Argonne Forest

While going on a fall hike, my friends and I decided to meet up somewhere new. We had never been to Possum Creek Metropark, a Five Rivers Metropark a few miles southwest of Dayton. When we arrived we decided to take the purple trail, and we began our hike. About halfway down the trail we started noticing rusty pieces of metal everywhere that looked like tracks and pieces of old cars. Curious, we started to explore the mysterious heaps of metal, where we met some other adventurous hikers who told us we were walking through the remains of an abandoned amusement park. It turns out part of the current Possum Creek Metropark used to be home to the now abandoned Argonne Forest Amusement Park.

Remains of the Argonne Forest Amusement Park

Argonne Forest Amusement Park was founded in 1920's by Null Hodapp, and reached it's popularity during that time. Daytonians could visit the park to go swimming, go kart racing, or see the carnival. The park also had a dance hall and baseball diamond. Park goers could even rent canoes and ponys to ride around. Hodapp also bought four retired streetcars from the city of Dayton and placed them around Argonne Forest, and rented them out as campsites for $12 a month.

Argonne Forest swimming pool and baseball field during the 1920's
Photo courtesy of the Dayton Daily News

When the Great Depression hit, the park suffered and business began to slow. The park was able to pull through the tough financial times though, and continued operation into the 1940's, when the wartime demands of WWII eventually forced its closure and abandonment. When Five Rivers Metroparks acquired the property they decided to leave the abandoned rides and structures to show how land was used before modern conservation efforts.

- Krista Dunkman

Sources:

http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/amusement-parks-that-fell-the-wayside-nostalgic-sites-southwest-ohio/1EnJWHISOIP7f9lXuGJC3I/

http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/dayton-summer-thrills-amusement-parks-where-the-city-went-for-adventure/R2KDtwRtloEkNrh5yJPXTK/

https://www.metroparks.org/places-to-go/possum-creek/