Fairmount City
Pennsylvania
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Redbank Valley Municipal Park
Redbank Valley Municipal Park is a non-profit organization.
In 1936 the American Legion purchased the park property from the Johnston family estate, but the park was mostly referred to as the Alcola Park in honor of the original property owner Alice Coleman. The Legion sold the park in 1972 to several municipalities and the facility was then renamed the Redbank Valley Municipal Park.
Previously landscaped with several large goldfish ponds spanned by concrete bridges, the first major project of the American Legion was the erection of the present grandstand. One of the first and longest standing structures established on the property was known as “The Merry Go Round Building”. For several generations the building housed a carousel that quickly became the center attraction for visitors. The building was initially used as a dance hall then was developed into a skate rink. The Morrey family of Baxter operated a beer garden in a section built onto the Hawthorne side of the structure. A collapsible stage was used in the building to hold wrestling and boxing matches supported by the Golden Gloves outfit out of Indiana. In the late 1940’s a new skate rink was built on the foundation of an open air theater on the park property where it still operates today.
One group of citizens who continues to see the advantages of such a park in the Redbank Valley is the Clarion County Fair Association that rents the facilities one week each year. The event that originated as a Harvest Home Picnic later became known as the Farmers and Merchants Picnic. What began with one farmer and one merchant and a board of directors eventually developed into the Clarion County Fair Association and the local event, which had grown into a week long affair, became known as the Clarion County Fair in the early 1970’s. Today the Redbank Valley Municipal Park is operated by the Redbank Valley Park Commission which is made up of two representatives from each of the Redbank Townships in Armstrong and Clarion Counties as well as Porter Township and Hawthorne and South Bethlehem Boroughs.
In 1936 the American Legion purchased the park property from the Johnston family estate, but the park was mostly referred to as the Alcola Park in honor of the original property owner Alice Coleman. The Legion sold the park in 1972 to several municipalities and the facility was then renamed the Redbank Valley Municipal Park.
Previously landscaped with several large goldfish ponds spanned by concrete bridges, the first major project of the American Legion was the erection of the present grandstand. One of the first and longest standing structures established on the property was known as “The Merry Go Round Building”. For several generations the building housed a carousel that quickly became the center attraction for visitors. The building was initially used as a dance hall then was developed into a skate rink. The Morrey family of Baxter operated a beer garden in a section built onto the Hawthorne side of the structure. A collapsible stage was used in the building to hold wrestling and boxing matches supported by the Golden Gloves outfit out of Indiana. In the late 1940’s a new skate rink was built on the foundation of an open air theater on the park property where it still operates today.
One group of citizens who continues to see the advantages of such a park in the Redbank Valley is the Clarion County Fair Association that rents the facilities one week each year. The event that originated as a Harvest Home Picnic later became known as the Farmers and Merchants Picnic. What began with one farmer and one merchant and a board of directors eventually developed into the Clarion County Fair Association and the local event, which had grown into a week long affair, became known as the Clarion County Fair in the early 1970’s. Today the Redbank Valley Municipal Park is operated by the Redbank Valley Park Commission which is made up of two representatives from each of the Redbank Townships in Armstrong and Clarion Counties as well as Porter Township and Hawthorne and South Bethlehem Boroughs.