Renewed Hope for Dogpatch USA?

Dogpatch USA was a small park that opened in the middle of nowhere, Arkansas, in 1968. It was somewhat controversial, themed on Al Capp’s hick-billy Li’l Abner comic strip. But Al died not too long afterward, the theme quickly faded away, and the park sputtered and ultimately fizzled out. The land has sat dormant for decades now, with a couple of owners taking a stab at doing something interesting with it. But nothing has worked out.

Until now. Maybe. But this one comes from a major player with street cred: Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops, bought the property a couple years ago with big plans. What those may be, though, nobody knows, except that almost immediately after the sale lots of construction equipment got to work. So something real, finally, just might be happening to this sleepy, forgotten, beautiful backwater.

Why so confident? Morris was the one who transformed the dreary, boring aisles of canoes, fishing rods, and sleeping bags into a wonderland of thematic adventure. It’s still difficult, though, considering the location is a long way from, well, anything. So we’ll see…as I said in the book, hope springs eternal, so we’ll just have to wait. One thing’s for sure…we won’t be seeing Daisy Mae or Pappy anywhere around.

The local public radio station, KUAF, released a brief interview with an archivist that includes some really awesome audio recordings of Al Capp himself. He’s very enthusiastic about the park and its potential, assuming at the time that the owners would continue developing the property. That didn't work out so well, but at any rate it’s a great listen from a different time and place.

And here’s a great documentary on the park found on YouTube: Dogpatch USA - The Life and Death of a Theme Park, Red Six Three.