Lincoln Park, Dartmouth, Massachusetts, America
Lincoln Park was opened in the summer of 1894 by the Union Street Railway Co.of New Bedford, MA. The Trolley Co. leased 20 acres of land in Dartmouth near the Westport line to build their park. Sunday was the biggest day on the line with people from surrounding towns like New Bedford & Fall River traveling to the park for family outings. The patronage was so great that the cars ran on a 15 min. schedule. Those that could not find seats clung to the running boards.
Lincoln Park was nearly wiped out by a fire on the morning of June 22, 1901. Thanks to a change in the wind, the park was saved. The blaze started in the theater & spread to the clam bake pavilion, the cook house, and the house of the park keeper. The Main Building, housing the casino & the carnival house, was saved.
In 1941 the park was sold to John Collins & Associates, who purchased the 41 acres of land for $40,000. They began a $150,000 program to modernize and improve Lincoln Park. They built a 14 alley bowling facility & modernized the dance hall, which were both open year round. They installed several new rides, including the Roller Coaster in 1945 built by Vermon Keenan & Edward Leis of NAD(National Amusement Devices. The location of the park on Route 6 between New Bedford & Fall River was ideal.
In June 1986 the park was sold to Jay E. Hoffman for 5 million dollars. Hoffman spent another 3 million in improvements with new rides, concession stands, a new parameter fence, and repairs to the existing rides. Including a new paint job for the Coaster. The Grand Opening was June 29th.
The Park stayed open until September 1987 when Hoffman closed it because of operational costs & $56,000 in back taxes. Most of the 48 rides have been auctioned off. Including The Grand Old Carousel which has been restored to new condition and is operating on the Fall River waterfront. The Ferris Wheel is on the New Bedford waterfront. The 1946 Twister, is just sitting there open to the elements with no one to care for it. The Park has been the sad victim of vandalism. All but the Coaster & a few buildings have become victims of arson.
The Park, in its 93 years of operation, was the center of amusement for Southeastern MA. It has had many stars like Freddie Cannon, Dick Clark, The Big Bopper, and Buddy Holly as entertainment. The Roller Skating Rink with its wooden floors was very popular. The park was traditional in that you paid per ride. In 1968 a ride on the Coaster was only 30 cents.
The Coaster, like most Classic Coasters, has had its share of accidents, Three major ones. The First was on July 23, 1968. The accident occurred when the train was getting close to the end of the ride. It started up one of the last hills when the last car of the 4 car train came unhooked and started to roll backwards. The safety cable held and stopped the rest of the train from continuing. the last car derailed and turned sideways sending its occupants hurdling to the ground. The rest of the train landed on top of the 4th car. 9 people fell to the ground in total: 6 from the car & 3 other riders. Thank God the accident was toward the end and only 10 feet from the ground.
The occupants of the last car were trying to rock the car. This was determined as the cause of the accident. The second one was in August of 1986, when a Westport man was killed when he fell while climbing from car to car during the last ride of the night. The third accident was on September 27, 1987. The train was just entering the brake run when the cars jackknifed and came to a screeching halt. One of the cars was teetering on the edge of the tracks with the people still trapped inside. No injuries were reported. The cause was faulty brakes.