Dogpatch USA was a theme park located in northwest Arkansas along State Highway 7 between the cities of Harrison and Jasper, an area known today as Marble Falls. It was based on the comic strip Li'l Abner, created by cartoonist Al Capp and set in a fictional village called Dogpatch. The park opened in 1968, and closed in 1993.
Dogpatch USA was a commercial success in its early years. Investors tried to parlay that success into a sister park, "Marble Falls," planned with a ski resort and convention center. The venture failed and led to the park's closure in 1993. The property then fell into disrepair. Parts of the park have been divided up and sold, and the main area has been bought, sold, and foreclosed on several times.
A documentary about Dogpatch USA by Jeff Carter Productions was released in May 2018.Carter, Jeff. Dogpatch USA Film Premiere, May 18, 2018. Accessed December 16, 2019.
History Origins In 1966, Albert Raney, Sr. decided to sell his family's Ozark trout farm and listed it with O. J. Snow, a Harrison, Arkansas, real estate agent. Snow examined the property and decided that the Raney farm was ideal for an amusement park based on pioneer themes, which was an idea he had entertained for years. He noted that features of the area resembled those pictured in the Li'l Abner comic strip: he imagined Mill Creek Canyon at the base of a 55-foot (16.8 m) waterfall could be the "bottomless canyon" featured in the comic strip,Kitchen and Schumacher, p. 204. and the nearby tourist attraction Mystic Caverns (also owned by the Raney family) could become "Dogpatch Cave", where Kickapoo Joy Juice was brewed by a few unsavory Dogpatch characters.
Snow and nine or ten Harrison businessmen formed Recreation Enterprises, Incorporated (REI) to develop the land.Rafferty, Milton D. The Ozarks: Land and Life. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1980, p. 222."'Dogpatch USA' to Rise in Ozarks," The Oklahoman, January 5, 1967, p. 38. Their first step was to get permission from Al Capp, the creator of Li'l Abner, for a park based on his work. According to an Arkansas Gazette article, Snow sent Capp home movies of the property and descriptions of the attractions. In addition to the trout farm and Mystic Caverns cave, Snow planned a variety of attractions and activities, including horseback riding, paddle boats, train rides, local arts and crafts shops, family-oriented theatrical presentations, a botanical garden, an apiary, and honey and fudge shops. Li'l Abner comic-strip characters would roam the park and perform skits for the patrons. Snow also assured Capp that the park would be quiet and dignified and would not include roller coasters or thrill rides that would conflict with the rustic Li'l Abner theme. Capp, who had turned down other offers to use his characters in theme parks, accepted this one and became a partner, claiming he had once driven through the Ozarks and had pictured just such an area for the setting of his fictional "Dogpatch" town. On January 4, 1967, an article in the Northwest Arkansas Times stated that Capp's attorneys were finalizing the agreement.Associated Press. "Tourist Attraction Planned Near Harrison: Dogpatch May Be Coming to Arkansas Ozarks," Northwest Arkansas Times, January 4, 1967. Capp approved of the plans for the park and granted REI the rights to use his characters.Blevins, Brooks. "Dogpatch USA," The New Encyclopedia of Southern History and Culture, Volume 16: Sports and Recreation. Harvey H. Jackson III and Charles Reagan Wilson, eds., p.280-82.
Some state officials and Arkansas residents objected to the creation of the theme park because they thought that it would encourage negative hillbilly stereotypes."Dogpatch," The Courier News (Blytheville, Arkansas), October 31, 1967, p.6. Lou Oberste of the Publicity and Parks Commission expressed reservations, and Commission Director Bob Evans agreed that Arkansas had difficulty shedding a similar image created by comedic actor Bob Burns."Ozarks Dogpatch Project Defended," Northwest Arkansas Times, January 7, 1967, p.10.Nelson, Rex. "Li'l Abner to Andy Warhol," Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, April 23, 2011.
In January 1967, Edwin T. Haefele of the Brookings Institution and Leon N. Moses, Professor of Economics at Northwestern University, were in Arkansas attending the Central Arkansas Urban Policy Conference."Visitors to State Compare Dogpatch to Disneyland; Conclude It's a Big Mistake," Arkansas Gazette, January 11, 1967, qtd. in Compton, Niel. The Battle for the Buffalo River. Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 1992, p. 289. When reporters asked for their opinions of the Dogpatch project, they expressed doubts about the likelihood of its success, citing the failure of other theme parks that had popped up trying to replicate Disneyland's great success. They also felt that such theme parks tend to cause nearby property values to deflate and local businesses to relocate to more desirable areas. Despite these reservations, the Publicity and Parks Commission toured the property and decided to support the project, and the Harrison Chamber of Commerce approved the plans for the 825 acre (3.3 km2) park.Johnson, Russell T. "Dogpatch USA," The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, Updated August 18, 2014. Accessed February 4, 2014. In comparison, Disneyland originally called for only eight acres.
