SDCFans - The Unofficial Fan Site For Silver Dollar City
General Category => Other Parks => Topic started by: Junior on January 07, 2010, 08:14:44 PM
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In the days of Route 66, (Late '60's and early '70's) there was a tiny little theme park at Sullivan, Missouri called Jessie James Territory. I was a kid growing up in the north St. Louis County suburbs, and Cliff St. James, the weather man at Channel 5 KSD, had a kids show on Saturday mornings called Corky's Colorama. St. James, (Corky the Clown) made several appearances at Jessie James Territory. I got to meet him there and shake his hand. The park consisted of a gravel parking lot, a ticket booth, then you walked down a gravel path to a train station, boarded a miniature train, it carried you through the woods to an old west style town square. That was Jessie James Territory. The town square was just gravelled, not paved, and there were maybe a half dozen crafts shops, an ice cream parlor, a church and boot hill cemetery. There was a small museum that had old wood working and other types of tools. The entertainment consisted of gun fights with Jessie James and his gang, and a hanging. I seem to remember the outlaws always shot the noose in half and rescued their gang member before he got hung. I have vivid memories of this theme park, because my cousing, Glenn, worked there! He played the undertaker, who measured you for a coffin. (Does the description of this park sound similar to another theme park just down below Springfield that has a mountain village theme?) Anyone else remember Jessie James Territory? Comments? I remember when the interstate was built it ran just in front of the old parking lot and ticket booth.
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I have never heard of Jesse James Territory and Pioneer Village before. I did a brief search and didn't find much online about it, either. Do you have any photos or any more specifics about the park itself? I'm curious. All I could really find in the way of memorabilia is this old postcard.
(http://d.yimg.com/kq/groups/22971364/homepage/name/homepage.jpg?type=sn)
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The only thing I remember taking away from Jessie James Territory other than childhood memories are some photos. My dad took tons of photos that were developed into slides. He had a projector and several boxes of family photos that he would drag out everytime we had family or friends over. When my parents divorced in the mid 70's, he took all the slides with him. He moved to Times Beach, MO to a little house along the river there. There was a flood, and everything was lost. One other memory I do have of Jessie James Territory. They had a "gunslinger" in a building that you could fast draw on. You put a quarter or fifty cents into a slot, pointed your pistol at a target on the gunslinger, and you won if you beat him when his arm flung up from his holster. Same kind of technology the Flooded Mine probably uses with the guns and targets today. Probably a light beam emitted from the gun when you pulled the trigger and then shown on the target on the mechanical dummy that was dressed as a gunslinger.
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Is Sullivan also where they used to have the Jesse James Wax Museum?
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Close...The Wax Museum is actually in Stanton MO about 10 minutes away I think. It is located at the Meramec Caverns Exit on Hwy 44.
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/jesse20james20wax20museum-500.jpg)
http://www.jessejameswaxmuseum.com/visitors_blog.php (http://www.jessejameswaxmuseum.com/visitors_blog.php)
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2141 (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2141)
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So it's still there I guess? I suppose I just never pay attention to it anymore.
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Jessie James Territory has been defunct since the early '70's. Six Flags Over Mid America, now known as Six Flags St. Louis, is just down the road a few miles at Allenton/Eureka, and it killed JJT when it opened in 1973. Six Flags also killed the popular Chain of Rocks amusement park in north St. Louis County. Type in Chain of Rocks Park as a keyword and do a search on the Internet and you will probably come upwith some interesting photos. Just north of the old park was Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River, and there were two very odd looking stone structures in the river that, I think, were once used to collect water for the city of St. Louis. Jessie James Territory in the late '70's and throughout the 80's was just like the abandoned Dogpatch park, a place for vandals to tear up. The ticket booth fell into disrepair and collapsed years ago, the parking lot is grown up in weeds and I'd bet you would never know it was there. My guess is the buildings in JJT are pretty much gone now, too.
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I have a co-worker in Sulliavan, one in St Clair, as well as a few old friends, I am going to check out what they might know. Unfortunately the location is the biggest piece of this puzzle that has yet to come out...I am gonna look around in my spare time. Besides it is at the most 1 hour away from me.
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If memory serves me, JJT was located immediately north and west of Sullivan. It was on the north side of the interstate. The town has probably grown in the last thirty or forty years, and the property may be within city limits now.
