The Columbus-area village that was once an amusement park
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The former site of Minerva Amusement Park. Photo: Tyler Buchanan/Axios
Our Franklin County Historical Marker Tour is taking a fun trip to the site of a former theme park.
The marker: Minerva Amusement Park/The Green Line at 2920 Minerva Lake Road.
Flashback: It all started with a missed train. Hundreds of Westerville residents with 1891 State Fair tickets were left stranded when a train headed to the fair didn't stop for them.
- Angry discussions eventually led to Garry Waldo Meeker's creation of an electric railway between Westerville and Columbus.
The intrigue: To encourage ridership, Meeker built an amusement park on a plot of farmland he owned along the route.
- Minerva Park first opened in 1895 toward the end of the Gilded Age, a time when Americans learned to enjoy the benefits of public recreation.
- The park featured a small zoo, a bird museum, scenic views and a 2,500-seat theater for vaudeville performances.
Yes, but: It only lasted for seven seasons, with patrons drawn instead to the larger Olentangy Park operating in present-day Clintonville.
- Years later, Minerva Park turned into a housing subdivision and the village was incorporated in 1940.
4️⃣6️⃣ down, 82 to go.