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1894 - The name Midway originated when a new steamboat dock was built between docks at Point Whiteside and
Maple Springs. The docks at both points were abandoned and the new dock became known as "Midway."
1898 - Midway Park is the name chosen for the picnic grounds of the Jamestown & Lake
Erie Railway. It leased 17 acres - 12 wooded and five cleared - above Whiteside and nearly opposite Chautauqua Institution. The park has 500 feet of lake front and a sandy beach for bathing.
A dance pavilion and dining room were built.
July 12, 1898 - Formal opening of Midway Park. Music and dancing, baseball, tennis, croquet, bathing and boating.
August 1898 - Round trip
tickets on the railway from Jamestown of Mayville to Midway Park were 25 cents. From Dewittville of Bemus Point, 20 cents.
Jan. 3, 1899 - Jamestown & Chautauqua Railway Co. is incorporated. It
was reorganized from the Jamestown & Lake Erie Railway.
July 1904- Neither the Whiteside Hotel nor Maple Springs House have been open for three years. Midway, with the exception of Midway
Park, has been taken off the Chautauqua County map.
The dock and rail station are now called Maple Springs.
March 18, 1907 - The rail company secures control of the steamboats and leases Long
Point for a picnic grounds. Now the corporations decide one place is ample for picnics so the lease with Long Point is not renewed. A new pier is planned at Midway Park.
April 1907 - Herb Norton receives the contract for the 450-foot-long pier at Midway Park.
The $5,000 project was completed for the summer picnic season of 1907.
Nov. 8, 1913 - The Jamestown and
Chautauqua Railway Co. is purchased by A.N. and S.B. Broadhead, a prominent Jamestown business family. The sale included the Chautauqua Steamboat Co. and the firms' new name is the Jamestown,
Westfield and Northwestern Railroad Co., which became simply known as the "J.W."
1914 - The tracks are electrified to Mayville and the "J.W." started carrying passengers to
Midway Park.
April 10, 1915 - Midway Park is purchased by the Chautauqua Lake Navigation Co. The land is purchased from Dan G. Wood, who owned the property and leased it in the past.
July
31, 1915 - A huge new pavilion is erected as the park. On the second floor are roller skating and dancing. The ground floor serves as a bath house and also has cane racks, other concessions, and a large
restaurant.
1924 - A large wooden roller coaster called the "Jack Rabbit" is built at the park but lasts less than 30 years before being demolished.
May 1934 - Thomas Carr of
Rochester, N.Y. leases the park from the rail company. Mr. Carr was the former manager of Celoron Park, another Chautauqua Lake amusement park.
March 1935 - The steamboat pier at the park is
destroyed when huge ice blocks are blown ashore.
April 17, 1939 - Carr, who now resides in Maple Springs, purchases the park outright from the rail company.
March 1, 1951 - Martin "Red" Walsh purchases the park from the estate of Thomas Carr.
1953 - Martin Walsh incorporates Midway Park when his brother, Frank, joins him in the business. The
Walsh brothers start to develop the facility with new rides and attractions.
October 1984 - Michael and Janis Walsh purchase the park from Martin Walsh. Michael is Martin's son.
July
12, 1998 - Midway Park celebrates its centennial with "The Birthday Party Of The Century." Free birthday cake and a Big Band Ballroom Dance are held to mark the occasion.
Midway Park is
recognized as the 16th oldest continually operating amusement park in the nation and one of only 12 remaining "Trolley Parks."
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