Hague Park: Summer Amusement Hot Spot

Hague Park: Summer Amusement Hot Spot. . The Glory Days of Hague Park, In the 1890s, Vandercook Lake property owner Edrick Hague developed this spot as a picnic area. Entrepreneurs later leased the acreage from Hague with the intent of turning it into an amusement park. In 1907, they bought it from Hague outright and held nothing back in its development. Attractions included a vaudeville theater, high slide into the water, fish pond, merry-go-round, concession stands and steamboatrides around the lake. Originally, horse-drawn trolleys transported visitors to the park and back. With the advent of electricity, street cars funneled a steady stream of fans to the hot spot. The July 5, 1912, issue of the Jackson Citizen Patriot estimated the park drew about 30,000 over that Fourth of July weekend alone! A 1923 fire, followed by the Great Depression in 1929, contributed to the park's closure. In 1938, the area became a Jackson County Park. Today, it is known as "Townsend Beaman County Park” (the former "Vandercook Lake Park"), a 21-acre attraction that still offers the public much to see and do, including swimming, fishing, boating and prime picnic spots. (Images courtesy Jackson District Library), The top attraction at Hague Park was Jack Rabbit, a roller coaster that took passengers straight up about 50 feet and then plunged them downward all for five cents per ride! All that's left of the park and this popular ride today is a single cement pad that stood at the base of the roller coaster. The pad, near Fourth Street, is visible from this marker..