Stricker's
Grove is located in a rural area of northwestern Hamilton
County near Ross, Ohio. The park is a private facility
and opens only to the public annually on the Fourth of
July and the second Sunday in August. Other public dates
may be announced throughout the year.
Stricker’s
Grove was originally located on 55 acres of land in Mt.
Healthy, Ohio on Compton Avenue near Daly Road. Henry
Stricker developed the park in 1924 when his co-workers
at Procter and Gamble asked it they could have picnics
on his land on the weekends. Watching the success of Coney
Island and LeSourdsville Lake prosper as picnic facilities,
Henry upgraded his land and planted apple orchards and
called his new domain, Stricker's Grove.
Henry
added a dance hall soon afterwards. In
the 1940's, a pony cart ride and a horse and pony track
were added. In 1954, a boat ride, rocket ship ride and
a Ferris wheel were added to the list of attractions and
were the first mechanical rides in the park. Henry died
in 1960, and the operation of the park was turned over
to Henry’s sons, Harold, Elmer and Ralph. The
park’s modest but steady growth continued through
the 1960’s. By 1966, the park’s line-up included
pony rides, a train ride, carousel, Ferris wheel, a steel
roller coaster, a boat ride, Tilt-a-Whirl, the rocket
ship ride and the pony track.
Urban
sprawl was occurring throughout the north portion of Hamilton
County and the Mt. Healthy area was no exception. In 1972,
the land was sold for development and today is the location
of the Compton Groves Apartment complex. Ralph Stricker
purchased 25 acres of land on State Route 128 near Ross,
Ohio and established a new location for Stricker’s
Grove that permitted him plenty of space to expand. During
the 1970’s, a new train ride was purchased and a
miniature golf course was built.
In
1993, Stricker’s Grove entered the record books
with the addition of the Tornado roller coaster. The park’s
signature ride became known as the only wood coaster located
within Hamilton County (Coney Island demolished their
wood coasters in the 1960s and early 70’s). The
coaster cars, motor and track were purchased from the
defunct Petticoat Junction Amusement Park in Panama, Florida.
The figure-eight coaster featured a 55-foot high lift
hill and 2080 feet of track. Imprinted souvenir merchandise
was purchased from Angela Amusement Park in Hazelton,
Pennsylvania.
In
1994, the park purchased the Flying Scooters from Columbian
Park and replaced the Giant Slide. Construction began
on the Teddy Bear roller coaster that forced the removal
of the Little Dipper roller coaster.
By
2002, Stricker’s Grove featured two wood roller
coasters, a train ride, Flying Scooters, a children’s
whip, carousel, Ferris wheel, child’s car ride,
a boat ride, a rocket ship ride, Tilt-a-Whirl, a turtle
ride, helicopters, the crazy daisy, a Scrambler, a topsy-turvy
ride, an 18-hole miniature golf course, games arcade,
five horseshoe pits and a baseball diamond. In
May 2006, Stricker’s Grove purchased the Electric
Rainbow round-up ride from LeSourdsville Lake.
Today,
Stricker's Grove has 17 rides and attractions. The park
is known for its shaded picnic area with numerous picnic
tables and a large pavilion that can accommodate up to
768 people. The park also features a large air-conditioned
hall for additional seating up to 650 people.