JohnC
110 posts
Jan 18, 2010
4:58 AM
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Cut me some slack guys-I haven't lived in Dayton for over twenty-five years, now...
When I was growing up in Dayton in the 60's & 70's, one of my favorite places to go was LeSourdsville Lake (this was in the years before King's Island, by the way). I have lots of great childhood memories of the place.
I was totally blown away when LeSourdsville Lake showed up on the History Channel TV show "Life After People". Apparently, the place shut down about 2002 and has been left to deteriorate. You could film a movie about the apocolypse there now. It really creeped me out seeing the abandoned buildings and rotting midway.
Anybody else have childhood memories about the great Dayton area amusement parks?
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Keugene48
88 posts
Jan 18, 2010
6:19 AM
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My family used to go to LeSourdsville Lake on our summer "staycations". My brother was 9 years younger than I and I used to have to ride the children's rides with him... of course I was mortified. When I was a teenager I went there on dates and the first roller coaster I ever rode was there. It was at night and as the car climbed to the top the full moon seemed almost close enough to touch. My boyfriend was scared to death but I loved it! Every time I hear the song "Palisades Park" I think of that time at LeSourdsville.
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Marck1957
100 posts
Jan 18, 2010
8:48 AM
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JohnC....If you haven't seen the Soutwest Ohio Amusement Park Historical Society's web site, you need to! http://www.soaphs.com/americana. Click on the link that says "What does the Lake look like today".
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JohnC
111 posts
Jan 18, 2010
11:56 AM
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Marck1957-
Thanks for the link. You really need to catch the "Life After People" segment on History Channel. The episode is entitled "Sin City Meltdown". It's really chilling and makes you stop and think. Season one is available on DVD and you may be able to rent it from Netflix or Blockbuster.
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Mikey
81 posts
Jan 18, 2010
12:26 PM
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In the movie "Harper Valley PTA" - (filmed in and around Lebanon) - the principles went to LeSourdsville Park on a date.
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Mikey, Gatlinburg, TN
Last Edited by on Feb 05, 2010 10:00 AM
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pie8me
80 posts
Jan 18, 2010
2:01 PM
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Did all of our amusement parking at Coney Island until Kings Island opened their doors. Always wondered if they were an affiliate of the 'real' Coney Island. If not, how did they get away with using the name?
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JandyS
9 posts
Feb 03, 2010
9:11 PM
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Does anyone remember "Fantasy Farm"? It was right next door to LeSourdsville Park which later became Americanna.
My favorite was the huge slide in Fantasy Farm which you had to climb the ladder into the barn ... and slide down out of the barn and into the hay. And Tom Sawyer's Caverns ... I loved that park!
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Mike C
47 posts
Feb 12, 2010
6:48 AM
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JandyS- I use to go to Fantasy Farm as a child and then ended up taking MY children there too. I also when to LeSourdesville Lake too before Fantasy Farm was built. One of the nice things about Fantasy Farm was the fact you could sit in one place and your children could ride multiple rides and you'd not have to walk 10miles to do so.
Also remember Fantasy Farm built a swimming pool? They could not open it because LeSourdesville had some sort of lawsuit against them about the pool ( at least from what I remember). They finally got to open it and it was a nice pool for children mostly.
Fantasy Farm had a kids petting zoo that was pretty neat too. That and that giant slide you mentioned. I'm not sure how well those things would do today seeing how everyone wants to sue over anything. Back then you got hurt doing something stupid it was YOUR fault not everyone elses fault BUT yours.
Lots of good memories of both places.