Building and opening the park Al Capp and his wife attended the ground-breaking ceremony on Tuesday, October 3, 1967."Dogpatch USA Comes to Life," Nevada Daily Mail, February 23, 1968, p. 10. Phase I of the project, at a cost of $1.332 million, included construction of the initial buildings and rides.Kitchen and Schumacher, p. 206. A second phase, which included the construction of a train from Dogpatch to Marble Falls, a tram from the parking lot to the park entrance, the "Skunk Hollow" section of the park, a motel, and a golf course, was planned to be completed over the next two years at a cost of $2 million.Gilbert Jr., Allan. "To Capp It Off," Northwest Arkansas Times, October 11, 1967, p.15. In 1968, the name of the community post office was officially changed from Marble Falls to Dogpatch.United States Board on Geographic Names. Decisions on geographic names in the United States: April through June 1968, Decision List 6802, Washington: U.S. Board on Geographic Names, p. 4. Accessed February 6, 2015.Harton, Greg. "Dogpatch loses hold on people Residents change name back to Marble Falls," Arkansas Democrat Gazette, January 18, 1998.
Under the direction of Jim Schermerhorn, an REI board member and experienced caver, Mystic Caverns, which was renamed "Dogpatch Caverns", was completely renovated."To Become Tourist Attraction: Hurricane River Cave Outlasts the Old Superstitions," Northwest Arkansas Times, October 5, 1975, p.14 Dangerous conditions were corrected to ensure safety, and the additions included a better lighting system, walkway, and entrance. During renovation, while Schermerhorn was operating the bulldozer, a second cave was discovered next to Mystic Caverns.The Times Staff. "Local AARP Members Enlightened About Caves," BolivarMONews (website of Bolivar Herald-Free Press), July 18, 2001. Accessed March 4, 2015.Smith, Kenneth L. Buffalo River Country. Little Rock, AR: Ozark Society Foundation, 1978, p. 171. Realizing the potential value of this pristine cave, he had it blocked off so that it could be preserved untouched. It was named "Old Man Moses Cave" and put on the "to do" list along with the other projects intended for Phase II. Schermerhorn also acquired several authentic 19th century log cabins in the Ozark Mountains and had them dismantled, shipped, and reconstructed in the park.Simmons, Jean. "Arkansas Fun Town: Dogpatch Fights Btfsplk's Cloud To Add Facilities," Dallas Morning News, June 1, 1970, section G, p. 2.Ford, Edsel. "Lots of Schmooburgers, But Nary a Po'k Chop," Christian Science Monitor, June 22, 1968. A watermill that had originally operated on the property circa 1834 was restored and made fully operational."Crash Construction Progress Underway At Dogpatch USA," Northwest Arkansas Times, February 23, 1968, p.7.
Dogpatch USA opened and welcomed about 8,000 visitors on May 17, 1968. The centerpiece of the park was a giant statue of the fictional town hero, Jubilation T. Cornpone.Ford, Edsel. "Now Li'l Abner's Dogpatch Has Zip Code," The Chicago Tribune, October 27, 1968, Section 6, p. 2. Capp unveiled the statue during his dedication speech to a crowd of about 2,000.Anderson, Fenwick. "Comic Heroes: Popular Culture on a Pedestal," Studies in Popular Culture, Vol.9 No. 2: 1986, p.91. Kim Capp, son of Al Capp, worked as the assistant Public Relations Director. General admission was $1.50 for adults and $0.75 for children. During the first year, the park's attractions included a railroad, surrey rides, trail rides, a stable, an apiary, a grist mill tour, a slide, a petting zoo, and a "mule swing".Clark, Ellen. "Formal Opening Scheduled May 18 for Dogpatch USA," Joplin Globe, May 3, 1968, p.15. Fishing in the trout pond was another activity offered; the Dogpatch restaurant could then cook the trout for visitors. Artisans demonstrated their work, including candlemaking, glassblowing, and woodcarving, and local crafts were available for purchase, including handmade dulcimers, smoking chips, and embroidered aprons, though crafts produced elsewhere supplemented the local products. The "alpine-style" Dogpatch Inn provided accommodations for visitors. The park reported a net profit of about $100,000 at the end of the 1968 season.
Attendance expectations for the park were, in retrospect, extremely optimistic. David Wesley and Harrison Price of the Los Angeles consulting firm Economic Research Associates projected 400,000 patrons in the first year."Dogpatch Park Dedicated By Al Capp," Hope Star (Hope, Arkansas), October 4, 1967, p.12 They projected that within 10 years, annual attendance would exceed 1 million and annual revenue would be $5 million.Blevins, Hill Folks, 263. However, Dogpatch USA hosted only 300,000 visitors in 1968.Blevins, Hill Folks, 264 Estimates of attendance in its subsequent years have varied widely. According to a February 9, 1997, article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, it never reported more than 200,000 visitors in any subsequent year.Davis, Daphne. "Council envisions to purchase deserted theme park," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, February 9, 1997, Section 1B. However, according to an August 10, 1997, article in the same newspaper, "in the early 1970s, the park was attracting almost a million visitors each year."Hicks, Linda. "Flea-bitten Dogpatch seems bound for sale block," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, August 10, 1997, p.24.
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