March 28, 2024
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Riverview Park helped put Fox River Valley on the map

It's still summer and the kids (or grandkids) are probably bugging you, for one last time, to take them to Great America, a still-open water park, a county fair, or some other such place that offers rides us oldsters can no longer tolerate, such as roller coasters and tilt-a-whirls and the like.

Almost a century ago, such entertainment was available all summer long, and close at hand, too. Kendall County had Riverview Park—later re-named Fox River Park to avoid confusion with the big Chicago amusement center. Farther north, but still accessible via the interurban trolley line that ran from Yorkville up to Aurora, was Exposition Park in North Aurora.

Fox River Park was by far the most popular early on, especially with local residents from surrounding small towns and rural areas alike.

The park was built along the Fox River on the site opposite Boulder Hill later occupied by a wallpaper factory that became a World War II munitions plant. It was then taken over by Bell Telephone’s manufacturing arm, Western Electric, employing thousands of area residents. In 1997, the plant, which had by then been closed for some years, was demolished, and the land, which by then had long been annexed to Montgomery, turned back into open space.

Riverview Park was built as a promotional vehicle by Sen. Henry Evans, the area’s interurban trolley line promoter par excellence. Evans, along with the developers of other interurban lines, reasoned that while folks would ride the interurban on weekdays to get to and from work, shopping, or school, weekends would see a decided drop-off in ridership. Therefore, he figured, why not build a destination that area residents would pay to get to on Saturday and Sunday? Since the trolley line required large amounts of electricity to run its cars, electric power was readily available to operate a variety of amusement rides.

In addition, Evans specified that the park should have attractions that appealed to those who weren't necessarily interested in amusement rides. So a very un-carnival atmosphere was created with lots of cool grass shaded by towering trees along the banks of the Fox River.

Work on the park started in 1899, with Evans deciding to name the place Riverview Park. Entrance via the interurban from both the north and south was through imposing looking arched gates. Evans ran special cars to the park all summer that pulled into the park’s own siding that featured a covered passenger platform.

When the park opened in the spring of 1900, it quickly became a favored destination of people living all over the area. Those who weren't lucky enough to live along an interurban rail line traveled overland to the park to enjoy the amusements, food and the park-like atmosphere.

Early on, Riverview Park featured a roller coaster, a wonderful two-story carousel that could be operated in all sorts of weather because it was under roof, and a "merry widow" swing. Also built at the park was an auditorium complete with stage, a dance hall, and a restaurant. Canoes and rowboats were available for rent by the aquatic minded, and later a small steamboat puffed up and down a short stretch of the river at the park. Later yet, a "shoot the chutes" boat ride was added where riders were pulled up an incline in a heavy, box-like boat, which was released and allowed to race down to splash into the river.

As a way to increase ridership even more, beginning in 1903, Riverview Park hosted Chautauqua sessions each summer. The Chautauquas, named after the town in upstate New York where the first one was held, were combinations of camp meetings, prayer revivals and intellectual lectures that enjoyed wide popularity early in the century.

A veritable "Who's Who" of U.S. literary and political personalities of the time appeared at Riverview Park's Chautauquas, including African-American scientist Booker T. Washington, labor activist Eugene V. Debs, and nationally-known politicians Robert M. "Fighting Bob" LaFollett and William Jennings Bryan. Pioneer camp meeting evangelist (and modern television preacher inspiration) Billy Sunday also spoke at the park. Visitors could come for the day or could rent tents and cots to stay one night or for an entire Chautauqua session–about a week.

During the Chautauqua period at the park, which ran from 1903 until about 1911, the record paid admission for a single day was 10,000, an astonishing figure when you remember the population of all of Oswego Township was only 1,500 and the entire population of Kendall County at the time was just over 11,000.

Also added to the park after its construction was a baseball stadium with seating for several hundred fans. The professional Aurora baseball team that played at Riverview Park boasted at least one famous name on its 1911 roster: Casey Stengel, who appears to have been having a fine time in a team photo taken near the park's main entrance that year.

The park had a positive impact on the entire area, drawing people from well outside the immediate vicinity to Riverview's attractions. About 1910 or so, the park changed its name to Fox River Park, to avoid confusion with the brand new Riverview Park in Chicago, but it retained its popularity despite the name change.

Fox River Park was eventually killed in the 1920s by a number of factors, including more competition, cheaper and more widely available automobiles and a vastly improved road system that led to the demise of the region’s interurban trolley system. With a car, people could drive anywhere they wanted for entertainment. In addition, in 1922, the bigger, more up-to-date, and better Exposition Park opened in North Aurora, drawing much of Fox River Park's clientele away. By 1925, Fox River Park had closed, along with the interurban trolley line from Yorkville to Aurora that once carried most of its visitors. An era in local entertainment had ended, but not before it had put the scenic Fox Valley on the map in a big way.

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