Lake Geauga was known in the 19th century as the “picnic lake” and as the largest amusement park in the world.
Sullivan Giles, the notable who chose this location to build his log cabin, and later, a larger wood-frame house. The place was later called “Giles Pond”. Giles set up picnic areas, built a dance hall, and other booths for visitors and residents to enjoy all day.
This paved the way for the great and successful amusement park named Geauga Lake
After the park and the lake opened in 1872 for these picnics and swimming, many people passed by and it became the popular place for relaxation and entertainment. A sizeable room, a large steamboat to go around the lake were added later.
The grounds were well kept and it had a reputation as the most charming place to spend a day of leisure. In 1925, the largest wooden roller coaster of the time was added to the park. Known as the Big Dipper, the ride was 2,800 feet long and 65 feet high.
Although the park has had several owners, it was first purchased by Funtime Incorporated in 1969, but no changes have been made as the main attractions remain swimming and water rides. But he quickly added to the terrain, building great rides and even bigger roller coasters. The park had over 30 rides.
In 2000, 20 new rides were introduced by Six Flags Ohio the park’s new buyer and received a further expansion of $ 40 million..
He also later bought SeaWorld, across the lake, for $ 110 million. The merger of the two parks was a historic event. Together
they formed the largest theme park in the world to date. 4 years later, the owners faced financial difficulties which led to the closure of a large part of the park.
In 2008, the authorities decided to sell the park at public auctions, a flood of customers arrived for one last visit. The public auction failed and the park remained abandoned. In 2013, Cedar Fair listed the property as up for sale again, this time allowing smaller portions of the land to be purchased.
