Oglebay Park
Encyclopedia
Oglebay Park is a self supporting public municipal park, the only one of its kind, located on the outskirts of Wheeling, West Virginia
on 1650 acres (667.7 ha). The park has been open to the public since 1928 when the park's governing body, the Wheeling Park Commission, began operations at the former estate of Earl W. Oglebay. In 1926, Earl W. Oglebay donated his summer estate, Waddington Farms, to the city of Wheeling.
Several Waddington Farms buildings, including the Mansion Museum and the greenhouse, remain in use today. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1979, the Oglebay Mansion is operated as a museum by the Oglebay Institute.
The park currently incorporates three championship golf course
s, eleven tennis court
s, a large outdoor pool
, extensive walking trails, the Good Zoo, The Mansion Museum (operated by the Oglebay Institute
), gardens, a greenhouse
, the Anne Kuchinka Amphitheater, the Wilson Lodge (containing over 200 rooms), 49 cottage
s, The Schrader Center (a nature center operated by the Oglebay Institute
), a planetarium
(located within the Good Zoo), a ski slope
, Camp Russel, and Schenk Lake, which is used for fishing
, pedal boat
ing, Segway
tours, and several nightly fountain shows in season.
Annual events at the park include, but are not limited to: The Winter Festival of Lights, Oglebayfest, the Ohio County Fair, the West Virginia Open (tennis), Springfest, and Fort Henry Days (a living history weekend).
and is open to the public for tours and programs throughout the year
Earl W. Oglebay's hope was to develop Waddington Farm as a model farm, a laboratory for new agricultural changes that could be used to end the great starvation in the United States. He lent out parts of the farm to various researchers so that they could learn about crop rotation
, soil improvement, and cost-cutting methods. Waddington Farm once incorporated a dairy farm, a poultry farm, a pig farm, and a sheep farm as well as stables, vineyard
s, a greenhouse
, a rose
garden, groves of fruit tree
s, vegetable gardens for the consumption of those living within the estate, and the areas used to research agricultural techniques. Earl Oglebay's unconventional farming methods resulted in criticism by the agricultural community. To them, he was "a man from the city trying outlandish things", but after they saw the results of his experiments, they thought differently.
This 1985 holiday tradition began at Oglebay Park, but soon spread throughout the city of Wheeling. The first year, displays and landscape lighting covered 125 acres (50.6 ha) over a three-mile (5 km) drive throughout the resort. The show now covers more than 300 acres (121.4 ha) over a six-mile (10 km) drive throughout the park. Landscape lighting expert Dick Bosch and the late Robert J. Otten, Wheeling Park Commission’s long-time creative director, were the creative talents behind Oglebay’s show. Bosch’s lighting expertise was needed to produce the lighting for trees and buildings, and Bob Otten designed the first five displays for the 1985 opening and created nearly 50 additional displays until his death in 2005.
Every year, several new displays are added. Notable displays from past years include the Snowflake Tunnel, a display that allows visitors to drive through a lighted tunnel portraying thousands of twinkling snowflakes , the massive Polyhedron Star, which includes over 2,000 lights, and the Poinsettia Wreath and Candle, which is the festival's tallest. Other displays include the Candy Cane Wreath, The Twelve Days of Christmas, and Willard the Snowman, named for the television personality Willard Scott
, who switched on the lights for Light-Up Night in 1986. Every year, local students submit new display ideas, and several displays were created at Wheeling Park High School
.
Two of the Park's light displays are synchronized to music. "Gardens of Light" and the Good Zoo's "Lighting and Music Extravaganza" were designed by Carson Williams
, who created the original Wizards in Winter light display at his home in Mason, Ohio
. The Good Zoo's light show, added in 2006, utilizes upwards of 35,500 LED
light bulbs and is controlled by a computer. This technology allows the lights to be synchronized with music. The "Gardens of Light" display, which was added in 2007, is very similar to the Good Zoo's light show, but on a much larger scale. In this display, park visitors walk through the gardens, which incorporate hanging flower baskets with lights and lighted flowers in the flowerbeds. The "Gardens of Light" display is an attempt to recreate the look of Oglebay Park's flower gardens during the spring and summer months.
