dogpatch usa

KBCraig · August 06, 2009, 11:23:45 PM

One of my college friends went to school in Dover, AR, and has a number of pics posted on Facebook of class trips to Dogpatch.

saladdays · August 10, 2009, 02:17:22 PM

Quote from: KBCraig on August 06, 2009, 11:23:45 PM
One of my college friends went to school in Dover, AR, and has a number of pics posted on Facebook of class trips to Dogpatch.

Does he mind if you post any of them here? I would love to see some pictures of the place from back in the day.

KBCraig · August 10, 2009, 06:05:13 PM

I'll ask her.

saladdays · August 11, 2009, 10:21:20 AM

Oh, sorry. I guess I should have said does "she" mind.

tinmann620 · August 11, 2009, 11:06:56 AM

I have a flicker group for Dogpatch, which me & Rube has added a ton of pics. Anyone can join, I'll post the link soon-

rubedugans · August 12, 2009, 10:04:02 AM

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1095896@N22/

Here is the URL for the Dogpatch Site. I know it is not nearly as large as BeatMikes SDC page/group, but It might get there! I still have a few things to upload for DP-USA.

I would love to get there one more time. BUt am again very aprehensive about entering after the people on other sites discussions have told of countless charges being pressed for trespassing.

Multiple threads on an "exploring site" talk of the legal issues etc. The group is not inherantly bad/negative, however many of the locations they "urban explore" are off limits, private property, and they utilize some b/e to gain access it seems. SO I try to steer clear of them, but I trust them on this one when they say DO NOT TRY since they do pretty much anything it seems!

sdcforever · August 12, 2009, 12:09:18 PM

^Yeah, people get kinda crazy sometimes when exploring defunct theme parks/attractions.

Thanks for posting the link to the photos. It's so weird, and sad, to see a favorite childhood memory just rotting in the sun...

Junior · January 07, 2010, 08:25:54 PM

As an employee of SDC in the late 70's and early 80's, we had a pass exchange program benefit to visit Dogpatch. I went to the park maybe three or four times then, and I always thought it was completely second rate compared to SDC. I worked at the diving bell, so when Dogpatch put in a simulation ride called Lil Abner's Space Rocket, I had to go down and try it out. It sat in the open and those waiting in line could see the rocket moving up and down and back and forth on the trailer it was mounted on. Really lame. At the diving bell, we had all sorts of theming, props, live actors playing Junior Dugan, and line activities to "convince" visitors they were getting to go on a submarine ride. The cheap simulation rides you see at shopping malls today are about the same level as the rocket ride at Dogpatch. One thing I did like about Dogpatch. They had a "Mad Mouse" rollercoaster, similar to the one I remember riding as a kid at the now long defunct Chain of Rocks Park along the Mississippi River at St. Louis. I don't want to slam Dogpatch too much, though. Richard Young who has worked at SDC since 1980, played various roles at Dogpatch in the 70's. I worked with Richard in the early '80's at SDC. He is a class act, a great guy with a good sense of humor. Another fellow I worked with at SDC cut his acting teeth at Dogpatch. His name was James McKay, and I worked with him at the diving bell in 1980. We both played Junior Dugan.

rubedugans · January 12, 2010, 01:17:14 PM

TinMan might recognize a few of these!
Window Cling

Bumper Sticker

Marble Falls Postcard

rubedugans · January 12, 2010, 01:23:00 PM

1969 Postcard

Junior · January 12, 2010, 04:54:55 PM

Some of you have found the most unusual stuff in your quest to have an interesting collection. I've seen the SDC artist renderings of park concepts...and unless some employee had these in his personal file and gave them away, I just don't know how the general public got their hands on them. This Dogpatch stuff is pretty neat, too. Having a Dogpatch check and a sticker after all these years, whew! By the way, in the last year or two somebody had purchased the Dogpatch property and for about a month or two, a HUGE HOUSECLEANING took place. Many old buildings were either torn down or re-roofed. Last I heard there was a campground operating adjacent to the property and a couple of other small family operated businesses. However, I seriously doubt Dogpatch itself will ever operate again. It had a very checkered history, and that theme park ran out of steam and gave up the ghost in the early 1990's. I currently work with people who live in the vicinity of the park, or pass by it on their way to work, and they say the place for years was a horrible eyesore, but now everything is neat and clean and well maintained.

rubedugans · January 12, 2010, 05:20:17 PM

Thanks...I think! I have to thank Tinman for the check, and sticker and envelope (almost everything I posted

) since he was the one that found them, before I did! but
I have been to the park several times since its' closing, and it has gotten better. I was there as cleaning/roofing was taking place, and it was a mess. Paths overgrown, vandalism etc, the usual things to have when a place goes abandoned for 10 years. It does have a tough road ahead to become a working anything again, let alone a park of some sort.

Junior · March 01, 2010, 04:49:07 PM

According to the northwest Arkansas edition of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the old sewer station at DOGPATCH, now used by area residents of Marble Falls, AR, is leaking right into the Buffalo National River. I've included on Flickr a part of the news story...a timeline history of the sewer station.
The real article is too long, and, you can't get it on line unless you pay for it. The Buffalo National River is a real gem...a beautiful area. Officials are none too pleased about the problem.

Check it out at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniordugan

Junior · March 04, 2010, 07:10:17 AM

More on the old Dogpatch sewer station leak. A newspaper article in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette on Wednesday said the latest samples taken from a tributary creek leading to Buffalo National River indicates pollutant levels are "back to normal" but that a state lawsuit remains open at this point. The Marble Falls Sewer Improvement District #1 was loaned a pump which got the sewer station in operational compliance. An agreement between the state and sewer district was turned into a judge last week. It's under review.

tinmann620 · March 05, 2010, 09:47:55 AM

More sad news, proof the media is either uninformed, or simply biased...
http://www.kspr.com/news/local/86355067.html
They do NOT mention that the kid was trespassing, or that his parents bought all the land around Dogpatch (with their eyes on the park), and the reason work stopped on restoring DP, which was DIRECTLY related to the bogus lawsuit...

dogpatch usa

sdcforever