Dogpatch USA
"Dogpatch USA" is a defunct theme park located on Highway 7 between the cities of Harrison and Jasper in the state of Arkansas, U.S.A, an area known today as Marble Falls. It was opened to the public in 1967 and was loosely based on the popular comic strip "Li'l Abner", which was created by cartoonist Al Capp and set in a fictional town called "Dogpatch".
After changing hands many times, the park was closed in 1993 and now stands abandoned and dilapidated, overgrown with vegetation, and a frequent target of vandalism. The land upon which it sits is entangled in legal and debt-related issues, but is, nevertheless, for sale.
History
Conception
In 1966 Albert Raney, Sr., decided to sell his family's Ozark trout farm. So he placed it in the hands of a Harrison real estate agent named O. J. Snow. After examining the property, Snow, who had been interested in creating a park based on pioneer themes, decided that the Raney farm was perfect. He also noticed that several geographical features of the area resembled those mentioned in the Lil' Abner comic strip, including a 50 foot (15 m) waterfall, Mill Creek Canyon, and features of the nearby tourist attraction Mystic Caverns, which was already operational.
Snow and a few business associates formed a corporation, Recreation Enterprises, Inc. (REI), to develop the land and pitch the idea of a theme park to Al Capp. According to an Arkansas Gazette article, they sent Capp, who lived in Boston, Massachusetts, "home movies" of the property along with descriptions of the proposed attractions:
- Trout pond
- Cave Tours
- Arts and crafts shops
- Family oriented theatrical presentations
- Riding stables
- Paddle boats
- Pioneer technology
- Honey hut
- Fudge shops
- Costumed characters
- Train rides
- Botanical garden
- Apiary
They also stipulated that the park would be quiet and dignified and would not include roller coasters or thrill rides, which would conflict with the rustic theme and the Lil' Abner universe. Capp, who had already turned down better offers, accepted this offer and became a partner, claiming that he had once driven through the Ozarks and had envisioned just such an area for the setting of his fictional town of Dogpatch. Also, he saw eye to eye with Snow, and trusted him not to taint his Lil' Abner creation.
Doubts From the Start
Arkansans have always been sensitive about being portrayed as backward hillbillies, so the concept of a theme park based on such a stereotype was not widely accepted. Lou Oberste of the Publicity and Parks Commission expressed reservations, and Commission Director Bob Evans agreed that Arkansas had difficulty shedding a similar image created by comedic actor Bob Burns and the popular radio celebrities "Lum and Abner" of earlier years.
Also at that time, Edwin T. Haefele of the Brookings Institute and Leon N. Moses, Professor of Economics at Northwestern, happened to be visiting Arkansas. When reporters asked for their opinions of the "Dogpatch" project, they expressed great concern for its success, citing the failure of other theme parks that had popped up trying to capture the success of Disneyland. They also noted the effects of such failures on the property values in surrounding areas, which tend to plummet, and the subsequent loss of other businesses in the area.
Despite these reservations, the Publicity and Parks Commission toured the property and decided to back the project, and the Harrison Chamber of Commerce approved the plans for the 825 acre (3.3 km²) park.
Building and Opening the Park
Al Capp and his wife were in attendance for the ground-breaking ceremony on Tuesday, October 3, 1967. Phase I of the project, at a cost $1,332,000, included construction of the buildings and rides. Phase II, which was the construction of an RV park, amphitheater and golf course, would cost an additional $900,000, and would never be fully realized.
The park was officially opened on May 17, 1968, with a total attendance of 8,000 visitors. The centerpiece of the park was a giant statue of the fictional town hero, Jubilation T. Cornpone, which was unveiled that day to a crowd of 2,000.
Attendance expectations for the park were optimistic to say the least: 400,000 patrons in the first year, and an increase to 1.4 million in the following years. However, there were only 300,000 visitors in the first year, and Dogpatch USA never reported more than 200,000 visitors in any subsequent year.
