Advertisements appeared in the Times Leader, Evening News and Wilkes-Barre Record throughout the month of August 1914 selling buildings, amusement rides, picnic tables, benches and other items at Mountain Park.
The once-bustling picnic grounds between the Seven Tubs Recreational Area and (Giants Despair) Northampton Street, Wilkes-Barre Township, which hosted thousands of outings for civic organizations flourished for 31 years, opening in June 1883 and closed in July 1914.
Constructed by the Central Railroad of New Jersey in the spring and early summer of 1883, the park was initially called “Wilkes-Barre Mountain Park.”
“The grounds are some 20 acres in extent and provided with an abundant supply of pure spring water. Yesterday, 65 men were at work there putting the ground in shape,” the Wilkes-Barre Record reported May 11, 1883.
For several weeks in May and early June 1883, paths were cleared through the forest, picnic tables and benches were placed and pavilions and a dance floor were constructed.
“Wilkes-Barre Mountain Park will be the popular picnic ground for several seasons. The grounds are not yet complete but a large corps of workmen are constantly employed there and nothing will be left undone to make it a delightful place to spend a day of recreation,” the Wilkes-Barre Record reported June 2, 1883.
Wilkes-Barre Mountain Park officially opened June 20, 1883, as the band The Centennial Boys provided entertainment for dancing.
As soon as Wilkes-Barre Mountain Park opened, excursion trains transported picnickers from the Central New Jersey Passenger Railroad Station on East Market Street, Wilkes-Barre, to the picnic grounds. Many left the city to escape the summer’s heat in shade provided by the forest and the cool water of Seven Tubs.
Round trip train tickets cost $.50 cents with the first excursion train leaving the passenger station at 8:30 a.m. daily.
The picnic grounds soon evolved into being called Mountain Park and hosted daily outings of civic groups, including the Liedertafel Society from Wilkes-Barre, a group of male singers.
“The celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Liedertafel Society of this city will host their annual picnic joined by the Liedertafel societies from Allentown, Philadelphia and Reading at Mountain Park,” the Record reported Aug. 16, 1899.
As Mountain Park became a must-visit destination in the late 1800s, the park expanded to include additional picnic pavilions, amusement rides such as a carousel and a roller coaster, an observation tower, a large building for bowling lanes, and water rides.
Reservations flourished including the park hosting outings from civic organizations in New York and New Jersey.
While the Jersey Central Railroad constructed the park, they did not plan to accommodate the park’s growth.
The park was accessed by a single train track beginning in Laurel Run on a stretch that was already very heavy with freight and passenger trains.
Coal mining also led to the park’s demise.
“The ground on which the park is located is owned by the Lehigh Valley Railroad co. For some time past, the coal seams beneath the park have been mined by the Lehigh Valley Coal Co. These mining operations have now approached so near the surface that the central people, fearing that some terrible disaster might occur when the ground was filled with picnic parties, have decided to abandon the place altogether,” reported the Wilkes-Barre Record Nov. 17, 1908.
Mountain Park also had competition by other picnic groves, such as Harveys Lake, Sans Souci Park in Hanover Township and the 1903 opening of Rocky Glen in Moosic.
By 1910, the park’s management was taken over by the private firm of Ogden Brothers of Philadelphia, that leased amusement rides.
However, Mountain Park continued to decline due to competition from other picnic groves, trouble of accessing the park by train and mine cave-ins.
“For the first year or two, many picnics were booked but apparently, the new park managers spend their winters in Philadelphia and have not been active in booking picnics at Mountain Park. It is said that Ogden Brothers stand to lose heavily as a result of selling out,” the Wilkes-Barre Record reported Aug. 19, 1914.
Any effort at keeping Mountain Park open came to an end in August 1914, when Ogden Brothers began selling the assets of the park with advertisements in the Wilkes-Barre newspapers.
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