Historic Bushkill Park is located in Easton, Pennsylvania. It is a small amusement park, generally geared toward younger audiences. It operated continuously from 1902-2004, and during the Summer of 2006, and has been closed since then. In 1933, Thomas Long (1885-1965) leased Bushkill Park, furnishing it with the carousel that he and his father had hand-carved in Philadelphia in 1903. Long bought the park in 1939 and operated it for the rest of his life with his wife, Mabel "Mom" Long, who operated it until her death in 1989.
Bushkill Park is famous for its antique rides such as bumper cars, "The Whip", "The Haunted Pretzel", and "The Bar'l of Fun." It is home to one of the nations oldest funhouses, the "Bar'l of Fun". Inside the funhouse, aside from the rotating barrel (from which the attraction gets its name), is a maze-like layout in a dark room with mirrors. In the past, there has been a flashing strobe light in the corner of this room. Beyond the maze is the famous barrel, a multi-person 'sit-and-spin' style ride, and a wobbly staircase. Upstairs is the Hall of Mirrors, and a rolling walkway that looks out onto the park. Finally, there is an original antique wooden slide that goes from the second floor to the first. This slide has been featured on the Discovery Channel.[1]
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In 2004, Hurricane Ivan struck, and the park suffered a devastating "100-year flood". This flood completely destroyed the Haunted Pretzel and a miniature golf course, while inflicting major damage on the park's bumper cars, and its "Whip" ride. The park has been hit by three consecutive floods since, and did not open at all in 2005. The park remains in a flood zone, being nearly surrounded by the Bushkill Creek.
In 2005, Walter Reiss (an amusement ride inspector)[2] and Frank Clever entered into an agreement to lease the park from owners Samuel Baurkot and Neal Fehnel. With the help of volunteers and staff, Reiss and Clever were able to get the park cleaned up, and reopened in the summer of 2006, though "The Haunted Pretzel," "The Whip," and the bumper cars had not yet been reopened. The park saw a small number of visitors, but not enough to keep it running. Clever left the park Reiss, who ended up in debt, and the electricity to the park was turned off. Control of the park returned a year later to Fehnel. Vandalism to the electrical infrastructure of the park was discovered, preventing the park from reopening.
In June 2010, Baurkot and Fehnel reported that they had hired crews to begin cleaning up the park. No opening date was projected, and progress has been slower than anticipated as the partners wait for additional funds to pay workers. [3]
In the summer of 2010, the park was visited by Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz of Antique Archaeology. This visit was featured on their reality TV show, American Pickers, in the second-season premiere episode, "A Banner Pick", which premiered December 6, 2010. A pair of vintage sideshow banners were bought from the park for US$700, and sold for US$10,000. Wolfe and Fritz returned to the park after a visit to New York City and paid an extra $5,000 for the banners because of the unexpected outcome of the Internet auctions for the two banners, and because Wolfe and Fritz were impressed with the attempts to revive the park.