BRANSON, Mo. (AP) -- The Silver Dollar City Family Theme Park may have a lot to do with the family responsible for making the park what it is today.
In 1950, Hugo and Mary Herschend, along with their two sons, Jack and Peter, uprooted from their home in the suburbs of Chicago to try their hands at the tourism business in southwest Missouri.
The family went into a partnership to lease part of Marvel Cave, one of the few attractions in this part of the country that brought paying tourists deep into the heart of the Ozarks.
The Herschends spent their life savings making changes and bringing electric lights to the cave, once called "Devil's Den" by prospectors searching for lead and gold among its smooth slabs of limestone and giant cathedral ceilings. Once young Jack engineered a tunnel and track for a train that carried visitors up and out of the cave, business jumped 40 percent. Set in the wooded Ozark forest just west of Branson, the Silver Dollar theme park grew up around the entrance to Marvel Cave to give visitors waiting for the next tour something to do. Within its first year in 1960, the park attracted four times more people than had been coming to visit the cave. The park got its first taste of national exposure when Beverly Hillbillies producer Paul Henning, a Missouri native, filmed several episodes of the television show on the park's grounds in 1967.
"With Vietnam and other uprisings in the 1960s, a lot of people were purposely looking for ordinary people and simple themes that they could relate to," says Brad Thomas, a park director. "Shows like Beverly Hillbillies and places like Silver Dollar City offered families a chance to escape from those turbulent times and get back in touch with their roots."
While their parents weren't particularly religious people, Jack and Peter say they developed personal relationships with God on their own as adults. After their parents died, the two men decided to run the park with a commitment to Christianity.
Unlike the real mining towns in the 19th century, there are no saloons dispensing moonshine, no knife fights and no profane miners with poor hygiene at Silver Dollar City. Instead, the park is renowned for its colony of working craftsmen who shape wood, clay, glass and leather into works of art for sale.
The thousands of employees, both Christian and non-Christian alike, are expected to provide a "Christian witness" to the park's guests without appearing preachy, Jack Herschend says. "It can come across to somebody who doesn't live with it every day as suspect, but it's a culture that we love," he says. Nearly half of the park's employees have been there for 20 years or longer.
Silver Dollar City also operates Branson's White Water park, Showboat Branson Belle and Grand Village shopping center. It is partners with Dolly Parton in the Dollywood theme park and the Music Mansion theater in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
"We get tremendous amounts of letters from people thanking us for the feeling of our parks and the general Christian attitude of our workers," Pete Herschend says. "It's a nice feeling, and that's why we get people to come back." "Family fun feeds Silver Dollar City". Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City). Apr 27, 2000. FindArticles.com. 16 Jan. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4182/is_20000427/ai_n10137123
Silver Dollar City Information and Family Fun Theme Park
Silver Dollar City Theme Park
Silver Dollar City is an absolute must-see theme park. Why? It has what the other theme parks don't have. An actual living cave. As a matter of fact, Missouri is chock full of caves, and is known as the "Cave State" due to it containing over 6,000 surveyed caves. One of them is Marvel Cave, which is now part of Silver Dollar City amusement park. Admission to Silver Dollar City also gains you admission to the Marvel City Cave tour, a tour which lasts approximately 60 minutes and takes you 500 feet below the surface. You do have to climb 600 stairs down, but will have a cable train to take you the ½-mile trip back up to the surface.
Other rides include a giant swing, which launches you 7 stories into the air; a 20-minute steam train ride; a funhouse called Grandfather's Mansion; an 80-foot tall, high-speed, roller coaster with a great view of the Ozarks; and several water rides.
Silver Dollar City, Branson, Missouri, is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the country. Travel back in time to the simplicity of 1880s America, and enjoy the best in Branson entertainment plus a host of festivals including: America's Largest International Festival, World-Fest! America's Premier Bluegrass Festival, Bluegrass & BBQ! Our Biggest Kids Fest Ever! America's Biggest Southern Gospel Picnic! National Harvest Festival - Two Great Festivals In One!
Silver Dollar City also features The Celebration of An Old Time Christmas! 30 thrilling attractions and rides. 60 unique craft shops. Live entertainment featuring more than 40 shows daily. Branson Craftsmen demonstrating skills in pioneer crafts. A dozen family friendly restaurants offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At Silver Dollar City, you'll discover the best Branson shows, attractions, and entertainment.
Silver Dollar City theme park hosts bluegrass festivals, craft festivals, family festivals and a Christmas festival against the backdrop of the Ozark Mountains in scenic Branson, Mo. While in Branson, experience Celebration City amusement park and witness the Midwest's largest nightly spectacular, packed with fireworks, lasers and music. Cool off at White Water, the premiere water park in Branson.
For a unique Branson dining experience, treat family and friends to a dinner show aboard the Showboat Branson Belle as it cruises Table Rock Lake. Start planning your Branson vacation today and use our online reservation system to conveniently book Branson hotels, condos, or cabins.