East Wareham Antique Find May Be Vintage Footage of Dartmouth’s Lincoln Park
If you've lived on the SouthCoast long enough, you probably remember Dartmouth's Lincoln Park. Maybe you even have memories of going to the long-time amusement park as a young kid.
Well bring on the tissues, because this recently-discovered home footage is a gem that might just bring you to tears. A Reddit user that goes by u/interpolactic shared the footage on the Massachusetts subreddit Friday morning, writing that he purchased the 8mm home videos at an East Wareham antique shop. The videos give us a glimpse into life in mid-century America, from the homes and the clothing to the people and even the pups, and although the homes look very New England-esque, the user was at first cautious to assume the footage was taken on or around the SouthCoast.
"While the houses look like New England, this may be a different region altogether," u/interpolactic wrote. "Have fun guessing!"
It wasn't until about 30 seconds into the video that many local Reddit users began commenting that they recognized the amusement park in the video as Dartmouth's Lincoln Park, which opened in 1894 and operated for 93 years on the Dartmouth-Westport line.
"Looks like Lincoln Park to me too," u/frankybling wrote. "The picnic area gives me memory flashbacks."
Others who weren't able to identify the park stuck around for the video's incredible nostalgia, which had some thinking of the young kids in the home videos who may still be alive today.
"I love all the vid[eo] with grandparents and grandchildren...made my eyes watery," u/StaysForDays wrote. "Hoping those little ones are now spending quality time with THEIR grandkids. This would be absolutely priceless to anyone on this film."
Although apartments and a housing development now sit in the spot just off of State Road in Dartmouth where Lincoln Park used to be, little pieces of the old amusement park still live on across the SouthCoast. Just earlier this year, a Dodgem Bumper Car from Lincoln Park was on exhibit in Newport's Audrain Automobile Museum, and still to this day, some of the roads on the old Lincoln Park land still bear names like Roller Coaster Way, Ferris Wheel Lane, Cotton Candy Lane and Carousel Terrace.