
Michigan’s First Legitimate Amusement Park: 1887-1964
Beginning in 1887, the Wenona (sometimes spelled "Wenonah") Beach Amusement Park sat along the shore on Saginaw Bay just north of Bay City near the Saginaw River.
Originally called “O-at-ka Beach”, the name changed to Bay View Resort in 1876. It was during the 1870s that a man named Fabian Joe Fournier had a brawl here with Blinky Robertson. Fabian was found dead at the steamboat dock. Rumor has it that he, in part, was the basis for the legendary Paul Bunyan.
In 1887, the resort name was changed again to the Wenona Beach Amusement Park. It didn't take long for the park to catch on, with customers eager to take in the amusements at Michigan's "Coney Island of the Lakes."

The park was jam-packed: Ballroom, Bumper cars, Carnival games, Casino, Concession stands, swimming and seemingly miles of rides.....too many to mention!
Some of the biggest names of the time appeared at the pavilion: The Marx Brothers, Ozzie & Harriet, Jack Benny, and W.C. Fields, just to name a few. The park was going great guns but them came 1947. A severe storm came through the entire country with 70 mph winds, slamming forty-foot-tall mounds of ice, wrecking the bath house and roller coaster.
The park never recovered, people began staying away, and the park shut down for good in 1964.
Michigan's first amusement park, Wenona Beach - where a glorious time was had by thousands of people - was turned into a mobile home park in 1965.
Michigan's First Legitimate Amusement Park: Wenona Beach
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