Frontier Town - A Western Theme Park Abandoned in the Adirondack Mountains
14,694
Published 2021-10-13
In truth, there is no answer to the question. The term 'American Dream' holds infinitely diverse meanings, with its definition changing dramatically from one mind to the next. To one man in particular it was interpreted as leaving his career job in the city and venturing into the wilds of the Hudson Valley. His name was Arthur Bensen, and buried deep in the woods of Upsate New York can be found the remains of his dream.
Mr. Bensen is quite likely the only man in contemporary history to have founded a pioneer village in the Adirondack Mountains. After many years in his career as a telephone technician in Staten Island, Benson pined for grander things. Of all the prospects available to him, he ultimately decided upon founding his own theme park. A rather unusual pursuit for a city phone tech with no experience in the entertainment business, but there is much to admire in those who dare to take enormous leaps of faith.
So it was that Arthur Bunsen set out, likely against the advice of many, and most absolutely against the odds. He traveled from state to state looking for the right spot to settle down, eventually taking a liking to New York's Hudson Valley, and finally arriving upon the town of North Hudson to break ground on what was to become his life-defining venture. He called it 'Frontier Town'. Opening in the summer of 1952, the park was originally meant to be a history-focused settlement village. Quickly though, his concept evolved to be that of a wild west town, much like New Jersey's own Wild West City which opened 5 years later. There were stagecoach robberies, shootouts, concessions, musical numbers, and a large outdoor rodeo arena, all connected by walking paths and dirt riding trails that cross-crossed through the fields and forest. The park entertained thousands of visitors and was by all accounts a great success through the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Though business slowed in the 1980's Arthur Bensen always managed to keep his dream alive, and did so until he retired in 1983, selling off his creation to new ownership.
Five years later Bensen passed away, his absence leaving a void in the local community which he very much helped to shape. Within a decade Frontier Town too passed from this earth, shuttered by the county in 1998 after amassing more than $300,000 in unpaid taxes. Not long after that an auction was held, selling off the most valuable of Frontier Town's relics. Stagecoaches, railway cars and tracks, signage, vending machines, most everything that wasn't bolted down, and even some things that were. Dismantled and abandoned, Arthur Bensen's life's work was left to deteriorate in the mountainside forest, a forest that was all too eager to reclaim the 250+ acres that were once a theme park. Many of the structures slowly being devoured by overgrowth were built by Arthur Bensen's own hands. Coming from a background with limited carpentry skills, Bensen's understanding of construction was learned by necessity. His building material was the true definition of 'locally sourced', as it was not unusual for Bensen to cut and move logs from the adjacent forest himself. In this way, these buildings were shaped not just by wood and nails, but by an extraordinary and unshaking fortitude.
Our own visit to Frontier Town took place some two decades after its closure. By this time the trees had already encroached to the outer walls of most every building, the parking lot had regressed to a muddy field, and walking paths had been long lost to the forest floor. It all gave the grounds a mournful atmosphere but mixed with that of a peace and solitude one can only find in nature. The world all around us was undoubtedly alive and thriving, but the theme park which lay scattered throughout it was long dead.
Many have cited shifting cultural interests, the advent of modern entertainment, or affordable travel to far more extravagant destination parks as driving factors for why Frontier Town went from a thriving institution to a bankrupt ruin. But maybe the explanation is much simpler than all that - Perhaps a dream simply cannot exist for long without the dreamer.
š¹Full story on our site - bit.ly/Frontier-Town
š¹Huge thanks to Obscure Vermont for supplying additional imagery of the park
obscurevermont.com/
š¹Also, our thanks to '19king14 Film2Video Memories & Services' for providing the vintage color footage from 1955 - Ā Ā Ā ā¢Ā 1955Ā -Ā FrontierĀ TownĀ inĀ theĀ Adirondac...Ā Ā
š¹Music - 'The Wild West' by Ross Bugden - youtube.com/@RossBugden
All Comments (21)
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This was in North Hudson, NY. I lived about 2.5 miles from it. I was there from the late 90s through 2008. It was already closed down back then, but me & my German Shepherd Dogs would hike through there often, especially in winter. Thereās trail systems there, Schroon River, & Palmers Pond across the street, fed by the Boreas River. Itās a beautiful place in the mountains. Itās as to see how much itās fallen apart in the last 15 years. Nature takes over quick.
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to any one who was brought here as a child .this only seems like it never happened but when you see this video you know it was real .thats the way i felt .i brought my kids in the 80 so they can shear my experiences as their own .as my parents did .sadly when the grandkids time came they had to place .it closed and was left to rot. this place was a attraction of theater. you felt it was real and had great rodeos .train rides .i loved it as my four kids did .its like a photo .time in memory.it was closed because of violence.it teaches .but they never shut down movie theaters .or video games that kids kill humans that are walking dead .humm if it was still here today you would have loved it .it was a experience of its self.thanks for sharing memories .
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Thereās like 5 million āurban explorerā YouTube channels present day... all doing the same stuff... all for the glory of smashing that like button. They have no clue... this channel is one of the first showing abandoned places properly... thank you for continuing to bring great content.
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Awesome...Who remembers Time Town? Went there as a kid on school trips from Lake George, but nothing was as cool as the OG Storytown!
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I remember my parents taking me there when I was itty bitty!! I have some random memories of being on a train that was "hijacked" by train thieves LOL. It lead to me to be nervous riding trains growing up thinking it was a typical occurrence...
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This is probably the BEST video montage of it's kind that I've ever seen! Very well done!
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That use to be a beautiful place , I know because my husband & I would go there often in the summer ,. We loved frontier town & had a lot of fun there & it is shame to let it go like that , I have a lot of photos of that place from back then ! Wish they would bring it back again
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This is by far one of if not the best channels on all of YouTube, bravo
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So many beautiful memories with my parents. I watch the video and it's sad and beautiful at the same time...
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I remember going here as a very young kid(3 - 5). They used to have robbers jump onto the train ride from horses. When I was asked if I had any silver or gold I held out my handful of change and the āactorā staying in character took it š
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What an AWESOME video!!! This was so well done! We're surprised that it is still there! We thought the campground would have taken it over by now! We went a few years back and got a rude awakening when we got there. We had to trudge through 4 feet of snow but we did it! lol It looks so much better in nicer weather!! We may have to make a return trip!! Thanks so much for showing it to us!!! AMAZING!!! ššš
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Brought back a childhood memory of attending this park back in the 60's. I was about 7. Was on the stagecoach when the robbers stopped it. He asked me something, which I can't remember, but I do remember I broke down in tears.
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Remember going to Frontier Town and other places while spending my summers on Lake George.
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I remember my family and always going to Frontier Land for the entire day a couple days a week in the summer it was such an amazing experience and so much fun too. And I had lot of fun there with my family and friends. So many memories to share with others that will never get the chance to see what Frontier Town was like. And itās really hard and scary and sad to see it now in this state of mind completely destroyed and shattered and forgotten but we will always cherish the moment and memories to have for years to come now Sincerly Susan Lee Iseman from Upstate New York the capital region area
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Thank you for sharing this. I have visited that park many times when I was a child, I had also brought my children when they were very young. It is sad to see, I have so many memories.
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Awesome to find this video,, great job of preserving the old days. My first job was at FT,, as I was lucky enough to grow up in Blue Ridge,, only a few miles away. Spent many days and summers there, doing a variety of jobs.
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Went there in 1965. Still remember the ducking stool, the train, stagecoach.
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Miss that place sooo much!!!
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They need to remake this into a living history museum
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I remember going here as a child in the early 70's
