Richmond Past: Forest Hill Amusement Park

The land that we know as Forest Hill Park was purchased by the Richmond & Manchester Railway Co. in 1890. This was part of a general movement of the various Richmond trolley companies to spread out from the city core and service the housing developments the trolley companies had built outside of the city. The Forest Hill trolley built a terminus, amusement park and made dramatic changes to the Stone House. As you can see from the map below it was our own little Busch Gardens right here in the hills. The men were charged $.50 admission and ladies free on Wednesdays and only $.25 on Saturday. The booths listed would have sold food or been games including shooting galleries and bingo. Not shown on the map but mentioned in other documents is an airplane ride.

Below is the Dip the Dip roller coaster and penny arcade on the right.

Original image courtesy of Cook Collection, The Valentine Museum

The arcade most likely had various precursors to the pinball machine such as Baffle Ball and Rock-Ola Juggle Ball. Pictures and descriptions of these pinball type games can be found at The Penny Arcade Website.

An example of a penny arcade game. Image courtesy of Rodw

Below is the Stone House with the addition of a wraparound porch and bell tower. The main part of Stone House served as a trolley terminus and park headquarters. Underneath the wraparound porch was a penny arcade, hall of mirrors and fun house.

Original image courtesy of Cook Collection, The Valentine Museum

Original image courtesy of Cook Collection, The Valentine Museum

The next picture is the outside of the Merry Go Round. An original wooden carousel horse is on display at “The Story of Virginia” exhibit at the Virginia Historical Society.

Original image courtesy of Cook Collection, The Valentine Museum

The crowd below is gathered by the Dance Pavilion and Bowling Alley. The taller building in the middle is the Dance Pavilion and the lower on the right is the Bowling Alley. In the top left is the “Dip the Dip” roller coaster. I am not 100% sure but I believe the building on the far left is a drink stand. Meet-me-tonight-in-dreamland (listen) was a song by Henry Burr in 1909 so it is possible that it or at least a similar song was being played as the crowd gathered. In 1922 it was more likely to hear Stumbling-fox-trot (listen) by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra. Samples courtesy of Turtle’s “78 RPM” Jukebox

Original image courtesy of Cook Collection, The Valentine Museum

Eventually the car replaced the trolley as the main mode of transportation for the average Richmonder and the ability to travel greater distances for entertainment lessened the appeal of the neighborhood amusement park. This freedom coupled with the great depression in 1929 was the death knell for the park and it slipped into disrepair. In 1932 the dancing stopped and the Dip the Dip dipped it’s last dip as the park was shut down and dismantled.

It is nice to think that when I am sitting on the lawn listening to a Music In The Park session that a hundred years ago a father was doing almost the exact same thing. I am sure some of the same thoughts were going through that man’s head: “Where the hell are the kids? They were here just a minute ago.” but hopefully more often he was thinking, “Nice music, nice weather I am glad we decided to move here.”

That concludes my first Richmond Past post. Some topics I hope to cover in the future include; the early history of the park when it was known as Boscobel, a closer look at the trolley system, some more then & now photos and much more. I am also very interested in finding some old pictures of the Manchester area but haven’t even started looking yet. If you have a picture, postcard or bit of history you would like to share please let me know.

When I was young and foolish I knew everything. Now that I am old and foolish I am constantly amazed at how much I don’t know. One of the many things that I don’t know is the history of Richmond this side of the river. I am working on changing that lack of knowledge starting with Forest Hill Park. The source of my enlightenment has come from An Illustrated History of Forest Hill Park produced by The Friends of Forest Hill Park and all credit for the content should be given to author Lynn Ann George, editor Monica S. Rumsey and the many other contributors for the work they have done. The book is available for purchase at several shops across the city, including Forest Hill Antiques, the shops at the Library of Virginia and the Valentine Richmond History Center for only $5.00 and is worth every cent. All the pictures were scanned from An Illustrated History of Forest Hill Park unless otherwise noted.

The Friends of Forest Hill Park are meeting tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the Old Stone House. If you would like to become involved in park preservation, history and environmental education, or just see what the group does, please attend. The meetings are open to the public so don’t be shy.

Agenda for tonight’s meeting:
1. Election of officers
2. Hand-over of meeting to new officers
3. Treasurer’s Report
4. Environmental projects
5. Lake Renovation Update
6. Sunday in the Park with Friends
7. Forest Hill Neighborhood Association 5K Race
8. FFHP Web Site
9. Legal Status

Full agenda with further details here.ffhp-mtg-agenda-01-27-09