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[DianaGail]

Rumor has it that it was bought by Johnny Morris. Article is below.




The abandoned Dogpatch USA theme park in northwest Arkansas has been sold for $1.12 million, according to paperwork filed in Newton County Circuit Court in Jasper.
The buyer is Down By the Falls LLC, which was incorporated in Delaware on May 28 but has a Springfield, Mo., residential address.

Cantrell-Griffin Business Brokers of Springdale announced the sale Wednesday, saying the buyer was unnamed and the sale amount was undisclosed.
"The new owner's plans for the property were not divulged but his representative assured it will be good for Arkansas," according to a short news release that described the property as a "400-acre nature and water wonderland."


Stewart Nance, one of the listing agents, said he couldn't provide more information because of a confidentiality agreement.
"All of us are hopeful the new owner will help restore the area and make it available to the public, but no plans were divulged," Nance said.
Springfield, Mo., is home to the headquarters of Bass Pro Shops. Attempts to reach Johnny Morris, Bass Pro's founder and CEO, were unsuccessful Thursday.
Morris developed Big Cedar Lodge and Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, both of which are in southern Missouri only a few miles from the Arkansas state line.
Jeff Clifton, an agent with Mossy Oak Properties, said he also had the Dogpatch property listed for sale.
"It's closed, sold and funded," Clifton said.
Clifton said the buyer's agent was Booker Cox III of Foggy River Realty in Hollister, Mo.
Both Clifton and Cox also said they couldn't provide additional information because of confidentiality agreements.
Charles "Bud" Pelsor, one of the previous owners of Dogpatch, said the same.
Doing business as Great American Spillproof Products Inc., Pelsor and his business partners -- James and Susan Robertson of Newbury Park, Calif. -- bought the Dogpatch property for $2 million in 2014. Besides a $1 million promissory note, they paid $1 million.
Pelsor envisioned turning Dogpatch into an "ecotourism village," but those plans soon fell through.
Pelsor had been trying to sell the Dogpatch property since 2016, with the asking price dropping from $3 million to $1.25 million.
Nance, who lives in Eureka Springs, his son John Pruett Nance of Rogers and their attorney Gregory Brent Baber of Little Rock held the mortgage on the property.
The mortgage holders filed suit in September against Great American Spillproof Products after it fell behind on lease payments and missed a balloon payment for the total amount due in August.
The Robertsons are listed as defendants in the lawsuit, along with David "Shawn" Smith, who had a $2,840 lien on the property.
The Robertsons took out a second mortgage on the property in 2014 in the amount of $1.2 million, according to the lawsuit.
A decree of foreclosure indicated Great American Spillproof Products owed $1,031,885 on the 400-acre property.
Dogpatch was to be sold on the Newton County Courthouse steps in a foreclosure auction March 3, but then a "solid buyer" surfaced, Nance said in February. The auction was postponed for two months pending contract negotiations.
Nance said he couldn't reveal the buyer's name then either.
Constructed in 1967 for $1.33 million, Dogpatch USA originally featured a trout farm, buggy and horseback rides, an apiary, Ozark arts and crafts, gift shops and entertainment by characters from Al Capp's Li'l Abner comic strip, according to the Central Arkansas Library System's Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Amusement rides were added later.
In 1968, the first full year of operation, the general manager reported that Dogpatch had 300,000 visitors.
Metro on 06/05/2020

[chittlins]

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/aug/04/bass-pro-buys-dogpatch/

[KBCraig]

"Bass Pro Founder Buys World's Most Neglected Razorback Mascot"

http://www.bestofarkansassports.com/bass-pro-founder-buys-worlds-most-neglected-razorback-mascot/

[shavethewhales]

A recent drone video on FB showed that much of the property has already been cleared and the old trout farm ponds are being dug out again. It's clear that a trout fishery will be big part of the new development. That is what was there before Dogpatch.

Unfortunately, he has already demolished at least 30 buildings from the old park. Some were beyond saving, but others could have been. I just hope when it is all over, he will at least save the old mill, the old general store, and the old cabins. Some of those are original 1800's buildings that were moved to the park from nearby. I believe part of the mill is still the original 1800's building.

Several members/friends of SDCFans were active in cleaning up Dogpatch and trying to attract a buyer who would respect its history and try to save what remained. It has been difficult for them to watch Morris bulldoze with seemingly no care.

[runner1960]

It is not out of the realm of possibility that Johnny Morris will eventually own Herschend.

[chittlins]

It is not out of the realm of possibility that Johnny Morris will eventually own Herschend.

He is getting up there his own self.

I wish he'd take over Mud Island  add a legit aquarium and rides with an outdoor theme on the northern end, Boutique Hotel on the southern end.  A Star Flyer would be stellar on that Island.

They just added a big outdoor section to the pyramid.
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/entertainment/dining/2020/05/11/memphis-bass-pro-shop-mississippi-river-terace-big-cypress-lodge/3111734001/

[HumphreyHawk]

It is not out of the realm of possibility that Johnny Morris will eventually own Herschend.

Might be a great time for him to pick up the phone if he is at all interested.  Entry price into the amusement industry is discounted right now.

[Okiebenz]

I saw a show I had recorded on my DVR the other day from the Science channel about abandoned places.  Can't recall the exact name of it but the show had a pretty good segment on Dogpatch.  Just recently aired I believe.

[kbosch1]

I'm sure it has been shared before, but I came across this documentary on Dogpatch a couple of years ago.   Pretty good.

https://youtu.be/CB3qJd7LyHA

[biscuitcreek]

I am back to driving by Dogpatch 2 - 4 times a month. It looks so different now from the day Johnny Morris bought it. Most of the buildings are gone. Some type of cliffside excavation is going on now.

[shavethewhales]

I have heard that he has been digging into the natural spring that comes out of the cliff.

F*** Johnny Morris. He ruins everything he touches. He'll probably try to "improve" the natural water fall next, after he's improved all the history by bulldozing it. 

[tinmann620]

Of over 120 structures, several pre-dating Dogpatch from the original Marble City, only 8 remain

[sdcfan88]

While on the topic, here are a few pics (circa 2015) that I legally snapped while in and around the property. I haven't really been out that way since. Makes me wonder how much these views have changed. Guess I will have to take another trip when the weather gets better.

[biscuitcreek]

It was just announced that it will become Marble Falls Nature Park, similar to Dogwood Canyon but smaller scale.

https://www.ktlo.com/2021/09/30/abandoned-dogpatch-to-become-nature-center/

Here's a video from KY3 with some footage about the park's past.

https://www.ky3.com/2020/08/04/bass-pros-johnny-morris-announces-purchase-of-old-dogpatch-usa-reveals-plans/

[shavethewhales]

Good grief, he is actually going to call it that after he demolished so many historic structures, some of which dated back to the original town of Marble, AR?

Johnny is a doofus. From what I hear he is literally tearing the place up to make it look "more natural". There is a rumor that they have dynamited the natural cave spring to make it bigger and more impressive. I'm sure he is adding in plenty of fake waterfalls too.

Big fat meh.