Dark Side of the Holler

Dark Side of the Holler

Eerie Appalachia

Lake Shawnee Amusement Park

Buried history turned a playground into a quiet grave

Waylon Graves's avatar
Waylon Graves
Mar 03, 2026
∙ Paid

In the late 1920s, a coal operator named Conley T. Snidow had big dreams and wild ambitions. He bought a stretch of land outside Princeton, West Virginia. It was raw, wooded, and unwanted. Where others saw waste, he imagined a dance hall, a man-made lake, and rides lit by bulbs and laughter. The park offered cheap distractions to families desperate for …

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