Chester Park Train Station

In southwestern Ohio, early settlements along the Ohio River and its branches used the river to transport goods, but other settlements further inland had no way to get their extra produce to market. A system of canals in Ohio was constructed to answer this need. However, before the last of the canals were completed, the railroad was firmly established. Trains not only became the primary means of carrying goods to inland markets but also provided a better mode of transportation. Villagers used the trains to travel from town to town, take pleasure excursions, and commute from the suburbs to the city. The Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad, founded in 1845, built Chester Park Train Station (originally called Winton Place Station), in 1872. Chester Park Train Station originally stood on the east side of Spring Grove Avenue, between Mitchell and Clifton Avenues.

In 1875, an amusement park owned by Captain George Stone, called Chester Park, opened at the station’s location. It was named in honor of Captain Stone’s famous horse, Lady Chester. Chester Park was the “King’s Island” of its time and had horse racing, boxing, baseball games, rides, and other activities. The small station quickly became inadequate to handle the crowds of customers who came out from the city to this new park. In 1879, to capitalize on the new trade and to accommodate the increased business, the station was enlarged and renamed Chester Park. This is the structure that is now in Heritage Village Museum. Chester Park Station continued to be active into the mid-1900s but closed for good in 1967. Chester Park Train Station was the second historic structure at Heritage Village; it was acquired in 1969 and opened to the public in 1972.