The Park Changes Hands
In 1969 a disagreement arose between Snow and other members of REI, with regards to investing the profits of the first year. He believed all the profits should be put into the park, while the others wanted to divide some of it amongst themselves. As a result, Jess Odom, an Arkansas businessman in search of a worthwhile opportunity, bought Snow's and other REI members' shares for $750,000 and gained a controlling interest in the park. Odom had already been successfully involved in other endeavors, including the founding of a planned community northeast of Little Rock, called Maumelle. REI believed that Odom planned to spend an estimated $5–7 million on improvements and the addition of "Skonk Hollow", which would be located right next to Dogpatch, but these plans never came to fruition.
Odom signed a long-term licensing agreement with Capp, giving the park and any future Dogpatch franchises the rights to use all characters, events, jargon, names, and titles until 1998. In return, Capp would receive 2%–3% of the gross of admissions over the same time period.
For the 1969 season Odom hired the former six-term Governor of Arkansas, Orval E. Faubus, as General Manager and President of REI. He is reported to have claimed that running the park was very similar to running the state.
Success Seemed Imminent
1969 marked a particularly popular year for rustic and hillbilly pop culture. Shows such as Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, and The Beverly Hillbillies were very popular on American television. A similar rustic-themed park near Branson, Missouri, "Silver Dollar City", had become a huge success just a few miles away. In addition, the Lil' Abner comic strip was appearing in over 700 newspapers daily, and Al Capp had just signed a deal for a restaurant franchise and the rights to develop his comic strip into a TV series.
Odom, who perceived unlimited potential for Dogpatch USA, bought out most of the remaining investors for $700,000 and became, essentially, the owner of the park. REI spent heavily to turn the park into a year-round attraction with the addition of a ski resort called "Marble Falls", just in time for the Christmas season of 1972.
Success seemed to be on the horizon for Odom and Dogpatch USA; unfortunately, many unforeseen circumstances would occur and, collectively, spell doom for the Dogpatch dream:
- Attendance projections were remarkably wrong.
- Interest rates doubled in 1973.
- Arkansas would have a string of mild winters, making the success of an Ozark ski resort impossible.
- The 1973 energy crisis made traveling much less convenient.
- In 1973, every network TV program that had a country setting would be replaced by one that had a city setting; thus, interest in hillbillies began to wane.
- Al Capp retired, and the "Li'l Abner" comic strip was no longer syndicated throughout the country.
- The proposed "Lil' Abner" TV show and restaurant chain never came to pass.
Waning Success
In 1974 Odom attempted to enhance entertainment in the park by entering into an agreement with the University of Arkansas, just two hours west in Fayetteville, to create an in-park repertory theater with its own Boars Head Players. However, this turned into a huge failure; the group delivered two out of five productions promised, and did not return the following season. Today, however, the troupe is still active at the University.
Marble Falls was never successful due to several mild winters in a row, and the modest profits of Dogpatch were not sufficient to keep the two attractions afloat. Odom, already two million dollars in debt, was forced to borrow more money in the unfavorable financial atmosphere of 1974. By 1975, the various lenders began calling in their loans. Al Capp retired in 1977, and by 1979 Dogpatch was pulling a negative income. That same year Odom announced that private negotiations had been underway to sell the park to a private nonprofit group called God's Patch, Inc., who would turn Dogpatch into a biblical-themed amusement park. However, funding never materialized.
Dogpatch USA Dies
The following years would see the park and Odom plagued with more financial problems, including a personal injury lawsuit filed by the parent of a child injured on one of the rides. In order to save the park from bankruptcy, ownership was divided up and changed until it became so tangled in an endless stream of legal problems that it was impossible to clearly state who actually owned what parts of the property. A new investor called Buffalo River Resorts began selling pieces of the property for time shares and condominiums, although buyers had to be informed of the uncertain legal status of the property.
