Northland in Minerva Park in Franklin County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Minerva Amusement Park
⎯⎯⎯
The Green Line

Minerva Amusement Park Marker (Side A) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 14, 2008

1. Minerva Amusement Park Marker (Side A)

Inscription. Side A:
Minerva Amusement Park
7-13-1895 to 7-27-1902
For seven glorious summers, from July 13, 1895 to July 27, 1902, laughter and gaiety rang forth from the first amusement park in Franklin County. With intoxicants banned, the Park was enjoyed by the “respectable” folk of the Gay '90s - the stone water tower/jail was quick to house any ruffian who threatened disharmony. Delighting young and old were the Zoological Garden, Ornithological Museum, the Scenic Railway roller coaster, Shoot the Chutes (the water slide of its day), swimming, boating, baseball, bowling, concerts, dancing, picnics, strolls in the cool woodlands, pony rides, fireworks, the orchestration replicating a 36-piece orchestra, grande vaudeville, and theater. Minerva Park's popularity faded with the opening of Olentangy Park, only 3 miles from downtown Columbus.

Side B:
The Green Line
At an August 1891 public meeting, Westerville citizens voiced indignation at the failure of the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus Railway Co. to provide transportation for 400 passengers who had purchased tickets to the State Fair. The regular train had failed

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to stop, stranding the passengers for hours. Garry Waldo Meeker (1859-1917) suggested that an electric railway between Columbus and Westerville would be an indispensable public convenience. Four years later, he piloted the first electric car of the new Columbus Central Railway Co. from Broad & High into Westerville. To encourage ridership, Meeker conceived of a recreation park along the route, located on the 227-acre farmland that he had purchased in July 1892. Accommodating up to 25,000 visitors daily, the Park was named in honor of Minerva Shipherd, wife of John S. Shipherd (Cleveland), the first president of the new Railway Co. - not after the Roman goddess, as folklore suggests.

Erected 2003 by Minerva Park Community Association, Village of Minerva Park, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 85-25.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Entertainment • Man-Made Features • Notable Places • Railroads & Streetcars. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical month for this entry is July 1833.

Location. 40° 4.629′ N,

The Green Line Marker (Side B) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 14, 2008

2. The Green Line Marker (Side B)

82° 56.429′ W. Marker is in Minerva Park, Ohio, in Franklin County. It is in Northland. It is on Minerva Lake Road, on the right when traveling east. Marker is near eastern edge of Minerva Lake, just west of Minerva Lake Golf Club, 2955 Minerva Lake Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Columbus OH 43231, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Scioto Valley

and in the Columbus Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Veterans Memorial (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Pioneer Cemetery Armed Forces Memorial (approx. 2.1 miles away); Phelps Acre Park (approx. 2.2 miles away); Blendon Township's Early Presbyterian Churches and Church Bell

Detail from Minerva Amusement Park Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 14, 2008

3. Detail from Minerva Amusement Park Marker

(approx. 2.2 miles away); This Monument (approx. 2.2 miles away); Edward Phelps (approx. 2.3 miles away); First Blendon Presbyterian Church (approx. 2.3 miles away); Blendon Central Cemetery (approx. 2.3 miles away).

Another marker is no longer nearby. Blendon Presbyterian Church (was approx. 2.2 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Detail from The Green Line Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 14, 2008

4. Detail from The Green Line Marker

Minerva Amusement Park / The Green Line Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., December 14, 2008

5. Minerva Amusement Park / The Green Line Marker

Looking southwest toward Minerva Lake.

Photographed by Mark Moxley-Knapp, September 8, 2026

6. Minerva Amusement Park / The Green Line Marker

Photographed by Mark Moxley-Knapp, September 8, 2026

7. Minerva Amusement Park / The Green Line Marker

Photographed by Mark Moxley-Knapp, September 8, 2026

8. Minerva Amusement Park / The Green Line Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on September 15, 2026. It was originally submitted on December 15, 2008, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 2,293 times since then and 70 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on December 15, 2008, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 6, 7, 8. submitted on September 8, 2026, by Mark Moxley-Knapp of Columbus, Ohio. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

Minerva Amusement Park⎯⎯⎯The Green Line

Minerva Amusement Park
⎯⎯⎯
The Green Line