The Heart of the Midway: A History of Bushkill Park & Grove
Making Memories Since 1902
A Sanctuary of Sensory Memory
Tucked into a bend of Bushkill Creek in Forks Township, Pennsylvania, Bushkill Park is more than a cluster of antique rides and a roller rink. It is a living archive of regional leisure, family entrepreneurship, and community memory.
The doors and gates at Bushkill Park today move in the same stubborn, slow rhythm they possessed in the 1930s — a sound like something remembering itself. For those who walk its grounds, the park is more than an amusement destination; it is a sanctuary defined by the smell of frying oil and wood polish, the rattle of a turning carousel, and the echo of laughter in Hilarity Hall.
This is the story of how a small trolley park survived floods, neglect, and changing times to become a symbol of resilience for the Lehigh Valley.
⏱️ Timeline Snapshot
Era Years Key Events
Trolley Park Origins 1902–1932: Founded as a trolley-line destination; nickel rides and picnic groves attract working families.
The Long Family Era 1933–1989: Thomas "Pop" Long and Mabel "Mom" Long transform the park into a beloved family institution.
The Coma Years 2004–2018: Hurricane Ivan and repeated floods devastate the park; it falls into abandonment and decay.
The Rebirth 2019–Present: John and Sue Klein secretly restore the park; it reopens in 2020 as a symbol of hope.
The Trolley Park Era (1902–1932)
Bushkill Park began as a deliberate piece of transit-era planning. Around the turn of the 20th century, trolley and traction companies commonly built recreational destinations at the ends of their lines to boost weekend ridership. Founded in 1902 by the Easton & Nazareth Railroad, the park converted a swampy meadow into picnic groves, a dance pavilion, swimming facilities, and modest amusements.
Nickel trolley fares and low ride costs made the park accessible to working families from Easton's industrial neighborhoods. For the price of a single coin, a laborer from the local mills could experience the same thrills as a wealthy merchant — creating a rare "social leveling" ground that turned the park into a civic commons for company picnics, school reunions, and multi-generational outings.
The Bar'l of Fun — already present by the 1910s in proto-form — demonstrated the park's evolution from picnic ground to amusement site, combining folk-art spectacle with low-tech mechanical thrills. By the 1920s, the addition of more substantial attractions signaled the park's integration into a regional leisure circuit.
The Long Family Dynasty (1933–1989)
Bushkill Park's enduring soul was forged during the precarious years of the Great Depression. Thomas "Pop" Long leased the park in 1933. He bought it outright in 1939, anchoring the midway with a hand-carved three-row menagerie carousel featuring zebras, hares, camels, giraffes, a lion, a tiger, and even mules—each a masterpiece of American folk art.
Pop's wife, Mabel "Mom" Long, brought a unique rigor to the park's culture. Having served as a surgical nurse at Easton Hospital, she translated her healthcare background into a management style defined by "precision, sterilization, and a maternal vigilance" unheard of in the often-gritty carnival industry. She and Thomas treated every guest like family, earning them the affectionate "Mom and Pop" titles that remain synonymous with the park's identity today.
Under their stewardship, the park accrued a wealth of oddities and lore. When many parks modernized or demolished older attractions to make room for steel coasters, the Longs doubled down on "folk mechanics." They meticulously maintained the 1918 Bar'l of Fun (Hilarity Hall), understanding that the simple, physical comedy of a rotating wooden barrel had a timeless appeal that surpassed high-speed thrills.
After Pop died in 1961, Mabel demonstrated remarkable resilience, managing the park until her passing in 1989 at age 82. As local historians note, "Mom Long was the glue that held the midway together; she was as much an attraction as the rides themselves, providing a sense of safety and continuity that spanned generations."
The Floods & The Coma (2004–2018)
In 2004, the "100-year flood" brought by Hurricane Ivan fundamentally altered Bushkill Park's topography. Bushkill Creek rose so quickly that large sections of the park were submerged 9–10 feet deep, effectively drowning the mechanical heart of the midway and destroying the Haunted Pretzel. Contemporaneous reporting estimated at least $400,000 in direct damages from the 2004 event, and cumulative repair costs across 2004–2006 later reportedly exceeded $1 million.
The park did not recover between events. Subsequent high-water years in April 2005 and June 2006 repeated or compounded earlier damage, stalling cleanup and reconstruction efforts. Rides were sold off, the carousel building collapsed under a heavy snow load in 2014, and the park entered what local observers termed its "coma."
Yet even in the shadows, invisible labor kept the park's physical DNA intact. John and Sue Klein — whose multi-generational involvement with the park dated back to the 1980s — worked tirelessly and anonymously at night. Their labor was a form of "guerrilla preservation": sanding rust, patching roofs, and triaging what they could save from vandals and the elements. As one preservation study noted, "Without the Kleins' decade of silent repairs, there would have been no foundation left to rebuild upon."
The Rebirth (2019–Present)
In May 2019, ownership of Bushkill Park transitioned to Sammy Baurkot, and John and Sue Klein formally assumed management at the end of that year — just as the global COVID-19 pandemic began to shutter the world.
Rather than retreating, the Kleins viewed the forced isolation as a strategic window. Working in absolute secrecy with a small circle of family and friends, they restored rides, buildings, and essential infrastructure. Their goal was to create a moment of profound psychological relief for a weary community — a surprise gift of "smiles, laughter, music, and life."
The culmination was the 2020 reopening, which caught the public and the press by surprise. As one local outlet noted, the restored midway appearing "as if from nowhere" offered a powerful symbol of hope during a year of global hardship.
Since then, the park has continued its slow, steady revival: the skating rink's return, the 115th and 120th anniversaries, the restoration of Hilarity Hall, and the unveiling of a restored 1928 C.W. Parker carousel in 2023 — operated in partnership with the Children's Home of Easton to provide vocational training for teens.
The Mission Today
Bushkill Park is more than a collection of vintage gear, wooden slides, and mid-century aesthetics. It is a living vessel for the community's collective memory. Every ticket sold and every dollar donated serves a dual purpose: it stabilizes the structural integrity of a Pennsylvania icon. It expands access to therapy and inclusive ministerial services through our partners at Positive Peer Mentoring (PPM) and Inclusive Marriage Moments (IMM).
Our focus now turns to the Whip Building and the Carousel Banquet Hall. With your help, we can ensure that the "stubborn, slow rhythm" of the park's gates continues to welcome generations to come.
📖Continue Reading
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General Mission & History — The big picture: why Bushkill Park matters and what we're building together.
Read the Mission & History → -
The Heart of the Midway — The full overview: from trolley park origins to the 2020 surprise reopening.
Read the Overview → -
The Keepers of the Midway — The Klein family, Elwood Smith, and the human stories behind the restoration.
Meet the Keepers → -
Rebuilding the Heart — Hilarity Hall, the Carousel, Mom & Pop's Café, and the art of mechanical stewardship.
Explore the Restoration → -
Floods & Resilience — How the park learned to "speak the creek's language" and outrun the water.
Read the Flood Story → -
Support Our Mission — How you can help preserve this historic landmark.
Join the Keepers → -
Further Reading & Resources — Articles, films, archives, and more for those who want to dig deeper.
Explore the Archive →