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I started a group on facebook, Defunct Amusement, Theme, & Trolley Parks of the Ozarks. Any of you that are on fb & have info, please add it! For anyone interested, you can view info of more than 100 parks I've come across so far, and would love any new info. Thanks!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?v=wall&gid=230481631273
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^http://www.rcdb.com will be your friend to find defunct parks
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Thanks! But sadly, they only have 14 listed for Missouri, I have 37, already... ??? ;D
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I have extensively covered Chain of Rocks Park in North St Louis County MO. I will have to post some things. I used to belong to a site that would go to old abandoned sites around MO
(there is a wealth of information here for defunct locations. I, as many of the other members of the site do not break and enter, nor do we tag/vandalize locations. We explore what the places once were before it is lost for ever. A few might go about accessing locations in an illegal/negative way, but that is only a small portion of the people, and we do not like to be associated with those people!)
Here is a link to my post about the park.(please note I am not responsible for all the info/postings, just the photos!)
http://www.undergroundozarks.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2977&highlight=chain+rocks (http://www.undergroundozarks.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2977&highlight=chain+rocks)
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Thanks! But sadly, they only have 14 listed for Missouri, I have 37, already... ??? ;D
Oh, well most real parks have coasters so I guess that's what they count. :P
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Nice shots of Chain of Rocks. My family lived in north St. Louis County in the 1960's and early '70's and Chain of Rocks was the park my elementary school spring picnics were held at. It was a decaying and worn out park by that time. I remember a walk through and a ride through haunted house. There was a skylife along the bluff. A mad mouse roller coaster was another favorite of mine, and a small ferris wheel, too. My dad always took us to our grandparents farm in southern Illinois by crossing old Chain of Rocks Bridge. I used to imagine the large stone water towers in the river were castles. There were several picnic pavilions, and a nice, shady park just south of the amusement park. When Six Flags opened, Chain of Rocks quickly slid into it's casket and died within just a few years. When Six Flags opened in '72 or '73, my elementary school switched the annual picnic to it.
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I found a snapshot of the entrance area to Jessie James Territory in my scrapbooks. It is not very good, but shows the view from the rear window of my parents car in winter of 1979. You will notice the Silver Dollar City brochures "glare" on the back glass! The photo shows an old red barn that predates the theme park, a sign that says "Parking Jessie James Territory" with a black sign nailed on top of it that says "closed" to the very left, you will see two tower like structures...that was the ticket booth area. from there, you walked down a gravel path to the train depot for your ride to the town square area. Sorry about the quality of the photo, it's the best and only photo I have of Jessie James Territory. All my dad's slides from the late 60's were destroyed in a flood. Jessie James Territory had a brief lifespan in the late 60s, early 70s, but it died about 73 when Six Flags Over Mid America opened up just down the road a few miles from it.
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Jesse James Territory photo at the Flickr account:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniordugan
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That greenspace between the ticket booth and the park sign was the ENTIRE parking lot. This park was one of the last roadside attractions along Route 66 in Missouri. You will notice a strip of highway in front of the parking area...that was Route 66. We were traveling along the interstate between Springfield and St. Louis...Route 66 was a dead highway...nothing going along it.
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I'll be out in Sullivan next week, and I would love to find this place on Google Earth for a brief stop.....If anyone has any info on the exact exit/ location lemme know I'll get some "now" pics of whatever happens to be there.
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Little find of mine
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/front.jpg)
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/back.jpg)
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Alright, Rube! Love that penny...In fact, I think my brother and I had one just like it when we were very, very, little.
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Rube, see if you can find the Sullivan Chamber of Commerce Office or city hall...ask there...somebody should be able to tell you. The best I remember it was located on the northside of the interstate, immediately west of town. However, the city may have grown over the years, and the property could be within city limits. I seriously doubt if much is left at the site...last I heard it was private property, but the buildings were still there. The buildings would be in a tumbledown state, as they were heavily vandalized over the years. Good luck in finding it, and PLEASE post photos if you do. My cousin worked there, playing the undertaker, I have fond memories of the place, although it was third rate compared to SDC.
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The penny is from 1969, but that means nothing! I could use an indian head cent in a penny smasher, but that won't tell me what year this is from. I would assume that this is ion fact from 1969, as who who would want a souvenir cent from another year! Regarding location, I searched their website and found nothing of the park. I will email them today and see if I can find a location.
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Jesse James territory is unfamiliar to me but I do remember Jesse James Confusion Hill that was on Hwy 76 in Branson.
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Go to "BRANSON TALK" and look under the thread other old time attractions in Branson, and you will find much info about Jesse James Confusion Hill and other old time Branson attractions.
