Wildwood Amusement Park

History

In 1883, the First Mahtomedi Assembly of the Chautauqua Association first platted the city of Mahtomedi. As part of a nationwide education movement known as Chautauqua, the Assembly built a tabernacle in Mahtomedi on the southeast side of White Bear Lake for lecture series, correspondence courses, and other events and meetings intended for adult education. During the summers, as many as 3,000 people sometimes took up temporary residence at the lake in tent villages in pursuit of further education.

By the 1870s, major rail lines had reached the east side of White Bear Lake. Wildwood had already become a popular spot for picnickers, but didn’t yet feature the amusement park and its rides and other attractions.

Location

The Wildwood Amusement Park was located on the southern shore of White Bear Lake, on the border of Mahtomedi and nearby Birchwood. The precise location of the park is still debated, since little of the original structures remain today.

Park Attractions

Once called the "Coney Island of St. Paul," the Wildwood Park featured numerous attractions. In addition to the popular picnic grounds and amusement rides, there were traveling shows, diving ponies, and hot air balloon rides. A bathhouse operated just west of the rides, and had a water chute and springboards. Athletic types would play baseball at the water’s edge on the beach. Additional activities included orchestral concerts, free dancing lessons, boating, bowling, a carousel, fishing, a penny arcade, a shooting gallery, playgrounds, a postal photo gallery, swings, ball-throwing games, and a twenty-five cent motorboat trip around White Bear Lake.

Admission

Admission to the Wildwood Amusement Park was free.

Attendance

Park Decline and Closure

The change in transportation and the railroad no longer running to the park was the beginning of the end.

References

Wildwood Amusement Park Gone but not Forgotten Press Pubs 2017 https://www.presspubs.com/white_bear/news/wildwood-amusement-park-is-gone-but-not-forgotten/article_72e2c0ca-5c1b-11e7-ac68-f7d6eac5492f.html

References

1. [http://www.mnopedia.org/place/wildwood-amusement-park Wildwood Park] ''mnopedia.org''. Retrieved 05/14/14.
2. [http://www.placeography.org/index.php/Wildwood_Amusement_Park,_Mahtomedi,_Minnesota Wildwood Park] ''placeography.org''. Retrieved 05/14/14.
3. [http://www.slphistory.org/history/amusementparks.asp Amusement parks of the Twin Cities] {{Webarchive. link. (2013-04-05 ''slphistory.org''. Retrieved 05/14/14.)
4. [http://www.wchsmn.org/research/communities/mahtomedi/ Washington County Historical Society] ''wchsmn.org''. Retrieved 05/14/14.
5. "Mahtomedi – Washington County Historical Society".
6. Bussjaeger, Jackie. (Jun 28, 2017). "Wildwood Amusement Park is gone but not forgotten". White Bear Press.
7. Humanities, National Endowment for the. (1904-06-26). "The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, June 26, 1904, Image 22".
8. Twin City Lines. July 1915. “Wildwood Park on Beautiful White Bear Lake,” Advertisement, ''The Appeal'', 2.