In 2008, Oglebay announced that all new displays will use LED
lights, rather than the incandescent lights that were used before. In addition, the Park will gradually convert the existing displays to use LED
lights. The new lights will use 85% less energy and last five times longer, according to Oglebay's website.
s, North American River Otters, Spectacled Bear
s, Western Grey Kangaroo
s, Red-necked Wallaby
s, Cottontop Tamarin
s, Ring-tailed Lemur
s, an Ocelot
, Ostrich
es, Llama
s, goat
s, two Red-tailed Hawk
s, Barn Owl
s, Bald Eagle
s, Red Panda
s, Goral
s, a Red-crowned Crane
, a Sandhill Crane
, a small gang of Meerkat
s and many other animals from all over the globe. It includes a train
, which travels through the ostrich exhibit and all throughout the zoo, and a discovery lab, with an indoor South American Rainforest
exhibit. The zoo also features an aviary, which houses red-flanked lorikeets, Goldie's lorikeets, and two subspecies of the Rainbow Lorikeet
, the blue mountain (Swainson's) lorikeet, and the green-naped lorikeet. The Good Zoo is the only AZA accredited zoo in the state of West Virginia.
The Good Zoo is also home to a veterinary
hospital where visitors can view operations and routine checkups. The hospital is used as a treatment area for zoo animals, a breeding center for certain species, a quarantine area for incoming animals, and a rehabilitation center for injured wild raptors. The zoo's raptor rehabilitation program has successfully treated many raptors and other native birds since its establishment. The zoo's red-tailed hawk
, and bald eagle
s, however, were not able to be returned to their habitat due to severe injuries. They are now ambassadors for the plight of wild raptors and are used in numerous educational programs.
The Good Zoo has many SSP programs. The Species Survival Plan (SSP) is a cooperative breeding and conservation program instituted by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
(AZA). The goal of SSP programs is to help as many species as possible through captive breeding, education, research, and habitat preservation.
Annual events at the Good Zoo include "Boo at the Zoo" (in October), "The Good Zoo Lights Up For You" (during the Festival of Lights), an annual car show at nearby Camp Russel, and an Easter egg hunt (in April).
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
on 1650 acres (667.7 ha). The park has been open to the public since 1928 when the park's governing body, the Wheeling Park Commission, began operations at the former estate of Earl W. Oglebay. In 1926, Earl W. Oglebay donated his summer estate, Waddington Farms, to the city of Wheeling.
Several Waddington Farms buildings, including the Mansion Museum and the greenhouse, remain in use today. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1979, the Oglebay Mansion is operated as a museum by the Oglebay Institute.
The park currently incorporates three championship golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
s, eleven tennis court
Tennis court
A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
s, a large outdoor pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, extensive walking trails, the Good Zoo, The Mansion Museum (operated by the Oglebay Institute
Oglebay Institute
Located in Wheeling, West Virginia, Oglebay Institute is a 501 non-profit organization incorporated in 1930.-History:The organization’s founder, Earl W. Oglebay willed his country estate to the City of Wheeling for use “...as a public park for the enjoyment, recreation and education of the greatest...
), gardens, a greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
, the Anne Kuchinka Amphitheater, the Wilson Lodge (containing over 200 rooms), 49 cottage
Cottage
__toc__In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all...
s, The Schrader Center (a nature center operated by the Oglebay Institute
Oglebay Institute
Located in Wheeling, West Virginia, Oglebay Institute is a 501 non-profit organization incorporated in 1930.-History:The organization’s founder, Earl W. Oglebay willed his country estate to the City of Wheeling for use “...as a public park for the enjoyment, recreation and education of the greatest...
), a planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
(located within the Good Zoo), a ski slope
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, Camp Russel, and Schenk Lake, which is used for fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, pedal boat
Pedalo
A paddle boat or "pedalo" is a form of waterborne transport, primarily for recreational use, powered through the use of pedals....
ing, Segway
Segway PT
The Segway PT is a two-wheeled, self-balancing transportation machine invented by Dean Kamen. It is produced by Segway Inc. of New Hampshire, USA. The name "Segway" is a homophone of "segue" while "PT" denotes personal transporter....
tours, and several nightly fountain shows in season.
Annual events at the park include, but are not limited to: The Winter Festival of Lights, Oglebayfest, the Ohio County Fair, the West Virginia Open (tennis), Springfest, and Fort Henry Days (a living history weekend).