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Here's another find. a decal which there are several for sale on Ebay if you are interested.
(http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/rubedugans/jessejames-1.jpg)
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That's something that's new to me. Never seen that before. Thanks, Rube.
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Hey Rube...wanted to check and see if you were able to make the trip through Sullivan! Did you find the location of Jesse James Territory and take some photos? I imagine very little is left.
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I emailed the city...no response. I went out there Sat....and found nothing, My last trip out there is tomorrow, and I hope to hear from the city by then because I found nothing last week.
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Rube, don't be shy...when stopping in local businesses, ask someone. Talk to the older folks, someone 40 years of age or older, I know someone can point you in the direction of the old park property, because it was a main attraction in the town for a long time. You might even find someone who can take you into the property to see what remains of the old main part of the park...the JJT town square area. I know vandals have done quite a job on the place over the years, as well as mother nature. That photo I posted of the entrance area was taken in 1979, and the ticket office has fallen down since then. If you travel along old Route 66 along the interstate on the north and west side of town, you might be able to find it. Good luck, happy hunting!
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*sigh, no luck, anywhere. I am going to keep trying though. I am off to the Jesse James Wax Museum in a week or two, and I will see what they remember of the place...I will keep at it Junior!
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Alright! :D There is somebody in the town who can help you get there! Good luck!
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I did a pretty careful Google Satellite recon of the area north and west of the highway. I was trained in satellite recon, and I'm pretty good at spotting what used to be, as well at what is.
I couldn't find a hint of anything as it's been described. Yes, things change over time, but unless an area has been completely bulldozed and redeveloped, lots of clues remain. I couldn't find any, so perhaps Jesse James Territory now lies under some of those commercial buildings.
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It's possible. As you may have seen in the one photo I posted, the entry area was right on old Route 66. The short train ride to the town square was maybe a couple hundred feet from the roadway, and the town square itself, well, I seem to remember the backs of the buildings on the side closest to the highway were probably just a couple hundred feet or so from Route 66, too. Just slightly to the east of the ticket booth and parking area. So many years have passed, what was there might be gone or has been redeveloped.
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I did a Google search like KBCraig, and could not find a trace of JJT. It looks like the area of Sullivan north and west of I-44 has been extensively developed since the late 70's, early 80's. I'm talking businesses, schools, and housing developments. This search may be harder than I thought. However, I still have faith that if you talk to some of the older people in town who have lived there since the 60s or 70s, they will be able to give you a location. Again, good luck!
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Hey Rube, wanted to check and see if you had any luck on your last swing through Sullivan at finding any traces of Jesse James Territory? If you did, post some photos, please! :)
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Inclement weather did not allow a return trip but the summer is still early! You'll be the first to hear Junior.
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OK! Sounds good! ;)
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To solve some of the confusion regarding the Jesse James Territory Theme Park in Sullivan, MO it's former location is a large empty field at the intersection of State Highway WW and the North Service Road bordering I-44, I live about 200 yards from the location and all traces have been wiped out but anyone interested in seeing the location can feel free to contact me at 573-468-3083 or colinzimmermann@gmail.com, My name is Colin Zimmermann. Hope this helps.
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Welcome to the site! Thanks so much for the closure Colin. Having driven by there thousands of times, Inow will look for it when I am out there next. Junior check it out on Google Earth or a similar site and see if that rings true with your memories
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Well...that clears a lot up. I'm sorry none of it exisits anymore. I'd love to see those old building that were on the town square area. I do remember getting reports from my cousin who played the undertaker there that the place was terribly vandalized in the later 70s. The town has grown, and it does not surprise me what was there has been cleared away. It was a fun little roadside attraction that I will always remember fondly from my youth.
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Wow very nice photos of the old park. i remember the park but never visited it, and i only live 15 min away, and still do lol. anyway sorry for the loss of those photos junior, I'm sure they would have brought back a lot of good memories, also I'm not sure if you live in the area still junior but the old chain of rocks bridge is still standing infact its part of a walking trail now and you can walk or ride your bike acrossed the bridge. And as you probably are ready know its part of the historic Rt 66.
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The loss of those photos all these years later still bothers me. Mid to late 60s photos of family vacations at places like Jessie James Territorry, Chain of Rocks school picnics, Six Flags over Mid America, and my first trip to SDC in 1970. All those photos are gone, but memories live on.
