On Thursday, October 1, the State of Delaware designated Wheeler Park in Harrington as an historical landmark. Wheeler Park was owned and operated by William A. Wheeler from 1948 until 1977. The park is currently owned by Kenny and Nicole Shinn.
“When we first purchased this property, we did not know it’s history,” Shinn said. “But when we started walking around, we noticed things that did not look like a typical backyard. There is a wishing well and trails along with other features that made us do some investigation. We learned about Mr. Wheeler and how he loved hearing the kids yell on the train and if you yelled loud enough, he gave you another spin on the track. We heard about burros and monkeys. We found out that people loved the trails. We are truly blessed and honored to be a part of this community and of this property and its history. We feel like memories will be preserved.”
When they learned of the property history, the Shinn’s began hosting an annual Wheeler’s Park Kids Day starting in 2021. The first event drew over 100 people to what became known as “The Disneyland of Harrington.”
“I stand here today proudly claiming that I am a Wheeler’s Park kid,” Doug Poore, curator at the Greater Harrington Historical Society said. “By the time I met Mr. Wheeler, he was in his 70s. It never crossed my mind as a kid to wonder why he started this park.”
Poore explained that Wheeler was born July 20, 1889, the youngest of four children. He married and had two children, Mildred and William. In 1948, Wheeler built a concrete picnic table for his family. One day, he saw a family sitting at the picnic table.
“Rather than ask them to leave, Mr. Wheeler simply built another picnic table,” Poore said. “This started what eventually became a park that was almost 30 acres, contained over 30 attractions, as Mr. Wheeler called them, for children to enjoy. He added swings, cleared woods, made paths and by the 1950s, the park began to resemble the park that many of us remember today.”
At first, the park was free to enter, Poore explained, but a 10-cent admission was added later to defray costs. In honor of the dime admission, organizers of the dedication event placed a dime on each chair at the unveiling.
“For that dime, children could spend hours on the swings, Tarzan ropes, monkey bars and swim in the small concrete pool or stream nearby,” Poore said. “The merry-go-round, that thing was a death trap, but one of the most favorite rides. Kids would spin themselves dizzy trying to throw each other off. If you did fall off, you jumped up, bloody, scars, dirt and jump right back on. There was a horseshoe tree, and we still get questions about that today, but it is gone. You could buy snacks and drinks at the concession stand. You could sit and watch the monkeys play. The park even boasted a bandstand where on Saturdays and Sundays, local bands would come and play free concerts.”
Poore stated that companies from across Kent County used the park for company picnics. For an additional 10 cents, children could ride on the ponies or burros to ride around the trails. Another dime would allow children to ride around the tracks on the train, usually driven by Mr. Wheeler.
“The kids would scream and Mr. Wheeler would urge them to scream louder,” Poore said. “Occasionally, you would hear him yelling, too. And the louder you yelled, the more fun he had, you could see the smile on his face.”
The park closed in 1977 when Wheeler was 88 years old and failing health kept him from keeping up with the maintenance. Wheeler’s grandson, Richard, told those gathered that the park was a labor of love for his grandfather.
“My father, his son, followed his sister, Mildred, and her husband to Miami after he was discharged from the Army in World War II where he retired from Eastern Airlines after 36 years of service,” Wheeler said. “Grandad traveled to Florida to visit when I was very young, and I remember visiting Harrington during the summer months and several times at Christmas.”
Wheeler remembered the local community at his grandparent’s house at Christmas as well as the smile on his grandfather’s face at the house full of people. The summers, however, were a different story.
“To put it bluntly, there was no sloughing off,” Wheeler said. “We would visit for a few weeks every summer. Early morning involved working with granddad, getting the park ready for the day. This involved bringing the burros and pony cart up for the ride, putting gas in the train, emptying the trash containers and the most fun, feeding the monkeys. Old Man, or should I say Old Bud, was the first in line.”
Wheeler’s job was train engineer and his sister operated the pony and burro rides. It was a competition to see who could earn the most dimes each day.
“For this elementary and junior high young man, the most important was seeing the joy my grandfather could get by doing so much for his community,” Wheeler said. “My wife, Lee, and I announced in his living room that he was going to be a great-grandfather. He passed away before he learned he was going to have a second great-grandchild, but Lee and I have told our children much about the park and the impact their great-grandfather had on the lives of so many.”
Representative Shannon Morris recalled a time when he was a building code enforcer and got a call to investigate something on the Wheeler property. This was long after the park closed and when he told his boss, John Shelton, where he was going, his boss told him he was riding along.
“At the time, John was probably about 60 and when he got out of that car, it was like he was 10 or 11 years old,” Morris said. “We walked this entire property, and he pointed out where the merry-go-round was, or where something else was. He was very dramatic, telling me to imagine what it looked like. To be able to see that shared with the next generation and future generations is wonderful.”
Senator Dave Lawson recalled running the trails in the park when he was a state police officer.
“Mr. Wheeler would always wave,” Lawson said. “If you came in here and wanted to act up, he had a great way of just calming it down and making it fun for everyone.”
Lawson recalled an incident when he was an officer and called to the Wheeler home with the report of an intruder.
“Two guys broke in through the garage and into the kitchen,” Lawson said. “When Mildred walked out, the two guys were peeking around the refrigerator holding guns on her. She remained cool as a cucumber. When I got here, she was not rattled at all. They had run off, but she gave us a good description of them, stating she had seen them around Harrington. When we caught them in Houston, they were sawing off a shotgun, so they were planning more misconduct.”
According to Lawson, Mrs. Wheeler tried to convince the two young men of the error of their ways, telling them they were going to get in trouble and go to jail. She told them they would ruin their lives and asked them to think about their choices.
“When she walked into the courtroom to testify, both of the young men plead guilty,” Lawson said. “This shows just how much of a big heart the Wheeler’s had. I can’t say enough about this park and how much it meant to so many.”
The plaque which now stands at Wheeler Park reads “Wheeler’s Park was created in 1948 by Harrington area resident William A. Wheeler, who worked as a regional freight agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad. He also owned Wheeler’s Radio Store, which sold appliances and bottled gas Starting with a single picnic table, Wheeler gradually added playgrounds, animal attractions, pony rides, nature trails, a pavilion, a small-scale railroad, a wading pool, and a small museum. For decades, Wheeler’s park was Kent County’s only area with children’s entertainment, it became a popular site for church picnics and annual company events for Dover Air Force Base and business from both Kent and Sussex Counties. The park closed in 1977.”
Wheeler Park is located at 428 Harrington Avenue in Harrington.