The Oglebay Mansion and Waddington Farm
The Oglebay Mansion was built in 1846 by Paul Matvey as an eight-room farmhouse. Earl W. Oglebay, co-founder of the Oglebay-Norton Company, purchased the mansion and its 25 acres (10.1 ha) adjoining in 1900, renamed it Waddington Farm, and used it as his summer estate and model farm. He was the ninth owner of the home and its adjoining land, and expanded the farmhouse into a mansion by adding additional wings and architectural features like the front portico. He gradually expanded the estate by purchasing adjacent farms until Waddington Farm had grown from 25 acres (10.1 ha) to 750 acres (303.5 ha) at the time of his death in 1926. The mansion became a museum in 1930. The museum, which includes restored rooms, local history exhibits, and exhibits on Earl W. Oglebay and his former estate, is operated by the Oglebay InstituteOglebay Institute
Located in Wheeling, West Virginia, Oglebay Institute is a 501 non-profit organization incorporated in 1930.-History:The organization’s founder, Earl W. Oglebay willed his country estate to the City of Wheeling for use “...as a public park for the enjoyment, recreation and education of the greatest...
and is open to the public for tours and programs throughout the year
Crop rotation
Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons.Crop rotation confers various benefits to the soil. A traditional element of crop rotation is the replenishment of nitrogen through the use of green manure in sequence with cereals...
, soil improvement, and cost-cutting methods. Waddington Farm once incorporated a dairy farm, a poultry farm, a pig farm, and a sheep farm as well as stables, vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s, a greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
, a rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
garden, groves of fruit tree
Fruit tree
A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by people — all trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, the term 'fruit tree' is limited to those that provide fruit for...
s, vegetable gardens for the consumption of those living within the estate, and the areas used to research agricultural techniques. Earl Oglebay's unconventional farming methods resulted in criticism by the agricultural community. To them, he was "a man from the city trying outlandish things", but after they saw the results of his experiments, they thought differently.
The Winter Festival of Lights
Every year, several new displays are added. Notable displays from past years include the Snowflake Tunnel, a display that allows visitors to drive through a lighted tunnel portraying thousands of twinkling snowflakes , the massive Polyhedron Star, which includes over 2,000 lights, and the Poinsettia Wreath and Candle, which is the festival's tallest. Other displays include the Candy Cane Wreath, The Twelve Days of Christmas, and Willard the Snowman, named for the television personality Willard Scott
Willard Scott
Willard Herman Scott, Jr. is an American media personality and author best known for his television work on NBC's The Today Show and as the creator of the Ronald McDonald character.-Early years:...
, who switched on the lights for Light-Up Night in 1986. Every year, local students submit new display ideas, and several displays were created at Wheeling Park High School
Wheeling Park High School
Wheeling Park High School is a high school in Wheeling, West Virginia, United States, and is the only public high school serving Ohio County, West Virginia. Park, as it is sometimes called, is home to roughly 2,000 students in grades 9-12....
.
Two of the Park's light displays are synchronized to music. "Gardens of Light" and the Good Zoo's "Lighting and Music Extravaganza" were designed by Carson Williams
Carson Williams
Carson Williams from Mason, Ohio, is noted for his light shows using Christmas lights affixed to and around his house. The lights are programmed and synchronized to turn on and off with music using a computer application and set of controllers from the company...
, who created the original Wizards in Winter light display at his home in Mason, Ohio
Mason, Ohio
Mason is an affluent city in southwestern Warren County, Ohio, United States, 22 miles away from Cincinnati . As of the 2010 census, Mason's population was 30,712. Mason has experienced fast growth, with its historic Main Street remaining at the center of the community...
. The Good Zoo's light show, added in 2006, utilizes upwards of 35,500 LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
light bulbs and is controlled by a computer. This technology allows the lights to be synchronized with music. The "Gardens of Light" display, which was added in 2007, is very similar to the Good Zoo's light show, but on a much larger scale. In this display, park visitors walk through the gardens, which incorporate hanging flower baskets with lights and lighted flowers in the flowerbeds. The "Gardens of Light" display is an attempt to recreate the look of Oglebay Park's flower gardens during the spring and summer months.
In 2008, Oglebay announced that all new displays will use LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
lights, rather than the incandescent lights that were used before. In addition, the Park will gradually convert the existing displays to use LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
lights. The new lights will use 85% less energy and last five times longer, according to Oglebay's website.
