Located on the shores of beautiful Chautauqua Lake, Midway State Park is a family treasure. Originally established in 1898 as a trolley park, Midway State Park is one of the oldest continually operating amusement parks in the nation. The first owners of the park constructed playing fields, tennis courts, bath houses and a dance hall to entice customers to ride the trolley on weekends. In 1915, a new building was constructed with a kitchen, a large dining room and space for dancing and roller skating. Today, this building is home to a museum, gift shop, concession stands and other facilities.
Midway State Park continues to offer the same family friendly atmosphere that visitors have come to love. Patrons can take a nostalgic ride on the vintage carousel, play a game of mini golf, take a spin on the tilt-a whirl, ride the go-karts and bumper boats or watch their children enjoy themselves on the many kiddie rides. And, while some may prefer to relax while enjoying an old fashioned candy apple or cotton candy, others can test their skills at classic midway games.
Several picnic shelters are available for family reunions and company picnics. Accessible by the waters of Chautauqua Lake, Midway also is a great place for fishing and free docking is offered for day visitors.
Several notable people have visited the park since its opening, including Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., Lucille Ball, and Jack Paar, former host of NBC’s Tonight Show.
In 1960, the Glenn Miller Orchestra conducted by Ray McKinley played at the park.
Midway State Park has been voted the Best Travel Destination in Chautauqua County by the readers of the Dunkirk Observer.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009, as a national historic district. It's 44 acres has 12 contributing buildings, 1 contributing site, and 1 contributing object. They include the Lakeside Pavilion (1915), Arcade (1930), Carousel (1948) and Shelter (1924), Park Office (c. 1950), ice house (c. 1900), owner's residence (late 19th-century), Pavilion 1 (c. 1900), Pavilions 4 and 5 (c. 1920s), and a number of kiddie rides, many of which were built by the Allen Herschell Company.
Timeline:
1894 - The name "Midway" originated when a new steamboat dock was built between existing docks at Point Whiteside and Maple Springs. The other 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. They leased 17 acres (69,000 m2) - twelve wooded and five cleared - above Whiteside and nearly opposite Chautauqua Lake from Chautauqua Institution. The park has 500 feet (150 m) of lake front and a sandy beach for bathing. A dance pavilion and dining room were soon built.
July 12, 1898 - Formal opening of Midway Park. Music and dancing, baseball, tennis, croquet, bathing, and boating are offered to patrons.
August 1898 - Round-trip tickets on the railway from Jamestown or Mayville to Midway Park cost 25 cents; from Dewittville or Bemus Point, 20 cents.
January 3, 1899 - Jamestown & Chautauqua Railway Company is now 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 picnic grounds. Now the corporations decide one site 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 to build the 450-foot (140 m)-long pier at Midway Park. The $5,000 project was completed for the summer picnic season of 1907.
November 8, 1913 - The Jamestown and Chautauqua Railway Company is purchased by A.N. and S.B. Broadhead, scions of a prominent Jamestown business family. The sale includes the Chautauqua Steamboat Company, and the firm's new name is the Jamestown, Westfield & Northwestern Railroad Company, which became known simply as the "JW."
1914 - The tracks are electrified as far as Mayville and the "JW" started carrying passengers to Midway Park.
April 10, 1915 - Midway Park is purchased by the Chautauqua Lake Navigation Company from Dan G. Wood, who owned the property and had leased it in the past.
July 31, 1915 - A huge new pavilion is erected at the park. On the second floor are roller-skating and dancing. The ground floor serves as a bath house and also boasts amenities such as cane racks, concessions, and a spacious restaurant.
1924 - A large wooden roller coaster called the Jack Rabbit is built at the park, but has a lifespan of fewer than 20 years before being demolished.
May 1934 - Thomas Carr of Rochester, New York leases the park from the railroad company. Mr. Carr was the former manager of Celoron Park, another popular Chautauqua Lake amusement park.
March 1935 - The steamboat pier at the park is destroyed when huge ice blocks are blown ashore.
April 17, 1939 - Mr. Carr, who takes up residence in Maple Springs, buys 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 begin to expand and develop the facility, adding new rides and attractions.
October 1984 - Michael Walsh, Martin's son, and his wife Janis, purchase the park from Martin Walsh.
July 12, 1998 - Midway Park celebrates its centennial with "The Birthday Party Of The Century." Free birthday cake is distributed, and a Big Band Ballroom Dance is held to mark the occasion.
2005 - An agreement is reached between the owners (Michael & Janis Walsh) and New York State for purchase of the park. Actual ownership transfers after the 2006 operation season.
2007 - Grand Opening Ceremony May 25, 2007.
March 13, 2009 - designated a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places
2010 - Articles of incorporation signed to create "Friends of Midway State Park" - a non-profit organization to support the long term mission of Midway State Park.
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