Wild West World was a Wild West theme park in Park City, Kansas that opened on May 5, 2007 and closed on July 9, 2007. It was located on 130 acres (53 ha) along Interstate 135 near Phil Ruffin's Wichita Greyhound Park, which closed the same year.
 | |
| Location | Park City, Kansas |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°49′06″N 97°19′16″W / 37.818209°N 97.321229°W |
| Status | Defunct |
| Opened | May 5, 2007 |
| Closed | July 9, 2007 |
| Owner | Wild West World LLC Restoration Farms Inc |
| Operated by | Wild West World LLC Restoration Farms Inc |
| Theme | Wild West |
| Area | 130 acres (53 ha) |
History
editThe park was owned, developed, and operated by Thomas and Cheryl Etheredge doing business as Wild West World, LLC and Restoration Farms, Inc. They also owned the Prairie Rose Chuck Wagon entertainment venue in Butler County.
The announcement for the park appeared in the Wichita Eagle on December 19, 2004. Groundbreaking began on August 15, 2005.[1] It was billed as the only all-western theme park in the world, and the first major one in Kansas.[2] The claim to being the only all-western one is a mere technicality because Frontier City[3] in Oklahoma City, has one non-western-themed ride (Mindbender) in an otherwise western-themed park. According to the Hutchinson News the rides were off-the-shelf carnival attractions dressed up in a western facade.[citation needed]
Closure
editOn July 9, 2007, barely two months after the park opened, the owners filed for bankruptcy and closed it down. They cited lagging attendance and bad weather as the main factors for the decision, but experts also point to an inadequate business plan and a poor theming choice.[4] They were also forced to close and sell the Prairie Rose Chuck Wagon. The park was for sale, and the owners publicly stated that they hoped to reopen it in the future.[5] However, no sale materialized. The fixtures, equipment, and materials were auctioned by Bud Palmer Auctions.[6] A few empty buildings are all that remain, but all remaining structures and landscaping were auctioned off on November 6, 2010 so that the site could be bulldozed and prepared for future development. However, the site has still not been bulldozed, so all that remains is the Johnny Western Theatre and a shed. The land is owned by the same people who own Crosswinds Casino, with no development of the land confirmed. After Wild West World closed, Etheredge skipped town and created an alpaca business in Texas, near San Antonio, with his daughter was on the front page of the business's website.[7]
Securities fraud
editOn April 19, 2009, Thomas Etheredge was arrested on 10 counts of securities fraud related to investments in the park totaling $800,000, much of which was raised from the members of Wichita's Summit Church. The Summit Church split from Immanuel Baptist Church, where Etheredge had also been a member, when pastor Terry Fox resigned, and the new church congregated in the Johnny Western Theater on the park grounds during construction.[8] After the park filed bankruptcy, it was learned that Etheredge had previously served three years in prison for securities fraud in another investment scheme. He was convicted on February 10, 2010 on 7 counts of securities fraud.[9] He was sentenced on April 2 to five years in prison,[10] and paroled on July 29, 2013.[11] Etheredge was caught similarly in the 1980s, running an aloe vera farm in Belize after his business in the United States, Bethany Trust, promised to be a merchant bank that would finance businesses. He swayed around 60 people in Texas and 60 people in Missouri to give him money, as he used this money for more personal things.[12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Wild West World - News Articles". Archived from the original on 2006-06-15.
- ^ "Keeping the Media Agencies Informed". A2mediagroup.com. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ^ "Oklahoma's Most Thrilling Theme Park - Frontier City". Sixflags.com. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ^ The Kansas City Star [dead link]
- ^ "KAKE". Kake.com. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ^ http://www.budpalmerauctions.com/news,page,43,topic_id,content_pages [dead link]
- ^ "The Abandoned & Fraudulent History of Wild West World Theme Park: BBQ, Bankruptcy & The FBI". YouTube.
- ^ "Etheredge arrested on 10 counts of securities fraud - Wichita Business Journal". Archived from the original on 2009-08-05.
- ^ Archived copy Archived 2015-05-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Archived copy Archived 2015-05-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Wilson, Bill (24 July 2013). "Wild West World founder Etheredge scheduled to get out of prison Monday". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ "The Abandoned & Fraudulent History of Wild West World Theme Park: BBQ, Bankruptcy & The FBI". YouTube.
External links
edit- Wild West World Web site at the Wayback Machine (archived May 3, 2007)
- Wild West World at the Roller Coaster DataBase
- Wichita Eagle coverage of the Wild West World bankruptcy
- Bud Palmer Auctions Web site (Bankruptcy auctioneer)