MARBLE FALLS — Thousands of people toured the former Dogpatch USA property over the weekend, with many reminiscing about trips to the Newton County theme park during its heyday.
Charles “Bud” Pelsor and partners bought the 400-acre park for $2 million in August.
Pelsor said he decided to open the park to public tours this past weekend because so many people had been trespassing on the property. Visitors signed waivers saying they wouldn’t sue if they were injured during the tour, and some areas were roped off with yellow tape emblazoned with “caution.”
Pelsor said more than 2,000 people visited the Dogpatch property Saturday, and he suspected the number was similar Sunday.
Dogpatch USA was a theme park from 1968 to 1993 based on Al Capp’s “Li’l Abner” comic strip, which was published in more than 700 newspapers across the country.
More than 300,000 people visited Dogpatch in 1968, but attendance remained below 200,000 a year in subsequent years.
Since the park closed, many of the buildings have deteriorated and were overgrown with vines. Pelsor plans to spend between $6 million and $8 million to make the former theme park an “ecotourism” destination called The Village at Dogpatch.
Many of the visitors on Sunday mentioned the emotional connection they have with the park. Middle-aged men climbed like kids onto the porch of Mammy and Pappy Yokum’s cabin. They were the fictional parents of Li’l Abner.
When asked about memories, Mary Ann Davis of Pine Bluff started to talk, then abruptly stopped.
“I’ll start crying now,” she said, gathering her composure. “It’s bringing back lots of memories. Remembering back when your kids were young and you had so much fun being with them.”
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