spanishburgwv.html

Nothing much known about this Park now but click on link below for a very interesting site with some 'Photo's'. I salvaged some notes I had saved that were contributed by 'others' so I don't know who to credit now. Those notes below.... It would seem it was originally a resort established by the Virginia Hotel of Princeton and looking close there were large structures on the lake. The postcards were submitted via internet. I do not know the source but wish there were some of better quality.

It would seem the Park opened sometime in the 1920's and existed off and on till the 1960's. Or later? I have been told the LAKE was drained and what is there now is almost nothing but a 'mud pond'. As to rides and attractions unknown. Week-End Carnivals/Fairs they install 'attractions' in a day so 1920's-1960's or later ?

Since we're discussing WV, has anyone ever heard of Lake Shawnee, located near Princeton? In the late 1700's, it was the site of the murder of two children by Shawnee indians. In the 1920's, an amusement park was built there. It was the scene of some strange deaths involving children. A newspaper article, citing the drowning death of a boy, used the term "mysteries continue" in relation to the park. It was shut down in 1966 (the year I was born in WV...) I was wondering if anyone had heard of the place before I go digging. I lived there 20 years and never heard of it. I remember Lake Shawnee. The frames of the rides stood for many years. It was not a large amusement park. I remember it having a ferris wheel and one of those rides with the swings. There was a picnic area and a small area for swimming. I think that my parents took me there once when I was a young child or maybe I just remember driving by it. While looking for info I found this: "Scariest Places on Earth," hosted by Linda Blair, which investigates two creepy urban legends. Young visitors go to Lizzie Borden's notorious home in Fall River, Mass., where her mom and dad were brutally murdered with an ax. Also shivery is a nighttime exploration of the reputedly haunted Lake Shawnee Amusement Park in West Virginia, which was built on the site of an Indian massacre. Lake Shawnee: Is it one of the scariest places on earth? ABC show thinks so... Mercer County will be a site for an upcoming segment of ABC's "Scariest Places on Earth," according to people who met with the producer, Aaron Yampolski and his staff a few weeks ago. Apparently the ABC affiliated company insisted on secrecy ... but like most secrets, word leaked. The Mercer County Convention & Visitors Bureau has confirmed the reports. Meetings have been held and plans made. According to our friends at the MCCVB, Yampolski contacted them saying he wanted to do a show about Lake Shawnee, the Indian burial grounds and the Clay Family Massacre ... and wanted more information about local people and historians.

This is where I heard about it. Some of the buildings are still standing, as is the ferris wheel! Also, there is a swing set, which when in operation went around at a high rate of speed. It was reported that a truck, making deliveries to the park, accidentally backed up into the path of the swings, and a young girl was killed when she struck the truck...I was just really surprised that I never heard of the place.

CREDITS:Excerpts:Some of my notes say....Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community....

The amusement park was in operation from the 1920s to the 1960s. During that time there were two accidental deaths of children. Also the first settler of Mercer county built his homestead on the same land and his family was brutally murdered about 130 years before the opening of the amusement park. The land has been rumored to be an old Indian burial ground.

Is Old Amusement Park Haunted? Halfway between Princeton and Spanishburg, travelers can see the rusty tower of a Ferris wheel. The Lake Shawnee Amusement Park was once a summertime retreat for thousands of coalfield families. Now it's better known as a gathering place for the spirits of those who once lived along the Bluestone River. Lake Shawnee owner Gaylord White worked at the park as a youth and then bought the long-vacant amusement park in 1985. White reopened it that year, but for only three years. As he began examining the property, White says Indian artifacts and graves started turning up. Surveys produced evidence indicating the area may contain as many as 3,000 American Indian burials. It's now visited because of stories of paranormal activity. White says that after buying the park, he began sensing the presence of someone riding behind him as he drove a tractor there cutting grass and brush.

He says he has sensed other presences at the park, but such encounters don't make him feel uncomfortable.

CREDITS: EXCERPTS:WVVA-TV