Fantasy Farm Amusement Park

By Scott E. Fowler

Not many developers would build an amusement park next door to the successful LeSourdsville Lake amusement park, but Edgar Streifthau was a one-of-a-kind man in Butler County, Ohio. Streifthau, the original owner of LeSourdsville, was forced to sell his beloved park, but he still had the amusement-park bug, and in 1963 he built Fantasy Farm directly next to LeSourdsville. Fantasy Farm s audience was young children, and the concept was successful for decades. The two parks coexisted for 28 years despite periodically appearing in court opposite each other. In 1982, Streifthau sold Fantasy Farm to local carnival owner William Johnson, who ran the park for another decade before finally becoming a victim of the economy. Johnson closed Fantasy Farm in 1991 and sold off all of its assets.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Jul 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781439646144

Scott E. Fowler

Scott Fowler is the founder of the Southwest Ohio Amusement Park Historical Society and the Southwest Florida Amusement Park Historical Society. The organizations are dedicated to preserving the rich amusement park heritage in southwest Ohio and along the Gulf Coast of Florida. Fowler has written one other book, Images of America: LeSourdsville Lake.

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INTRODUCTION

Fantasy Farm was not a typical amusement park nestled between acres of quiet farms in southwest Ohio. Fantasy Farm was born on a belief, inspired by its founder, that the park could be better than its neighbor, LeSourdsville Lake (later known as Americana). Fantasy Farm quickly became a popular stop for families with small children when it premiered in 1963, thanks in part to LeSourdsville Lake’s popularity.

Park founder Edgar Streifthau and Fantasy Farm have experienced their share of feuds over the years, and the park has been the subject of failed dreams, misunderstandings, and savvy purchases. The history of the land traces back to the 17th century, when Native American tribes from northern and southern Ohio converged. The Miami Indians were victorious and established a lucrative trade route with the English and French. Within a few years, the Miami were forced to leave as settlers began to populate the area.

In 1787, US chief justice John Cleves Symmes purchased a million acres in southwest Ohio and sold a large tract to a group of Pennsylvania and New Jersey settlers. One of the settlers, Dr. Abraham Freeman, built the first house and sawmill on the property. For years, the area failed to prosper, until 1828 when the Miami-Erie Canal was routed through the property.

In 1834, former French army general Benjamin LeSourd purchased one of the Freeman plats. He developed a village called LeSourdsville, which included a blacksmith, packinghouse, sawmill, warehouse, wagon-wheel manufacturer, post office, general store, two taverns, and 15 houses. It became a popular stop for travelers and provided farmers with a place to load their livestock and grain for transport to Cincinnati meat houses.

LeSourd sold his tract in 1855 to the A.H. Knorr Company of Cincinnati. The land just west of the future Fantasy Farm site was transformed into a man-made lake for the creation of ice blocks to be shipped to Knorr’s Cincinnati warehouse. By the late 1800s, Knorr sold the land to a local farmer, a Mr. Bender, who used the land to raise chickens. Bender sold the land to Kentucky judge W.C. Taylor around 1900, who filled in the lake and grew crops. Streifthau leased the land in 1922 and redeveloped the lake into a swimming and recreation area called LeSourdsville Lake.

Edgar Streifthau eventually purchased the land, planted an apple orchard, and used it for overflow parking when LeSourdsville Lake experienced large crowds. In 1959, Streifthau’s partner, Don Dazey, died from cancer, and the park’s major renovation plan came to a halt. The bank that loaned the funds for the renovation became nervous at the prospect of Streifthau operating LeSourdsville Lake by himself, so it demanded payment and forced the sale of the park. In August 1960, Howard Berni and Frank Murru purchased LeSourdsville Lake, but Streifthau was determined to get the park back.

Streifthau, who also owned an appliance and hardware store in Middletown and the East End Bicycle Company with his brother Ernest, developed the village of LeSourdsville’s water system, built a subdivision of custom homes adjacent to Fantasy Farm, and named the streets after his children and friends. Streifthau’s most important business venture was located in a nondescript redbrick building located on the grounds of Fantasy Farm, home of the Streco Turnpike Cruiser.

The Streco Turnpike Cruiser would become the signature ride at Fantasy Farm. The idea for a turnpike car evolved from Lindy Streifthau, Edgar’s son, and Frank Dodd, both recent graduates of Miami University. Dodd had visited Disneyland and fell in love with the turnpike car ride.

Dodd and Sam Niehoff purchased midget cars from Midget Motors Corporation of Athens, Ohio, and Dodd constructed body frames from fiberglass and set them on slightly modified King Midget Junior frames. Lindy Streifthau completely redesigned the car chassis in 1957 and stretched the bodies to accommodate two riders. Edgar sold the ride to parks across the country and became very successful. But, he desperately missed the amusement-park business. In his 1985 autobiography, written with Irene Wright, Streifthau said, "While I was mulling over what to do next, to keep busy, I realized I had my house and 20