlarged to four figure-eight-shaped loops.[9]
does anyone know what type of band organs (wurlitzer, frati and etc) where used )there and what type of carousel was it (loof, s&g)?
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