Trimpers Rides and Amusements Park

History:

Trimper's Amusement Park is historic partly in that it has remained in the same family for over 100 years.

Daniel B. Trimper and his wife, Margaret, grandparents of the current vice president and manager of the park (Granville Daniel Trimper) arrived in Ocean City in 1890. By 1893 they were owners of boardwalk property between South Division and South First Streets, including two hotels: The Eastern Shore and the Sea Bright.

Rebuilding the Sea Bright in 1900 following a severe storm, the Trimpers modeled the new structure on Great Britain's Windsor Castle. The two hotels together with a theater and an amusement park thus became known as Windsor Resort.

A 1912 purchase also adds to the historic significance of Trimper's Rides. It was that year that Daniel Trimper purchased a massive carousel from the Herschell-Spillman Company in North Tonawanda, NY. It was 50 feet in diameter with a uniqueness derived from the only other carousel made by the firm at that time having been sent to Coney Island, and that one was later destroyed by fire.

The merry-go-round's forty-five animals, three chariots and one rocking chair were driven by a steam engine; rides originally cost just a nickel. One-hundred years later, the ride (now electrified) costs you four tickets, or $2.00 - unless you buy the discounted package of 40 tickets for eighteen dollars, and then your ride only costs $1.80. Classified as one of the oldest still operating carousels in the nation, generations of families come every year to ride their favorite animal. Smaller children tend to prefer the horses but many choose their own steed from among a menagerie of a cat, dog, frog, rooster, deer, goat, lion, tiger, ostrich, pig, dragon, et al.

Over the years the Trimpers added numerous rides; several of these rides also offer historic significance such as a smaller carousel which dates to the 1920's as does a kiddie ferris wheel. All the rides are kept in excellent working condition. If it were not for the gilt ornateness, beautiful hand-carved craftsmanship or wood versus metal you would find it difficult to know that parents -- and grandparents -- who, as children, once rode the same rides are now bringing their offspring to do the same.

In the 1950's the Trimper family added outdoor rides. The pace of expansion has increased since the mid-1960's with a new ride being added nearly year after year. The most popular ride in the outdoor park was bought in 1985: the double-loop boomerang "Tidal Wave" roller coaster. Other action favorites, among the 35 or more rides in the park, are the Rock & Roll Matterhorn and Himalaya, although parents with smaller children like the ones they can ride together, such as the colorful Balloon ride. The many games have their aficionados, as well, with stuffed animal prizes awarded to the winners at Frog Bog and Whac-A-Mole.

The Trimpers also added a retail shopping village to their corporate holdings, building the Inlet Village Shoppes in 1983. This area currently houses 14 shops, Harbor Watch restaurant and the Frog Bar, a limited menu restaurant.

Trimper's ten children and their descendants have also played important roles in Ocean City's political life and other businesses. Trimper's son, Daniel, Jr., managed Windsor Resort Corporation after his father's death, and served as Mayor of Ocean City for 16 years. A great-grandson, Daniel IV, also served on City Council and as Council President. Grandson Granville D. Trimper, who became the corporation's manager in 1980, served on the City Council for 18 years, many of those as Council President; he also served as Mayor. Granville served on the Worcester County Commissioners as President for 4 years. In 2000 He was elected Citizen of the Year (Millennium) by the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce.