Rick Davis

The Early Years

Long before Kennywood Park existed, the area that wou1d become the park was well known. Reportedly, George Washington and his scouts were the first white visitors to the area having crossed the Monongahela River near what is now Kennywood. Later, Washington was selected by English General Edward Braddock to join his expedition of 2400 British soldiers in an attempt to take Fort Duquesne. His army set up camp on the western edge of what would become the future park and prepared to cross the Monongahela in an attempt to surprise the fort’s force of 900 French and Native Americans defending it. Over 1200 of Braddock’s men were killed or seriously injured. Colonel Washington, being the only staff member still alive, to led the remaining troops to safety.

Moving forward in history to 1818, we find Thomas Jenkins Kenny making a 300 mile journey from his home in Chester County in search of farm land. As fate would have it, he would find 365 wooded acres in the same location used as a campground by Braddock’s army. Kenny purchased the land for the sum of 5 Pounds, 10 Shillings, six pence... and a barrel of whiskey!

Kenny soon found that his farm land sat atop a rich vein of coal and started mining it. Situated on the banks of the river, he was soon shipping coal as far as New Orleans. Kenny also established a bank across the river in the city of Braddock.

The 365 acres were more than the Kenny family could use, so they allowed local residents to use this picturesque wooded land for picnics. Soon the land would be known as “Kenny’s Grove”.

Kennywood was one of Pennsylvania’s first “trolley parks”, starting in 1898 when the Mellon family leased 100 acres of the Kenny land in order to create a park to generate business for its Monongahela Street Railway trolley line. The trolley’s chief engineer, George Davidson, would lay out the park and become the first manager of the park that would be named Kennywood. The first attractions included a lagoon with row boats, a merry-go-round, Ferris wheel, and a figure eight coaster. The Mellon’s the park would soon be acquired by a Boston based company operating as the Pittsburg Steeplechase & Amusement Company.

Around 1902, the Morehead brothers became managers of the Pittsburg Steeplechase & Amusement Company that controlled Kennywood. This occurred after its former manager was ousted following a series of lawsuits against the park lodged when W.S. Dodge had the audacity to keep the park open seven days a week. Stock in the park soon changed hands as Boston investors disposed of their stock following the suits. Pittsburgh investors, happy that the park would return to the “respectability and popularity” it had enjoyed under the Mellon Brothers management, soon purchased enough stock to have controlling interest in the park.

Photo - Rick Davis

A few years later, the Morehead’s would retire and the park would be acquired by the Pittsburgh Railway Company which would operate the park for 1905 and 1906. Later, former park managers, Andrew McSwigan and A.F. Megahan, and Fredrick Henninger would take over the park that would then be operated as the Pittsburgh Kennywood Park Company Limited. In 1916 it became simply the Kennywood Park Corporation.

The Pittsburgh area was home to some of the giants of the amusement park industry of the time-George Ferris (Ferris wheels), Harry Traver (coasters, Laff in the Dark, Tumble Bug, and many other rides), Fred Ingersoll (coasters, mill rides), and Zarro (early funhouse attractions). A 1954 Pittsburgh Press article about the inventors even claimed that Zarro invented the funhouse around 1900 at Kennywood! (George Tilyou invented many of the stunts that we associate with funhouses for his Steeplechase Arena at Coney Island, but it is possible that Zarro was the first to devote a building to just those devices.) With that in mind, let’s take a look at the history of funhouses and darkrides at Kennywood Park.

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This article ©2004 Rick Davis
All uncredited photos - Kennywood archive.
Research - Rick Davis and Sarah Windisch
Sources - Kennywood Archive, Carl O. Hughes, Harry Henninger, Kennywood... Roller Coaster Capital of the World and More Kennywood Memories by Charles Jaques, History of Kennywood Park by Marie McSwigan
Special thanks to Marie Riles and Mary Lou Rosemeyer of Kennywood Park, Dave Hahner, Jim Futrell, and Joel Styler.