We will meet at the
entrance and tour the ruins of the Amusment Park, then gather so
bring folding chair, and your sense of fun and adventure. hanging
out with geocachers!
AGENDA
1P.M. ~ Sign In & Meet n Greet
1:25 ~ Group Photo and Prize Drawing.
1:30 - 2:30 ~ Tour Park and Museum.
2:30-3 P.M. ~ Meet at the cars.
HISTORY
Chippewa Lake Park is a defunct amusement park once located in
Chippewa Lake, Ohio, Medina County. It operated from 1878 through
1978, after the final owner, Continental Business Enterprises
closed it due to lack of attendance. After the park's closure, its
rides and structures were left largely untouched and unmaintained
for the next 31 years.
Abandonment and deterioration: 1978-2010 The Park's
Ferris wheel is left standing like many rides, but overgrown with
foliage After the park's closure in 1978, the land the park was
situated on was left largely untouched. By the 2000s, large trees
were growing through rides like the Coaster and the park's ferris
wheel, and several buildings had collapsed or been damaged by the
effects of the elements. About 4:00 PM on Thursday, June 13, 2002,
the Chippewa Lake Park Ballroom burned down. By 2008, several other
buildings had suffered the ballroom's fate, including the hotel,
arcade, fun house, peanut stand, and maintenance building, all of
which had been damaged or destroyed by fire. However, other rides
and structures still stood, in various states of disrepair. These
included the Big Dipper (Coaster), the Wild Mouse coaster, the
Little Dipper coaster, the Tumble Bug, and the frames of the Ferris
Wheels and Flying Cages. Most other buildings across the park were
in various states of collapse due to 30 years of neglect by this
time. In 2008, thirty years after the park's closure, the land the
amusement park stood on was offered up for sale with an asking
price of $3,500,000, and, according to the realtor's website, was
sold. The page which indicated this was last updated on March 26,
2008. On September 9, 2008, Chippewa Partners LLC announced plans
for a development on the site called "Chippewa Landing" which would
include a hotel and spa, fitness center, restaurants, a conference
and music center, small shops and other entertainment venues,
expected to be completed sometime in 2010. The site's structures,
trees, and debris are being demolished and removed as of April 5,
2009 and the site is expected to be redeveloped soon after the
completion of this work. Tours of the property were available as of
Spring 2009, on Saturdays between 11 AM and 5 PM. Currently, tours
are being held only on the Third Saturday of every month, between
11 AM and 5 PM. The possibility exists that two of the rides
standing until 2009, the ferris wheel and Tumble Bug will be
relocated to the other side of Chippewa Lake and restored as part
of the new development project.