User:Hendem01/Shohola Glen Amusement Park

Shohola Glen Amusement Park was an entertainment venue in northeastern Pennsylvania, within the Shohola Township section of Pike County, next to the community of Shohola. The park setting was in the narrow valley called Shohola Glen, which is located where Shohola Creek flows into the Delaware River. Shohola Glen Amusement Park operated from 1884 through the 1907 Summer season. The park’s attractions were a mixture of natural beauty features of the glen and amusements such as a carrousel, skating rink, boating, baseball, and dance hall. The majority of daily guests to the park were from New York City and arrived by Erie Railway excursion trains to the nearby Shohola train station.

History By the mid-19th Century, local merchant and bridge builder Chauncey Thomas owned Shohola Glen and surrounding tracts of land. In 1849 Thomas built a hotel in Shohola that was named over the years the Shohola House, Shohola Hotel, Shohola Glen Hotel, and Rohman’s Inn. Thomas later sold the hotel to Daniel Decker. On March 6, 1872 the hotel burned to the ground, the cause likely from sparks from a nearby steam locomotive.

The hotel was rebuilt on the same site in 1875. This hotel’s restaurant would later become a popular lunch stopping point for excursionists to Shohola Glen because of the hotel’s close proximity to both the Erie Railway station at Shohola and the grand stairway to Shohola Glen before 1886. It was also very close to the gravity switchback railroad that carried day excursionists to Shohola Glen after 1886.

In 1877 residents of the community of Shohola realized the potential of the beauty of Shohola Glen to draw visitors to the area. The gorge is about a mile long with Shohola Creek running through it. The Erie Railway depot located in Shohola was about a half-mile away, giving Shohola Glen an access location advantage over similar retreats. The other advantage was the large number of scenic views packed within the short length of the glen. During the Spring of 1877 Shohola inhabitants worked to clear underbrush, construct walkways, and build seats.

Visitors from New York City regularly came by train to Shohola during the Summer season and stayed at the many boarding houses throughout Shohola Township and across the Delaware River in Sullivan County, NY. Although not yet an amusement park, beginning in the Summer of 1877 visitors began to add Shohola Glen to the list of area attractions.

In 1879 area residents and business leaders worked to have more passenger trains stop at Shohola. At that time only one passenger train stopped at the Shohola station, the “Hojack.” Shohola Glen and the Shohola House Hotel were cited as major reasons why more passenger trains should stop in Shohola.

John Kilgour Purchases Shohola Glen Chauncey Thomas died at his mansion home in Shohola Glen on October 5, 1882. On June 25, 1884, John F. Kilgour, the president of the Kilgour Blue Stone Company, purchased the estate of the late Chauncey Thomas. This purchase included 3,000 acres of land that included blue stone deposits, timber, and some farmland. The purchase also included Shohola Glen. Kilgour opened blue stone quarries on his new acquisition, but he also began to develop Shohola Glen in order to make it into a summer destination he hoped would rival Watkins Glen in New York. Kilgour also built a hotel near the glen.

Park Attractions The natural scenic views in Shohola Glen included features named “Embattlement Rock,” “Winding Stairway,” “Below Glen Dam,” “From the Foot Bridge,” “Spirit of Dark Waters,” “Palisade Avenue,” “Entrance to Shohola Glen,” “Chauncey’s Cliff,” “Spirit Cave,” “Crow Nest,” “Jacob’s Ladder,” “Rustic Bridge,” “Picnic Rock,” “The Palisades,” “Witch’s Boudoir,” “Tom Quick’s Bluff,” “Erie Culvert,” “Hell Gate,” “Hemlock Stairway,” and “Layman’s Ladder.” Kilgour developed this area by building a large weather shelter and seats, walks, and bridges throughout the glen.

Advertisements for Shohola Glen in 1885 featured baseball, boating, fishing, a mammoth skating rink built over Shohola Creek, a “Rhode Island” clambake, and music, in addition to the scenic attractions. Boating and fishing were done in Martha’s Lake which was situated in the park. The Erie Railway advertised summer Wednesday and Sunday train excursions from New York City to Shohola so people could spend the day at Shohola Glen before returning by train in the evening. Round-trip excursion train tickets were $2.00, but this fee was eventually reduced to $1.00.

