There’s just something so special about amusement parks. We all remember being young and being filled with pure joy from being whisked around on rides, and eating too much cotton candy. Some of our readers might recall a popular park in Chester, West Virginia, named Rock Springs Amusement Park.

Rock Springs Park was built in the 1800s around a mineral spring.
YouTube/ReelNostalgia
The early park consisted of hiking trails, a picnic area, and a dancing pavilion.
In 1897 it officially opened as an amusement park, with rides and family activities.
YouTube/ReelNostalgia
The park grew to contain a small lake, a swimming pool, a roller coaster, a carousel, and more.
The park remained a favorite family destination until the death of its owner in 1970.
YouTube/Jay Smith
Several years later, the land was bought for the purpose of rerouting Route 30 to the Jennings Randolph Bridge.
WikiMedia Commons/Nyttend
Today little of the park remains, but there are a few traces around Chester, and some of the rides were sold to other locations.

You can see more old images of the park in this video by ReelNostalgia.

Here’s a video of some children enjoying the park in the late 1950s, uploaded by Jay Smith.

For another historical amusement park in West Virginia, take a look at Camden Park, which was built around an ancient Indian burial mound.

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