Flashback Friday: Where Is Hidden Paradise?

HH - Bathing Beauties 1930 “Bathing Beauties” in 1930. Heritage House collections, Long Pine, Nebraska

 

What did rural Nebraska travel and recreation look like in the early-to-mid twentieth century? A forested canyon at Long Pine became popular at a time when ordinary Americans saw expanding opportunities for leisure and travel. Rebecca Buller writes about it in “Intersections of Place, Time, and Entertainment in Nebraska’s Hidden Paradise” in a previous issue in Nebraska History. The pine-forested canyon is carved into the seemingly endless rangeland of north central Nebraska. Along the canyon floor, the spring-fed Long Pine Creek flows with 55°F water year-round. In the early twentieth century, entrepreneurs decided that it was the perfect place for a tourist destination. In 1910 they established Long Pine Amusement Park, later known as Hidden Paradise.

M782 1903 C84 SFN106591 A dot added to this 1903 railroad map shows Long Pine’s location. See detail below. NSHS M782 1903 C84

 

M782 1903 C84 SFN106591_crop Detail of above map, showing Long Pine between Ainsworth and Bassett. Long Pine’s location along the Chicago and North Western Railroad was an important factor in the park’s early success.

 

Hidden Paradise Plunge Water Slide_2 Inside the Plunge Bath, circa 1910. Heritage House collections, Long Pine, Nebraska.

 

Childrens paradise Many picture postcards were issued from Long Pine in the early twentieth century. This one is postmarked July 19, 1913. From a private collection.

 

RG3183-3-15 SFN96840_2 The Cotterill Sisters Orchestra, made up of three sisters from Bassett, was practically a fixture at Hidden Paradise in the early 1910s. NSHS RG3183-3-15

 




What did rural Nebraska travel and recreation look like in the early-to-mid twentieth century? A forested canyon at Long Pine became popular at a time when ordinary Americans saw expanding opportunities for leisure and travel. Rebecca Buller writes about it in “Intersections of Place, Time, and Entertainment in Nebraska’s Hidden Paradise” in a previous issue in Nebraska History. The pine-forested canyon is carved into the seemingly endless rangeland of north-central Nebraska. Along the canyon floor, the spring-fed Long Pine Creek flows with 55°F water year-round. In the early twentieth century, entrepreneurs decided that it was the perfect place for a tourist destination. In 1910 they established Long Pine Amusement Park, later known as Hidden Paradise. (Left, “Bathing Beauties” in 1930. Heritage House collections, Long Pine, Nebraska / Right, Inside the Plunge Bath, circa 1910. Heritage House collections, Long Pine, Nebraska.)




A dot added to this 1903 railroad map shows Long Pine’s location. NSHS M782 1903 C84



 





Detail of above map, showing Long Pine between Ainsworth and Bassett. Long Pine’s location along the Chicago and North Western Railroad was an important factor in the park’s early success.




Many picture postcards were issued from Long Pine in the early twentieth century. This one is postmarked July 19, 1913. From a private collection.



 





The Cotterill Sisters Orchestra, made up of three sisters from Bassett, was practically a fixture at Hidden Paradise in the early 1910s. NSHS RG3183-3-15


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