Over 20,000 excursionists visited the amusement park at Shohola Glen during its first season in 1885. During the first season of the park visitors getting off the train at Shohola Station would go directly across the street to the Shohola Glen Hotel. From there a number of “finger boards” would direct the visitor to the amusement park. A plank walk led from the hotel along the railroad tracks to the “Grand Stairway,” which was three or flights of stairs by which visitors would descend to enter the amusement park. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, a stretch of level ground led to the glen entrance. There was a refreshment stand to the right and a roller-skating rink to the left. The skating rink was approached by a bridge across a stream. The rink floor was elevated above Shohola Creek and was located under the large stone arch viaduct of the Erie Railway across Shohola Creek. The arched roof of the railroad bridge made up the rink’s ceiling and two sides of the rink. The planks of the bridges constructed throughout Shohola Glen were tanned with the bark on and the bark-side laid up.

The roller-skating appears to have been moved at some point to below Martha’s Lake and the elevated floor within the stone viaduct was used for dancing. Live bands played on a balcony situated 15 feet above the dance floor.

While descending the long “Grand Stairway” to Shohola Glen, visitors became aware that they would also need to make the long ascent using those same stairs when they left the amusement park at the end of the day.

The physical exertion needed to enter and exit the park could also prevent people with mobility issues from visiting the park. Improvements and added attractions were made to the park prior to the opening of the 1886 season. A major improvement that would be used for the remainder of the life of Shohola Glen Amusement Park was the addition of a switchback railroad. This narrow-gauge railroad, modeled after the gravity railroads used by coal mines, carried visitors to and from Shohola Glen. There were two stations that served the switchback railroad. One was in the village of Shohola that was located a short walk from the Erie railway Shohola station. The other station was located at the new entrance of Shohola Glen Amusement Park. The switchback railroad began service on June 20, 1886 and thousands of people showed up that day to take a ride on this narrow gauge railroad.

The lift used to raise the rail cars was powered by a sawmill that was built in 1790 on Shohola Creek. Rail cars coasted down-hill using gravity and up-slopes were added to slow the cars down as they approached the stations.

Shohola Glen Amusement Park continued to grow in popularity and attendance every season, which began around Memorial Day weekend in May and continued into September and occasionally into October. Electric lights were installed allowing the park to continue to operate in the evenings. The generator for the lights was water-powered at the sawmill on Shohola Creek. Additional attractions each season were added to the amusement park such as a photo booth, bowling alleys, a dance floor, orchestra, bar-b-que pits, and evening clam bakes. There were also picnic grounds, shooting galleries, two restaurants, ice cream stands, game booths for prizes, and a native American who displayed rattlesnakes and sold rattlesnake oil. A steam-powered carrousel was added in 1892.

An aerial tramway was also constructed that that carried visitors the length of Shohola Glen over 100 feet above Shohola Creek. This was also water powered and because it sloped toward the sawmill, it only required power to move the cable car in the opposite direction. This may have been the first cable car ever constructed.

During the 1902 season an Erie Railroad freight caboose was added as an attraction at Shohola Glen Amusement Park. Erie Railroad Caboose #4259 was presented by the Erie Railroad president to Lieutenant Robert E. Peary in July 1898 to be used during his 1898-1902 expedition to Greenland. The caboose was taken north with his party on the steam ship Winward from New York City and was occupied by Peary during the following winter as his headquarters and living room while the ship was held fast in ice in Allman Bay off of Ellesmere Island. The caboose was brought ashore at Etah in northern Greenland in August 1899 and Peary and two members of the expedition occupied it during the winter of 1898-99. The caboose was later returned to the deck of the Winward and in July 1902 it was returned to the Erie Railroad at Newburgh, NY after four years of service to Peary. The caboose was then installed at Shohola Glen Amusement Park and its interior was decorated with views of the arctic region and of Peary and his expedition crew. The caboose remained on display at Shohola Glen until the park closed in 1907.

Kilgour Disappears and Changes of Ownership Besides ownership of Shohola Glen Amusement Park, John Kilgour owned or operated under lease approximately 30 Bluestone quarries in New York and Pennsylvania and had extensive factories and machinery for dressing the stone. He lived in a mansion in Passaic, NJ. On March 3, 1891 Kilgour took a train to New York City and visited a saloon on Chambers and West Streets where he borrowed $500.00 from the saloon owner, Thomas O’Brien, who was a friend and neighbor. He wrote O’Brien a check on the Port Jervis National Bank to cover the $500.00 loan. The check bounced when O’Brien later tried to cash it. Kilgour left the saloon and disappeared. He was not seen at his home or places of business. It was determined that Kilgour was deeply in debt and the Port Jervis National Bank moved to foreclose on a $60,000 mortgage and other creditors began moves to collect their debts from Kilgour’s properties. On March 26th it was reported that Kilgour had gone to Canada as a result of his debt troubles.