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JandyS
10 posts
Mar 04, 2010
9:26 AM
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Mike C ... Oh wow ... I DO remember that swimming pool ... and the great petting zoo. Ahh, looking forward to experiencing some childhood memories again as we take our new grandson out and about. Guess we will have to make 'new' memories just like those we had at Fantasy Farm. Thanks!~
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mem
79 posts
Apr 10, 2010
11:17 AM
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Always love to go to LeSourdesville Lake. In the 1940s, Moraine Products, later Delco Moraine, had employee's family picnics there. My high school class had our senior picnic there also. Our yearbook has pictures of the picnic included. Rented a canoe and paddled around the lake with some good-looking girls that day. Went off the twenty-five foot platform into the lake but couldn't swim; dumb but fun.
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driver62
292 posts
Apr 11, 2010
8:45 AM
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Although I grew up in Eaton, I had and Aunt and Uncle who lived in Middletown. When we'd go visit, they would take my sister and I to the park.
In later years, the hospital, where my wife worked, held their annual picnic there. We also took our kids to both LeSourdesville Lake and Fantasy Farm.
Great memories.
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roge
15 posts
Apr 11, 2010
10:51 AM
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was that tomestone territory where that train would end up? i remember that old player piano was sitting in that saloon, enjoyed lesourdssville
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JeffN
298 posts
Apr 11, 2010
8:24 PM
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I used to love the place. We'd go a couple of times every summer.
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Curt Dalton
283 posts
Apr 11, 2010
10:15 PM
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LeSourdsville and Dayton do have a connection of sorts - so the subject qualifies for this blog (although even if it didn't the place was NEAT, so it would qualify anywho...) The connection is the train that took you to Tombstone. It was made by National Amusement here in good old Dayton!
Boy, those guys falling off the roofs during the shootout when the train arrived... cheesy, but fun to a kid of ten, which is the age I was at the time. Every now and then I come across those big clear mugs that has the cowboy on it and Tombstone Territory written in red. They're too heavy to use, but I'm in the mood to get one and put it on the site now, so I'll be on the lookout.
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mcm53
1 post
Apr 28, 2010
11:15 AM
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We use to drive from Dayton to LeSourdsville on a saturday night to go to the dinning room there for their all you can eat pan fried chicken, mash potatoes, apple sauce, That was the late 50's,to the mid 60's..We have pictures of our kids, later in life, on the rides at Lesourdsville,that was taken in the late 60's to early 1972.
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AllenN71
7 posts
Apr 29, 2010
8:35 AM
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Remember the jingle?
"If you're looking for fun in the moonlight or sun,
come out - to LeSourdsville!
Ride the rides, swim and get tanned;
Dine and dance to your favorite band!
If you're looking for fun in the moonlight or sun,
Come out to LeSourdsville Lake!"
That theme played constantly from Memorial day to Labor day. Even today it gets stuck i my head worse than "pop goes the weasel".
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texangal81
6 posts
Aug 02, 2010
8:03 PM
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Who remembers the sandpit at Fantasy Farm that had coins buried in it?
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icsalum
45 posts
Aug 03, 2010
10:06 AM
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Loved the big sign at the front of LeSourdsville - a
big clown welcoming you. Anyone have a picture?!
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Mike80
7 posts
Aug 04, 2010
3:14 AM
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I did a little surfing and found this. Very depressing but still,,, brings back great memories.
http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2007/10/lesourdsville-lakeamericana-revisited_29.html
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DebCB
6 posts
Aug 04, 2010
8:42 AM
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The Queen City Discovery site is very interesting and I just packed away a set of six glass mugs from LeSourdsville that I bought in 1970. I've never been able to part with them even though I've never used them. Wonder if they're worth anything?
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HENRYR10
10 posts
Aug 08, 2010
5:03 PM
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I was just by there today.
Very depressing.
We used to go down for teen dances in the late 60's.
Pay one price, all the big rides were open.
