Storyland (Amusement) Park, Elk Grove Village, Illinois. (1957-1961)

Storyland Park was a fairy-tale story experience for young children. It opened on May 1, 1957, at Higgins Road and Touhy Avenue in Elk Grove Village by an enterprising ex-ice skaters Durell Everding (who also owned Santa's Village), Shirley Taylor, George McIlvaine, and Ray Abney.  They constructed exhibits attractive to children and adults on the theme of Mother Goose and Fairyland.

The Storyland owners had about 22 exhibits starting out and were striving to add one per week to the total. The owners constructed all the exhibits themselves. The storybook figures and houses were constructed of plastic and concrete. Everding and Abney doing the heavy sculpturing work and Miss Taylor the painting, and McIlvaine, who worked during the week with his father in an electronics manufacturing business, responsible for the mechanical work.

A sausage and cheese factory (If you know the company name, please comment) was the entrance to the park. Visitors had to go through the factory to the entrance to Storyland Park. It was noted that most children would hold their noses on the way through, only to be delighted to be welcomed by an 8-foot high figure of Mother Goose. 

Storyland Park's claim to fame happened in June of 1957 when a deer named "Brownie" gave birth to triplets, adding to the park's animal population which also included a midget cow weighing 125 pounds, ducks, rabbits, and deer. Since deer rarely have triplet fawns, this made the news around the area. There was a small duck pond where a child could fill a barge with seed, press a button that starts a tugboat which pulls the barge in circles. The live ducks chase the barge to get the seed and sometimes upset it in their eagerness for treats.

Among the amusement park, kiddie rides were several mechanical storybook exhibits. A child can push a button and one of the Storyland characters will perform.  At Red Riding Hood's house, a wolf pops out of the window and snaps his jaw. At another exhibit, a button prompts a cow to jump over the moon. 

Other mechanical operations included the white whale Moby Dick which spouts water 10 feet in the air. There was a gingerbread house that proved such a dangerous attraction for Hansel and Gretel, depicted in plastic figures. A little girl figure drenched in rain; in keeping with the poem - "Rain, rain go away."

For some yet unknown/undiscovered reason, in July of 1961, the owners of Storyland withdrew an application to build Storyland amusement park at Busse and Landmeier. (Unknown why they left their old location.) The Elk Grove Townships site was zoned for single-family residential development, which the application, submitted 6 months earlier, to change the zoning to B-5 general commercial district was denied. 

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Shireland Theme Park, Hampshire, Illinois, (1988 & one month in 1991).

On May 28, 1988, Thomas J. Smrt held the grand opening for a new shire horse-based theme park on Dietrich Road and Lake Street in Hampshire, Illinois. 

The park covered 111 acres and contained a 68,000-square-foot circus tent as well as four 10,000-square-foot exhibit tents.

The concept centered around the horses, however, it also incorporated traditional clown shows. It followed a medieval theme, with area names like "dragon wood" (a small forest which incorporated a tram ride, animatronic dragons, and "shire knights riding shire horses). At the end of summer 1988, Shireland shut down for unspecified reasons and did not reopen until 1991.

It was only open for a month in 1991, after which it closed permanently. The property sat mostly untouched for 15 years thereafter and became a popular place for urban exploration groups to take photographs.

In June 2005, Smrt sold the property to a developer who began demolishing the existing buildings but had no specific plans to develop the property.

VIDEO

Shireland Dragonwood Tram Ride

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

Riverside (Amusement) Park, aka Old Homer Park, Homer, Illinois. (1905-1928)

W. B. Mckinley bought the ground for Homer Park in 1904 and C. B. Burkhardt leased & started Homer Park in 1905 (for a short time the park was called "Riverside Park," finally being referred to as "Homer Park.").

The Illinois Traction System interurban line put the amusement park in on the banks of the Salt Fork River to encourage the use of the interurban line. The park recreation included pocket billiards, boxing, swimming, a bathhouse, bathing pool, steel boat rentals and fishing, toboggan slide, and a skating rink. A new pavilion with white maple floors and wide verandas were perfect for dancing along with the free use of their piano.

Today, it is referred to as the "Old Homer Park." The acreage today is just trees, bushes, etc., and still floods along the river after large amounts of rain. In the beginning, featured within the park was an old covered bridge that served as a bridge across the Salt Fork River, eventually, it collapsed. 

The "Old Homer Park" land was later purchased by Mr. & Mrs. William Edwards, local residents. The Edwards donated the site to the present Homer Forest Preserve, part of the Champaign County Forest Preserve.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale. Ph.D.
Special Thanks to the Homer Historical Society.