1891 Sale Port Jervis National Bank held a sheriff’s foreclosure sale of some of Kilgour’s properties on May 25, 1891 in Milford, PA. The Shohola Glen Amusement Park and property along with the Switchback Railroad were sold to former congressman Charles St. John for $7,260.00. Mr. St. John was the president of Port Jervis National Bank.

Second 1891 Sale Charles St. John died in July 1891 and Shohola Glen Amusement Park was sold to George Lea of Port Jervis, NY in August. Lea was a wealthy wholesale druggist, actor, and hotel keeper. He also began the $1.00 excursion train from Port Jervis to Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY. Lea immediately took possession of the amusement park except for the Shohola House Hotel and Restaurant which continued to be leased by George A. Proctor.

1894 Sale In April 1894 Shohola Glen and the amusement parks was sold to George Sammis, David L. Hardenbrook, George Sammis, Jr., and Walter Sammis. They stated at the time of the purchase that they would improve and beautify the park and erect a large hotel and cottages there that would accommodate several hundred guests.

1899 Sale David L. Hardenbrook, a real estate dealer in the Queens borough of New York City purchased Shohola Glen in early 1899 prior to the opening of the season. Around the same time, Nicholas Rohman, a foreman of the Erie Railroad on the Delaware Division, applied for a license for the Shohola Glen Hotel.

1902 Sale  In January 1902 David L. Hardenbrook sold the 3,500 acres of Shohola Glen land and structures to Henry W. Richardson of East Orange, NY. Richardson employed many people to improve the park for the 1902 season. Some compared his dedication toward improving the park to the great dedication shown by the original owner John Kilgour.

Although the Shohola Glen Amusement Park had several owners during its history, the day-to-day management of the park was usually held by managers who leased the park for many years. Two of these managers were Edwin J. Fenton, George Proctor.

Travel to the Park Visitors to Shohola Glen Amusement Park were normally either excursionists who traveled by train to Shohola for the day or were vacationers who stayed at one of the many vacation boarding houses near Shohola. When placing ads in New York City newspapers, boarding house proprietors would often include the proximity of Shohola Glen in addition to their other features.

Many of the daily visitors each year to the park came from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, and North New Jersey. The Erie Railroad ran inexpensive excursions trains on Sundays, Wednesdays, and holidays that began from the Erie Depot in Jersey City, NJ and ended at the Shohola Train Station in Shohola, PA. Passengers coming from New York City boroughs would begin their trip from the Chambers Street Ferry Terminal in Manhattan and travel across the Hudson River to the Erie Depot. The train excursions would begin 9:00 and 9:30 in the morning and arrive in Shohola at 12:00. Return trips from the Shohola Train Station would leave in the afternoon at 4:30 and 5:15. Round trip excursion train fare was $1.00 during most years. During September and October special foliage excursions to Shohola Glen Amusement Park were advertised by the Erie Railway.

The Demise of Shohola Glen Amusement Park As Shohola Glen Amusement Park became more popular, daily excursion populations at the parks would often be in the thousands. The park began getting a reputation for hosting a rough crowd and cheats. Swindlers regularly set up thimble rig and three-card monte tables at the park to fleece unwary excursionists. By 1894 the park management began using police officers in the park to arrest and jail swindlers. This police presence may have slowed the swindlers, but it did not stop them. Some swindlers did not even wait to get to the park, but set up their operations right on the excursion trains while traveling to Shohola.

Erie Railroad detectives also arrested people who attempted to scalp Erie Railroad excursion tickets at Shohola Glen. This particular problem was so prevalent that beginning in February 1901, Erie Railroad began printing excursion tickets on safety paper that prevented the changes of dates or destinations by scalpers. The paper was made so that the ink used sinks into the tissue, making erasures impossible. The paper was manufactured only by a few firms who were under heavy bond to the railroads to sell it only to authorized railroad printers.