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RIVERDALE RAT
432 posts
Aug 14, 2010
12:27 AM
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I remember one summer; my Parent’s were going to take me there and changed their mind due to my misbehavior. I got the bright idea to sneak away and go by myself. I went to the old Greyhound station at 3rd & Wilkinson and bought a ticket on the old Ohio Bus Lines (The only bus that ran down there) if memory serves, it was 85 Cents each way or a buck seventy round trip. My caper went off without a hitch, until I overstayed the last Bus back. I went into panic mode and knew I had better not call home for a ride, I got the bright idea to hitchhike, after about 15 Minutes a middle aged man in a Buick stopped and gave me a ride, He was really friendly but began asking me a million questions about my age (13) and how I came to be stuck way down there after dark. I made up some excuse about how I came down with a group of friends and they took off and left me. After about 6 Miles, he showed me a Centerville Police Badge and told me that he was not buying my story. Long ending cut short; He took me to the Centerville Police Station and called my Parents. Can you say GROUNDED for 6 Month’s?
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newsnot
188 posts
Aug 15, 2010
8:18 AM
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my favorite two things there were the penny arcade and the fascination game. does anyone remember how fascination works? it is kinda for people who like to play bingo.also liked the skee ball games. they were only 5 cents to play. could play a long time for a few dollars and come home with some nice prizes.
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RIVERDALE RAT
505 posts
Aug 25, 2010
5:28 PM
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newsnot:
I cant remember much about fascination, although I do remember the game itself. My favorite skee ball was at old Coney, but I wont get into that since it's too far away from Dayton and off topic for our board.
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newsnot
200 posts
Aug 26, 2010
6:57 AM
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riverdale,
fascination worked like this. you would sit in a padded chair. there were a series of tables about 18inches by 30 inches. sereral people would play at the same time. there were 25 holes arranged 5X5 at the front. you would roll a ball down into one of the holes. when you went thru the hole you lit a corresponding lite on an upright mirrored back glass. then the ball would come back to you.every one would keep this up until one person got five in a row. that person would receive one coupon for each person playing. you saved the coupons for prizes of which there were many to pick from. they had a similar game called pokerino but that was located in the penny arcade.
newsnot
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AllenN71
62 posts
Aug 26, 2010
8:52 AM
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Hey Rat, if I had pulled that stunt I would have been able to sit on a coin and tell you if it was a penny or a dime! And you're lucky it was a Centerville flatfoot you ran into instead of some Skeezy Sam. Times might have been different then, but they weren't all that different in that regard.
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RIVERDALE RAT
510 posts
Aug 26, 2010
7:07 PM
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AllenN71
Don't worry, I got into plenty enough hot water to last me all through my teen years, not to mention the 45 Mnute lecture the cop gave me after we got to the station about how stupid kids like me make his job harder and on and on about how I screwed up his 2 day's off by making him come to work because he didnt want to read about me being found dead in a ditch somewhere, Yada,Yada, Yada. Looking back, he was just a Father himself and a good cop trying to keep some idiot kid safe from harm, but it sure didn't seem like it at the time. at first he thought I was a runaway and I think he got even more upset when he found out the truth.
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Alyce52
1 post
Aug 30, 2010
11:40 AM
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i was in shawn acres and every year we went to LAKESIDE or FRANKIES FORREST PARK---THIS WAS IN THE MID 50'S
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beachboy51971
1 post
Sep 08, 2010
1:41 PM
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Here's the link from the History channel showing the deteriorating Americana park. Very sad to see. I grew up going to Americana with family, friends, even took my own kids just before final 2002 season. I miss the train, western town, carp swimming in the lake that ate everything, Screechin Eagle, the pool. Americana was the perfect place....seeing it now is very sad and unfortunate. They have even drained the lake now.....
http://www.history.com/shows/life-after-people/videos/sin-city-meltdown#sin-city-meltdown
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mjr1960
22 posts
Sep 08, 2010
3:48 PM
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Just watched the history channel video, Would someone explain why someone would purchase a park and let it go that way, Sad just sad. Its also sad in a way that many families in this area of the state can't afford to take their families to kings Island for 5 to 6 hours of fun. Americana was moderatly priced and a good time was had by all. Last time we were there was 1999 and indeed we all had a good time. I believe Mr couch's original intentions were correct. But when he relized he couldn't operate it he should have chosen other methods especially with the eagle.
