Oglebay Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Oglebay Park |
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The Oglebay Institute Mansion Museum
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| Type | Municipal park |
| Created | July 28, 1928 |
| Operated by | Wheeling Park Commission |
| Visitors | 3+ million |
| Status | Open all year |
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Oglebay Mansion Museum
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 Location in West Virginia
Location in the United States
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| Location | Oglebay Park, Wheeling, West Virginia |
| Area | 1,650 acres (667.7 ha) |
| Built | 1846 |
| Architect | Hanson Chapline, renovations by Edward B. Franzheim and the Klieves, Kraft and Company |
| NRHP reference No. | 79002595 |
| Added to NRHP | August 29, 1979 |
Oglebay Park is a special public park in Wheeling, West Virginia. It's huge, covering about 1,650 acres! Back in 1926, a man named Earl W. Oglebay gave his large farm, called Waddington Farms, to the city of Wheeling. He wanted it to be a fun place for everyone to visit. The park first opened its doors in 1928 and is managed by the Wheeling Park Commission.
Many of the original buildings from Waddington Farms are still used today. This includes the Mansion Museum and the greenhouse. Other buildings, like the Carriage House, have been rebuilt to look like the old ones. The Oglebay Mansion became a historic landmark in 1979. Today, the Oglebay Institute runs it as a museum.
Oglebay Park offers tons of activities! It has several golf courses and tennis courts. There's a big outdoor pool and many walking trails. You can visit the Good Zoo, the Mansion Museum, and beautiful gardens. The park also has the Anne Kuchinka Amphitheater and the Wilson Lodge, which has over 271 rooms. You can even stay in one of the 54 cottages. The Schrader Center is a nature center, and the Good Zoo has a planetarium. For winter fun, there's a ski slope. Schenk Lake is great for fishing, pedal boating, and Segway tours. You can also enjoy fountain shows and visit the Speidel Observatory.
The park hosts many exciting events each year. These include the Winter Festival of Lights, Oglebayfest, and the Ohio County Fair. Other events are the West Virginia Open (tennis), Springfest, and Fort Henry Days, which is a living history weekend.
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Oglebay Mansion: A Historic Home
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The Oglebay Mansion was first built in 1846. It started as a small, eight-room farmhouse. Earl W. Oglebay bought the house and its 25 acres in 1900. He renamed it Waddington Farm and used it as his summer home. He was the ninth owner of the property. Earl Oglebay made the farmhouse much bigger by adding new sections and features.
Over time, Earl Oglebay bought more land around the farm. By the time he passed away in 1926, Waddington Farm had grown to 750 acres. The mansion became a museum in 1930. The museum shows restored rooms and exhibits about local history. It also tells the story of Earl W. Oglebay and his farm. The Oglebay Institute runs the museum, and you can visit it all year for tours and programs.
Earl W. Oglebay wanted Waddington Farm to be a special place for farming. He hoped it would be a "model farm" to test new ways of growing food. He wanted to help end hunger in the United States. He let researchers use parts of his farm. They studied things like crop rotation, making soil better, and saving money on farming. Waddington Farm had a dairy farm, a poultry farm, and even a sheep farm. It also had stables, vineyards, a greenhouse, and beautiful rose gardens. There were also fruit trees and vegetable gardens. At first, some farmers thought Oglebay's ideas were strange. But when they saw how well his experiments worked, they changed their minds.
Winter Festival of Lights: A Dazzling Display
The Winter Festival of Lights started in 1985 at Oglebay Park. It quickly became a popular holiday tradition in Wheeling. In its first year, the festival covered 125 acres with lights along a three-mile drive. Now, the show lights up over 300 acres along a six-mile drive through the park. Dick Bosch, a lighting expert, and Robert J. Otten, the park's creative director, created this amazing display. Bosch handled the lighting for trees and buildings. Otten designed the first five displays in 1985 and added nearly 50 more until 2005.
Every year, new light displays are added. Some famous ones include the Snowflake Tunnel, where you drive through thousands of twinkling lights. There's also the huge Polyhedron Star with over 2,000 lights. The Poinsettia Wreath and Candle is the tallest display. Other favorites are the Candy Cane Wreath and The Twelve Days of Christmas. Willard the Snowman is named after TV personality Willard Scott, who turned on the lights in 1986. Local students from Ohio County Schools even submit ideas for new displays. Students at Wheeling Park High School build the frames for these displays. Their electronics program designs the controls for all the animated lights. The high school's radio station, WPHP 91.9, plays holiday music and park information every evening.
Two of the park's light displays are set to music. "Gardens of Light" and the Good Zoo's "Lighting and Music Extravaganza" were designed by Carson Williams. He created a famous light display at his home in Mason, Ohio. The Good Zoo's light show, added in 2006, uses over 35,500 LED bulbs. A computer controls these lights, making them dance to the music. The "Gardens of Light" display, added in 2007, is similar but much larger. Visitors walk through gardens filled with lighted flower baskets and flowers. This display tries to look like Oglebay Park's beautiful flower gardens in spring and summer.
Since 2008, Oglebay has used LED lights for all new displays. The park is also slowly changing older displays to use LEDs. These new lights use 85% less energy and last five times longer.
Good Zoo: Meet the Animals
The Good Zoo is a 30-acre animal park. It is home to more than 80 different kinds of animals. The zoo was named in memory of Philip Mayer Good, a seven-year-old boy who loved nature. He was the son of Barbara and Larry Good from Wheeling. As of 2019, the Good Zoo has amazing animals like cheetahs, zebras, kangaroos, and lemurs. You can also see ostriches, llamas, bald eagles, red pandas, and a group of meerkats. There's a discovery lab with an indoor South American rainforest exhibit. The Good Zoo is the only zoo in West Virginia that is approved by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). This means it meets high standards for animal care.
The Good Zoo also has a veterinary hospital. Visitors can sometimes watch operations and checkups. The hospital treats zoo animals and is a breeding center for some species. It also quarantines new animals and helps wild birds that are hurt. The zoo's program for helping birds of prey has saved many birds. You can see some of these birds, like turkey vultures and bald eagles, on exhibit.
The Good Zoo takes part in many Species Survival Plan (SSP) programs. These programs are run by the AZA. Their goal is to help save as many species as possible. They do this through breeding animals in captivity, education, research, and protecting animal homes.
The Good Zoo hosts fun events every year. These include "Boo at the Zoo" in October and "The Good Zoo Lights Up For You" during the Festival of Lights. There's also an annual car show and an Easter egg hunt.
Images for kids
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Crispin Center (The golf clubhouse).
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View of the golf course.
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A buck at the park.
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Lake and fountain at the park.
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Wilson Lodge (A 271-room lodge).
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Camp Russel
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Infrared photograph of the park in winter.
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