An example of regional attitude toward Shohola Glen Amusement park can be found in an 1894 newspaper editorial which challenged the notion to have Erie Railroad excursion trains from New York City bring excursionists to Middletown, NY to visit Midway Park, an amusement park that opened that year. The writer argues “As the park stands today it is popular with Middletowners and people in surrounding places because it is not, like Shohola Glen, the resort of a rabble of a great city, but rather a beautiful, quiet and orderly retreat where local societies, churches, Sunday schools and families may enjoy a day’s outing without coming in contact with gamblers, toughs and the rough characters generally that make up New York’s Sunday excursions.”

A visitor in August 1901 claimed that Shohola Glen Amusement Park was “worse than Coney Island ever dared to be even in its most palmiest days.” He claimed that the front doors of the Shohola Glen Hotel were “wide open and sixty-three people in the bar room drinking their favorite beverages. They called for beer, whiskey, gin, rum and other intoxicants.” He saw a “spindle wheel on the street in full operation, and also slot machines. Up in the glen proper, a mile from town, beer was being sold and served by waitresses who seemed under age, and at one place a 12-year-old boy was serving drinks.”

In 1902 and effort was made to make nearby Bushkill Falls an amusement park destination to rival Shohola Glen and other venues. The Lackawanna Railroad was interested in running excursion trains to Bushkill Falls from New York City. Advocates claimed that Bushkill Falls offered better scenic surroundings than Shohola Glen and that the grounds there could be developed to offer picnics, excursions, a pavilion, swings, and other amusements.

Brawls breaking out in the evenings among drunk guests and continued problems with card swindlers operating at Shohola Glen were also reported, but despite the negative reputation some shared toward the park, Shohola Glen Amusement Park remained popular and full excursion trains continued arriving. On August 31, 1902 Erie excursion trains carried 28,000 visitors to the park.

Although summer vacationers in Shohola Township, PA and Sullivan County, NY frequented Shohola Glen Amusement Park, it was the crowds coming by excursion trains, especially from New York City, that brought most of the business. Both the Erie Railroad and Shohola Glen benefited from the use of excursion trains. In June 1905, however, Erie Railroad stated that they were implementing a new policy that excursion trains could no longer run on their single-track lines that summer. The Scranton Republican stated that this policy would shut out Shohola Glen.

Sunday train excursions continued to Shohola throughout the 1905 amusement park season. In April 1906 it was again reported that the Erie Railroad would stop running excursion trains from New York City to Shohola Glen Amusement park. They would instead run them a shorter distance to Goshen, NY and a trolley would then ferry excursionists to nearby Midway Park.

Another April 1906 news report quoted Erie Railroad officials who stated that the excursion trains would cease for two reasons:

1.	 The Erie Railroad Traffic Department had complained for years that the Sunday excursion trains seriously interfered with the moving of freight over the Delaware and New York Divisions and the possibility of a collision or serious accident were greatly increased.

2.	The Erie Railroad Passenger Division complained that many of the summer boarders who go the countryside hotels and boarding houses surrounding Shohola were taking advantage of the Sunday excursion trains to get a cheap rate to and from New York City resulting in a loss to the railroad company in passenger receipts.

In 1906 the roundtrip excursion train fare to Shohola was $1.00, while travel on daily scheduled passenger trains from New York City to Shohola was $4.70.

This report was premature and excursion trains ran to Shohola Glen throughout the 1906 amusement park season. Advertisements for Erie Railroad excursion trains to Shohola Glen Amusement Park began with the 1907 season. Advertisements for the 4th of July were in the newspapers, but the excursion train advertisements appeared to stop after this. In previous years excursion train ads continued through Labor Day weekend and sometimes into October.

Shohola Glen Amusement Park closed during the 1907 season. In July 1908 Henry W. Richardson, the last owner of the park, leased the Shohola Glen land, buildings, and the switchback railroad to the Pennsylvania Coal Company.

On September 23, 1909 Peary’s Erie Railroad Caboose #4259, that had been on display at the park since 1902, was picked up and taken to Susquehanna to be refitted as a Peary relic.

For 23 years Shohola Glen Amusement Park offered attractions within the wild and picturesqueness of the glen itself with its rugged rocks through which Shohola Creek winds its way to the Delaware River. This beautiful landscape provided a natural retreat from the sweltering heat of crowded cities. The natural land feature of Shohola Glen still exists today, but the amusement park buildings and other man-made attractions are no longer there.