The turn of the 20th century was the golden age of amusement parks in our little area of the country. The parks sprang up in cities all across the Great Plains as a symbol of the area’s new prosperity. Nebraskans finally had the luxury of taking the time to do frivolous things like strolling around eating ice cream and taking a spin on a ride or two. Krug Park was Omaha’s finest, located in the Benson neighborhood.

The park opened in 1895 and quickly became one of the city's premier attractions.
Facebook/Benson Historical Society
It featured a dance pavilion, a bath house, a hot air balloon ride, swimming pools, and a roller coaster.
The coaster was called The Big Dipper, and it was quite the ride.
Facebook/Benson Historical Society
This picture was taken from the highest point of the tracks. The Big Dipper was one of the park's more popular attractions. But on July 24, 1930, the unthinkable happened.
The ride's four connected cars were climbing the 35-foot incline when a loose bolt caused the brake shoe of the lead car to get caught in the car's rear wheels.
Facebook/Benson Historical Society
This caused a chain reaction of events which led to all four cars plunging off the side of the roller coaster frame. Three of the cars overturned, trapping riders beneath. The 35-foot drop was catastrophic, killing four riders and injuring 17. To that date, it was the deadliest roller coaster crash in US history.

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After the accident, the maintenance crew, shown here, was understandably devastated.
Facebook/Benson Historical Society
The ride's malfunction was blamed on poor upkeep, and the City of Omaha quickly decreed that no roller coasters would be allowed to operate in Omaha.
On the back of the picture of the maintenance workers, K. Blank, one of the men pictured, penned this touching poem.
Facebook/Benson Historical Society
Facebook/Benson Historical Society
It pays tribute to the maintenance crew who, in their final days at the park, became the clean-up crew for the accident's aftermath. It is sad, but full of pride in the work they did at the park.

The crash was understandably big news, and the state mourned the loss of the victims. After the roller coaster was shut down, the park was sold and continued to operate in a different capacity. Krug Park never could quite overcome the shadow of the tragedy, though, and it closed for good in 1940. It was re-landscaped into a regular public park, and today families enjoy the playground, ball fields, and pool at Gallagher Park…and most of them have no idea what took place here almost a century ago.

(Special thanks to the Benson Historical Society for allowing us to use their photos.)

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