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ChaseCo Rentals sits where Jesse James Territory was. My dad was a sign painter in Sullivan and did all the art and painting out there. It seems like a family by the name of Hahn from St. Louis built the little amusement park.
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It has been a while since this topic was active, but I was wondering if any of the members of this site remember Jesse James Territory? It was right off the interstate at Sullivan, as you can see from looking back at the old posts here. Tiff, you live in the vicinity, don't you? What do your parents or grandparents remember about this little theme park...more of a roadside attraction, really. How come there isn't much information available about it? I have even cruised the Sullivan city and chamber of commerce websites, and there is no mention of it. Seems strange to me, as this was a pretty big area attraction in the late 60s and early to mid 70s.
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I live between Stanton and Sullivan. I completely forgot to ask if any of my family remembers it.
Who knows what the people in this town are thinking, especially when making a website. That's probably why there isn't any mention of it. (You'd have to meet some of the people from here...)
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Tiff, I have relatives who live there. Have not seen them in years. They used to live on Eucilid Street in Sullivan. The older ones have passed on, I'm sure. The others are scattered around the area. I never got the impresesion that the town was all that progressive, but, like I said, I have not been there in years so I don't know much about it now.
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I have a friend from college who lives and teaches in Sullivan (he actually commuted to college in St Louis daily) and a buddy who owns a house between the tee pees and the wax museum (you would know them if you drove that way!) and he drove daily out to st charles where we work 45 min each way every day.
I'll check with them and see what they know.
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Thanks to both of you for looking into this. I have searched the Internet and just always fall short on any mentions of JJT anywhere.
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I have a friend from college who lives and teaches in Sullivan (he actually commuted to college in St Louis daily) and a buddy who owns a house between the tee pees and the wax museum (you would know them if you drove that way!)
The Indians with satellite tv? Lol
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Great find on the Internet today! Home movie of Jesse James Territory: www.youtube.com/watch?v=g49ALO8bGnM
If the link does not work, try typing in "Jesse James Territory facebook" at You Tube, and it will pop right up. Video is a little over 3 minutes long. When they show the scene of Boot Hill Cemetery, look close, it appears they have a headstone for Henry Blow...the Marvel Cave guy, who is buried in St. Louis! The little miniature train, old red barn, ticket gate with buses in front of it, and the old church and western street are just like I remember. The hanging gallows, the works...somebody did a pretty good job of capturing this defunct park on home movies in the late 60s!
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Great find on the Internet today! Home movie of Jesse James Territory: www.youtube.com/watch?v=g49ALO8bGnM
If the link does not work, try typing in "Jesse James Territory facebook" at You Tube, and it will pop right up.
That's odd. The link doesn't work directly, but the search term returns the same video, which does work.
Great find!
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I am so glad you found this! Just made my night :-)
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(http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z436/tiffanylynnt1/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_16691574212693_zpscb5d28df.jpeg)
My mom and I found this picture on Facebook in a group page for people from Sullivan, Mo.
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Pretty cool, Tiff! Anyway to get a copy of that brochure? I'd love to have one! There is so little about JJT available, and few around Sullivan remember it...however, it was a pretty cool place...but a second rate, maybe even third rate attraction when compared to SDC. A nice roadside attraction for it's day. I have fond childhood memories of the place, and, as mentioned, my cousin worked there as the undertaker in the street troupe.
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Just for fun, three items currently on sale on ebay from Jesse James Territory: http://www.flickr.com/photos/juniordugan
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I'm not sure who posted that picture on Facebook because it was shared on that page so many times thru different people, I'm not sure who originally posted it.
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...not sure if anyone is still here or not but - I remember riding on the motorcycle with my dad, exploring around where we lived in Woodland Heights, the little triangle subdivision just west of WW. There used to be an entrance just a couple hundred feet north of WW with a big two story house at the entrance. I remember it was abandoned but the old railroad ties where still very evident and n the ground. We followed the path and came around to one of the old stage houses. The boarding area roof was still there but had fallen straight down and I could just walk under it at about 5 years old in 1982. The coolest part was coming up on the old steam engine and one of the train cars. The whole engine was abandoned out in the woods and it was just about the coolest thing I can remember, finding a steam engine in the woods. I could get an aerial view and draw a boarder around exactly where the property is. I’ve looked at it and nothing is left at all except *maybe the strip of concrete that was the sidewalks of the boarding area. It’s in the right place but I haven’t verified it’s not just a ditch or something now with my own eyes. Maybe I’ll see if I can get over there next time I drive by and snap a pic.