Penn Township near West Grove in Chester County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Sunset Park

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 24, 2019

1. Sunset Park Marker

Inscription. One of the premier music venues outside of Nashville, the park featured many of the biggest stars of country and bluegrass. Operated by the Waltman family from 1940 to 1995, it supported the transition from pre-WWII “hillbilly music” to the nationally popular country music genre. Featured artists included Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Randy Travis, and Bill Monroe. Live unreleased recordings of major performers have been preserved.

Erected 2018 by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment • Parks & Recreational Areas. In addition, it is included in the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission series list.

Location. 39° 49.306′ N, 75° 52.269′ W. Marker is near West Grove, Pennsylvania, in Chester County. It is in Penn Township. Marker is on South Jennersville Road (Pennsylvania Route 796) 0.1 miles south of West Baltimore Pike, on the right when traveling south. Marker is located beside the sidewalk at former site of Sunset Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 851 W Baltimore Pike, West Grove PA 19390, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker

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, measured as the crow flies. On the Site of This Veterans Memorial (approx. 2.4 miles away); World War Veterans (approx. 2.4 miles away); Avon Grove Veterans Memorial (approx. 2.4 miles away); Amos House (approx. 2.9 miles away); Hosanna Meeting House (approx. 3 miles away); Ann Preston, M.D. (approx. 3.1 miles away); Lincoln University (approx. 3.1 miles away); Villa Nova (approx. 3.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in West Grove.

Regarding Sunset Park. Waltman Lane, the former park entrance just south of this marker, is now a short dead-end road. The former park has been replaced by new residential housing developments.

Also see . . .
1. Sunset Park Remembered. For more than half a century, every Sunday from spring to fall, country music fans congregated at Sunset Park, just above the Mason-Dixon Line in southern Chester County. Long before country went mainstream, Sunset provided an outlet for hillbilly music at a time when hillbilly was still a term of disparagement. It was a bona fide underground scene, these farmers and factory workers and displaced Southerners whooping it up in the Pennsylvania sticks while the rest of America went bowling. They came in pickup trucks and station wagons and whatever would carry them, packed full of family. They came in horse-and-buggies from nearby

Sunset Park Marker (<i>wide view looking north along Jennersville Road toward Baltimore Pike</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 24, 2019

2. Sunset Park Marker (wide view looking north along Jennersville Road toward Baltimore Pike)

Amish country. They came in buses from Philadelphia, 40 miles up the old US 1. A high school dropout and 21-year-old banjo-picker named Jerry Garcia came in a '61 Corvair all the way from California. (Submitted on June 24, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Sunset Park Memories (Facebook). Collection of photographs and memories from Sunset Park. (Submitted on June 24, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 24, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 3,284 times since then and 479 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 24, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.