Clark's Bears Of Lincoln Has NYC Connections

Freedomland U.S.A.: More Definitive History, the latest offering from Theme Park Press (available on Amazon, Barnes&Noble and other online retailers), continues the intriguing narrative about one of the most innovative and beloved entertainment venues in the country. This new book about America’s theme park places the spotlights on a trove of recently found documents and other resources along with remembrances shared by more than one hundred employees and park guests.

The previous book, Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History (Theme Park Press, 2018), was believed to have documented much of the available Freedomland story from conception to bankruptcy. Official park records had been lost for 50 years and, with a few exceptions, all significant park, vendor and sponsor executives had been deceased for decades. However, following the publication of the first Freedomland book, many employees and the children of employees shared their memories and previously unknown stories. The conversations generated many interesting and significant questions that required further examination as have hundreds of family photographs and home movies along with three recently located photo archives with more than 3,500 images by park photographers. Freedomland documents in museum archives have been discovered in Connecticut, Delaware, New York and California.

Located in New York City, specifically in the northeast Bronx, Freedomland operated from 1960 until 1964. When it was closed to develop the land for the world’s largest cooperative housing, Freedomland’s attractions, buildings and other assets were auctioned or sold to other venues. A number of these assets were transported to Clark’s Trading Post, now Clark’s Bears, in Lincoln, New Hampshire. The main train station of the White Mountain Central Railroad, the now repurposed one-room red train station, lampposts, bricks for buildings and other materials were transported north from the Bronx during the winter of 1965-1966. This story, as told by the late David A. Clark, appears in the first Freedomland book.

To this day, the original Freedomland park continues to generate fond memories among boomers who enjoyed the 85-acre playground with family and friends along with many others who are captivated by its brief but vital role on the theme park timeline.

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Freedomland was conceived and built by C.V. Wood and his Marco Engineering Company. Wood was Disneyland’s first employee and he brought Walt Disney’s imagination to life by leading the team that built that park. He then created Marco Engineering to build theme parks and other venues across the country. Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington and the community of Lake Havasu, Arizona, continue to prosper.

Former Disney employees, Hollywood and Broadway creative personnel, and talent from New York City television contributed to the creation of Freedomland. Unknown to Wood and Freedomland’s fans, the landowner, local politicians, city planners and construction unions considered the park a temporary occupant of the property until land variances permitted significant development of marshland for housing and shopping.