Beech Bend, a 400-acre amusement park located a few miles downriver from Bowling Green, was a favorite picnic area for mid-nineteenth-century residents. In the late nineteenth century its popularity s..
Beech Bend, a 400-acre amusement park located a few miles downriver from Bowling Green, was a favorite picnic area for mid-nineteenth-century residents. In the late nineteenth century its popularity soared following the addition of a dance pavilion. Charles Garvin made Beech Bend a nationally recognized tourist attraction after purchasing the property in 1942. He gradually added a roller rink, swimming pool, zoo, pony rides, Ferris wheel, roller coaster and other carnival rides to the park. The first overnight campers stayed at Beech Bend in 1960. Beech Bend Shooting Gallery, ca. 1900.The presence of guns, croquet balls and mallets and fishing poles indicate leisure activities enjoyed by visitors to Beech Bend.