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DJ1
4 posts
Apr 11, 2012
11:53 AM
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I as well remember both fantasy farm and Americana Amusement parks. I used to go to both as a kid growin up and enjoyed them both very much. I have looked on Youtube.com and they have Videos and commercials for both places on there. They Also have videos on there of what both places look like now. I was sad to see both places close. Two thing's that I liked about both places is that one if you got lost from your group it woulndt take you long to find group and also you didnt have to walk unknown amount of miles to get to a ride like you do at Kings Island.
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Happy to Be
1 post
Apr 14, 2012
4:43 PM
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Took my kids to Fantasy Farm in the late 80's. It was a bit rundown but my kids didn't know the difference. Several times we would be there on a Friday and when it was it's busiest (around noon) the power would be shut off. Employees would gather up gate money, take it to the electric company, then the power would be restored for the rest of the day
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completelynutz
26 posts
Apr 20, 2012
6:16 PM
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speaking of tombstone. Remember the dancing chicken? You put a dime in the slot and the door opened and a chicken danced for its food. I was so impressed. I think thats where the funky chicken came from. or not. lol Also the saloon was neat. I had more fun there than at the rides.
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LHelton
29 posts
Apr 30, 2012
4:57 AM
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LeSourdsville Lake: The lake has been drained and is now a grassy field. The Screamin' Eagle roller coaster was dismantled and part of the track and cars were donated to a roller coaster museum somewhere in the USA. The merry-go-round horses were sold. Fantasy Farm: Also owned by Couch's Campers and he dismantled most of that park too. He kept and moved a few smaller rides there and wanted to run it as a small amusement park to rent out for private parties and picnics, but now being annexed into the Monroe limits, it is not zoned for such. The motel is still in business.
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newsnot
283 posts
Apr 30, 2012
4:44 PM
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the penny arcade there was the neatest when the burneys bought the park about 1959. they came from cedar point. does anyone know what happened to them?
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LHelton
30 posts
Apr 30, 2012
5:13 PM
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They were still in the area. When I was a little boy, I had a Lhasa Apso, named Rags. He was too hairy and my parents gave him to the Burneys, who would let him run the park with them after closing hours.
We also knew the builder of both LeSourdsville Lake and Fantasy Farm, Edgar Streifthau, who lived on down Rt.4 back towards Middletown on a farm. There he kept "extra" buffalo, goats, and cows.
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newsnot
284 posts
May 02, 2012
6:41 AM
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LHelton
do you think the burneys are still around? did they sell the park to couch? i especially liked the penny arcade.
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LHelton
31 posts
May 03, 2012
4:59 AM
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I see it was actually spelled Berni. The sold the park in 1991 to a private company who then sold it in 1996 to another private company. In 2000 Couch purchased it. We had the president of the Southwest Ohio Amusement Park Historical Society speak to and show slides of LeSourdsville Lake to our historical society last year. I found that Howard Berni passed away in 2002. His son, Ron, lives in Liberty Twp., Butler County, Ohio.
Last Edited by on May 03, 2012 4:59 AM
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beckynews1208
2 posts
Aug 08, 2012
1:15 PM
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In the 90's...all the after proms for Fairmont East High School were held at LeSourdsville Lake. They used to shut down the park for all the students.
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newsnot
321 posts
Aug 08, 2012
6:30 PM
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Another movie that was partialy made at Americana was Fresh Horses with Molly Ringwald.
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vegasbluedevil
1 post
Aug 24, 2012
3:20 AM
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I remember being there in about 1995 or so, and we were on the little train that ran from one side of the park to the other, and it "hopped the track". So we all waited for a little while for maintenance to arrive, but they took too long, so everybody got off and lifted the thing back on the track. But yeah, that place was fun when you were a kid......
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