The Good Zoo
The Good Zoo is a 30 acres (12.1 ha) facility that houses over 80 species of animals. The zoo was dedicated in memory of a seven-year old boy, Phillip Mayer Good, who loved nature. He was the son of Barbara and Larry Good of Wheeling. The Good Zoo's collection includes African Wild DogAfrican Wild Dog
Lycaon pictus is a large canid found only in Africa, especially in savannas and lightly wooded areas. It is variously called the African wild dog, African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, painted dog, painted wolf, painted hunting dog, spotted dog, or ornate wolf...
s, North American River Otters, Spectacled Bear
Spectacled Bear
The spectacled bear , also known as the Andean bear and locally as ukuko, jukumari or ucumari, is the last remaining short-faced bear and the closest living relative to the Florida spectacled bear and short-faced bears of the Middle Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene age.The spectacled bear is a...
s, Western Grey Kangaroo
Western Grey Kangaroo
The Western Grey Kangaroo is a large and very common kangaroo or macropod, found across almost the entire southern part of Australia, from just south of Shark Bay to coastal South Australia, western Victoria, and the entire Murray-Darling Basin in New South Wales and Queensland...
s, Red-necked Wallaby
Red-necked Wallaby
The Red-necked Wallaby is a medium-sized marsupial macropod, common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania.- Description :...
s, Cottontop Tamarin
Cottontop Tamarin
The cotton-top tamarin , also known as the Pinché tamarin, is a small New World monkey weighing less than 1 lb...
s, Ring-tailed Lemur
Ring-tailed Lemur
The ring-tailed lemur is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families. It is the only member of the Lemur genus. Like all lemurs it is endemic to the island of Madagascar...
s, an Ocelot
Ocelot
The ocelot , pronounced /ˈɒsəˌlɒt/, also known as the dwarf leopard or McKenney's wildcat is a wild cat distributed over South and Central America and Mexico, but has been reported as far north as Texas and in Trinidad, in the Caribbean...
, Ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
es, Llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
s, goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s, two Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...
s, Barn Owl
Barn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
s, Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
s, Red Panda
Red Panda
The red panda , is a small arboreal mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It is the only species of the genus Ailurus. Slightly larger than a domestic cat, it has reddish-brown fur, a long, shaggy tail, and a waddling gait due to its shorter front legs...
s, Goral
Goral
Goral may refer to:* Three species of Asian ungulates in the genus Naemorhedus.* The Gorals, a people living in southern Poland, northern Slovakia and the Czech Republic....
s, a Red-crowned Crane
Red-crowned Crane
The Red-crowned Crane , also called the Japanese Crane or Manchurian Crane , is a large east Asian crane and among the rarest cranes in the world...
, a Sandhill Crane
Sandhill Crane
The Sandhill Crane is a large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird references habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills in the American Midwest...
, a small gang of Meerkat
Meerkat
The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan"...
s and many other animals from all over the globe. It includes a train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
, which travels through the ostrich exhibit and all throughout the zoo, and a discovery lab, with an indoor South American Rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
exhibit. The zoo also features an aviary, which houses red-flanked lorikeets, Goldie's lorikeets, and two subspecies of the Rainbow Lorikeet
Rainbow Lorikeet
The Rainbow Lorikeet, is a species of Australasian parrot found in Australia, eastern Indonesia , Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In Australia, it is common along the eastern seaboard, from Queensland to South Australia and northwest Tasmania...
, the blue mountain (Swainson's) lorikeet, and the green-naped lorikeet. The Good Zoo is the only AZA accredited zoo in the state of West Virginia.
The Good Zoo is also home to a veterinary
Veterinary medicine
Veterinary Medicine is the branch of science that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in non-human animals...
hospital where visitors can view operations and routine checkups. The hospital is used as a treatment area for zoo animals, a breeding center for certain species, a quarantine area for incoming animals, and a rehabilitation center for injured wild raptors. The zoo's raptor rehabilitation program has successfully treated many raptors and other native birds since its establishment. The zoo's red-tailed hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...
, and bald eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
s, however, were not able to be returned to their habitat due to severe injuries. They are now ambassadors for the plight of wild raptors and are used in numerous educational programs.
The Good Zoo has many SSP programs. The Species Survival Plan (SSP) is a cooperative breeding and conservation program instituted by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums was founded in 1924 and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.The AZA headquarters is located in Silver...
(AZA). The goal of SSP programs is to help as many species as possible through captive breeding, education, research, and habitat preservation.
Annual events at the Good Zoo include "Boo at the Zoo" (in October), "The Good Zoo Lights Up For You" (during the Festival of Lights), an annual car show at nearby Camp Russel, and an Easter egg hunt (in April).