Silver Lake Park

Silver Lake Park offered a variety of ways for visitors to reach different areas of the park. Some guests chose to cruise across the lake on the park’s steamer or electric launch and then return back to the central part of the park via the miniature railway. A one-way ticket on the miniature railway cost 5¢; a round-trip was a dime. (Author’s collection.)

The miniature railway transported guests along the western shore of the lake. Here, a group of visitors poses in the train cars near the dance pavilion and dining hall. The man standing near the engine wearing a cap and jacket is believed to be the train’s conductor, Sammy Wise of Loudonville. (Author’s collection.)

The miniature railway traveled at roughly 15 miles per hour and could accommodate approximately 40–50 passengers per trip. The bottom sides of each car were labeled “Silver Lake Recreation R.R.” At another point in the park’s history, the park’s trains were decorated with the names of four railroad companies that served the park: the Pennsylvania Railway, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the Erie Railroad, and the Lake Shore Railway. (Pete Mellinger Jr. collection.)

A later route for the miniature railway was nearly twice as long as the first. The track extended north of the park’s pavilion and wound past various buildings and cottages. Due to the large number of visitors crossing back and forth over the tracks, the route was moved yet again for safety reasons. This scene depicts the miniature train passing by the bathing beach. (Pete Mellinger Jr. collection.)

A ride on the miniature railway was especially delightful in the evening, when visitors could enjoy the cool breezes off the lake. Here, the train steams past the park’s bathing beach by moonlight while couples relax on benches near the shore. The park was open until 11:00 p.m. (Author’s collection.)

Although the miniature train ride was an ideal way to take in the park’s scenery and attractions, it was not without its hazards. Occasionally, a stray cinder from the railway’s smokestacks would land on a lady’s hat or a gentleman’s suit, causing a burn mark. In a more serious incident, a prankster once dropped firecrackers down the smokestack on Fourth of July weekend. (Author’s collection.)

After the route for the miniature railway changed again, the train passed through a 90-foot tunnel underneath the park’s bathhouse. The route made a one-mile round-trip. The locomotive for this train was approximately 14 feet long, and the length of the entire train was approximately 80 feet. (Author’s collection.)

When the Lodge family acquired additional property on the north shore of Silver Lake and established a summer Chautauqua, the park extended the route of the miniature railway to this new attraction. In this view, passengers enjoy a ride along the shore. (Author’s collection.)

The miniature train, festooned in small flags, runs along the tracks while three men take a leisurely stroll along one of the park’s many paths. At one point, the miniature railway passed through a marshy area; the swampy patch was nicknamed “Mosquito Junction.” (Fred Long Collection, Stow–Munroe Falls Public Library.)

A common custom during the park’s heyday was for young men to purchase a souvenir from the park’s gift shop and present it to their date’s mother as a sign of the suitor’s good intentions. The young Akron man who purchased this pitcher featuring an image of the miniature railway did so after inviting a Millersburg girl with whom he was quite enamored to take the train to Akron and accompany him to Silver Lake Park. Upon her arrival, he met her at the depot with a horse and carriage that he had rented for the day. Unfortunately, he had never driven a carriage before, which soon became quite evident. The girl, who had grown up around horses, quickly deduced the problem and offered to take over the reins. They safely arrived at the park, where the young man purchased this item for her mother. A year later, in 1906, Walter T. and Bertha Getz Poppenger were married. This pitcher was proudly displayed at the Getz home in Millersburg as a memento of their first date. Upon the death of Bertha’s mother, her grandchildren were allowed to select one item as a keepsake. Walter and Bertha’s daughter Lois selected this piece of souvenir china, which she displayed in her home until her death in 2012. (Lois Poppenger Waldsmith collection.)