In 1987 The Entertainment and Leisure Corporation (Telcor) bought the park for an undisclosed amount. The park was renovated, and a new ride called the "Space Shuttle" – certainly not a hillbilly theme – was added. In 1988 there was a last ditch effort to save the park. General admission was changed to free and admission was charged for each individual ride instead. Also the entire Lil' Abner franchise was dropped and the name changed to Dogpatch, Arkansas. Since Lil' Abner had been out of print for 10 years at this point, and most children had no idea what it was, it seemed to be the most logical step to save the money that the Capp estate was receiving for use of the name and characters. However, it was the only unique aspect of the park left, considering that Silver Dollar City, which had everything that Dogpatch had, only bigger and better, was only twenty minutes to the North. And what Silver Dollar City did not have, the Ozark Folk Center in nearby Mountain View did, and it was not wrapped in an outdated cartoon franchise.
On October 14 1993, the park was closed for good.
Trout Pond
The trout pond, around which Dogpatch USA was conceived and developed, had already been in operation for 30 years before the amusement park was built. Sometime in the early 20th century, Albert Raney and Sons purchased the land, which since the 1830s had been part of the community of "Wilcockson", and diverted the water from Mill Creek to create a waterfall and a pond. They named the property "Marble Falls", the name it and the surrounding area has today [1]. In 1949, the Raney family also purchased a cave near the pond, the tourist attraction Mystic Caverns, which opened for tours around 1928 and is still in operation today.
In 1966 the trout pond was sold to the developers of Dogpatch. It would be an integral part of the park, and arguably its most popular and unique attraction. The pond was kept overstocked with trout so that visitors would have no trouble casting a rented fishing line in and catching a fish. The fish were cleaned and cooked by the staff of Dogpatch and served in a restaurant to the catcher.
The Raney family would continue to operate the pond after it was incorporated into Dogpatch up until it was closed in 1993. The pond now sits abandoned along with the rest of the property. The pond's trout population is not certain but, given the condition of the rest of the park, it has probably decreased dramatically.
Afterlife
Many plans for revitalizing and reopening the park have been suggested, but none have materialized. A number of websites have reported that visitation by urban explorers to the now-abandoned theme park is quite frequent. There are also quite a few pictures of the property, overgrown and decaying, posted on the Internet, suggesting frequent visitation. However, as of June 28, 2005, signs have been posted threatening prosecution of trespassers, and a guard has been seen camping in an RV on the property.
The property is for sale for five million dollars. But it would be extremely hard to acquire, given all of the legal troubles surrounding it and the number of people still claiming ownership.
The statue of General Jubilation T. Cornpone, the centerpiece of Dogpatch, was removed in 2004. It was later spotted at the Shepherd Of The Hills Homestead on the Shepherd of the Hills Expressway in Branson, Missouri.
Owners Bob Richards and Randal Phillips reopened a portion of Dogpatch and turned it into The Hub, a motorcycle-themed hotel and convention facility, in June 2005. The Hub contains a 60-room motel and a convention center that seats 1,700 in theater style. [2]
Trivia
- Many of the buildings in the park are authentic 19th-century log cabins that were acquired in the Ozark Mountains, photographed, deconstructed, shipped, and reconstructed in the park. This fact was never advertised.
- 9/10ths of the property is located in Newton County, which means that proposed changes to the property may require the approval of both Jasper (Newton County) and Harrison (Boone County).
- The name Dogpatch became the postal designation of the area in 1966, and was listed as such on Arkansas highway maps. In 1997 citizens of the area voted unanimously to change the name to Marble Falls, its original name. Curiously, no records exist of such a vote to change the name to Dogpatch in 1966, and residents who lived there in 1966 and are still living their today claim it was done against their will.
Reference
External links
Photos
In Operation
- 1971 photos
- 1972 family photos
- 1 2 3 Collection of family vacation photos
Recent photos of the abandonded park
Other information
Misc
- General site with new and old photos as well as other imformation
- History and personal account
- discussion on message board about sale on ebay
- Personal account of the abandoned property while snake hunting
- Message board discussion
- New Article about portions of the park being reopened
- News article about couples who met at Dogpatch