The park advertises it has been around for 119 years, but the truth is before the 1920s, it was little more than a railroad resort on a 55-acre lake, just north of Aurora.

In 1925, Geauga Lake hired John A. Miller, who Jacques calls "the greatest roller coaster designer of that era." Miller is responsible for the park's famous "Big Dipper" roller coaster. Other amusement rides followed, such as rocket ships and a merry-go-round. A baseball field and a large swimming pool also were added to the site.

"People drove cars from all over northeast Ohio to Geauga Lake and the park prospered," Jacques said.

During the Great Depression and World War II, the park was quiet except for the ballroom, which hosted many big bands, he said.

Geauga Lake as it is known today began in 1969, when three executives from Cedar Point and a venture capital company purchased the park, Jacques said.

"It was in poor condition and they vowed to turn it around," he said. "The new investors added a monorail that circled the Big Dipper, the Gold Rush log flume, Merry Oldies antique cars, the 200-foot skyscraper, the Corkscrew and the Double Loop coasters."

Next came a huge move for the park — it sold the south shore of the lake to Sea World, which built the first and only inland, seasonal marine animal park.

In 1983, water attractions returned to Geauga Lake and, in 1984, the famous Wave Pool, which generated one big wave every five minutes was added. The water park expanded throughout the next 10 years to include more slides and a children's play area.

"In the 1980s, Geauga Lake was one of the few amusement parks in America that mixed dry and wet rides together," he said.

The park moved ahead again in 1995, when Premier Parks bought it. Premier was a much smaller amusement and theme company from Oklahoma City, but buying Geauga Lake and several other medium-sized parks made it a major player in the industry.

In 1998, Premier bought out Six Flags and the next year, Premier changed Geauga Lake's name to Six Flags Ohio.

"For all of its existence Geauga Lake Park had been the No. 2 or No. 3 in the Cleveland market," Jacques said. "In the early years, Euclid Beach was the biggest and best park, and then when it closed, Cedar Point was the dominant park."

With the Six Flags designation and after sinking $40 million into improvements, some folks believed Six Flags Ohio would finally bump Cedar Point out of the top spot, he said.

In 2000, Six Flags Ohio added four new roller coasters and hiked admission to $38 — just a few dollars under Cedar Point.

"Attendance was disappointing — down more than 12 percent," Jacques said.

"This did not discourage the executives who ran Six Flags (Premier changed its name in the merger)) and in 2001, they purchased the neighboring Sea World of Ohio from Anheuser Busch for $110 million."

Six Flags named the new mega theme park "Six Flags World of Adventure" with one gate. Admission rose to $40.

Attendance fell sharply from 2001 to 2003, according to Jacques.

In 2004, Cedar Fair, the parent company of Cedar Point, purchased the park for $155 million and took back the name of Geauga Lake for the park, he said.

"Cedar Fair probably bought Geauga Lake because it didn't want to see the park fall into anyone else's hands," he said. "From the beginning, Cedar Point didn't want to continue the Sea World side of the park. It had experience with animal shows and dolphin acts and it just didn't want to get into that business."

Cedar Fair went on to move some of the slides from Geauga Lake and spent $25 million on a new, modern water park, to no avail.

"Cedar Park faced a dilemma," Jacques said. "How could it find a niche for Geauga Lake without hurting Cedar Point?"

The 2007 season started with the removal of two roller coasters. Cedar Fair hoped a smaller park and a first-rate water park would be enough to turn the tide. It also lowered the admission price to $26.85.

"It just didn't work," he said, noting attendance numbered about 700,000, compared to nearly 3 million when Sea World and Six Flags Ohio had separate gates.

For Geauga Lake fans, there's consolation in the fact northeast Ohio still boasts a great water park and Cedar Point is within driving distance.

1888: Alexander G. Kent built his first 75-room luxury hotel on Geauga Lake property called the "Kent House."

1889: The park added its first ride, a primitive steam-powered carousel.

1926: Geauga Lake built its first rollercoaster, The Big Dipper. It was the largest wooden coaster of its time and was described as "mammoth." The coaster track measured 2,800 feet in length and the first hill reached 65 feet.

1927: Geauga Lake builds an Olympic-size swimming pool, in which Johnny Weissmueller, the first man to portray "Tarzan" in the movies, broke the world 220-yd free-style swimming record.

1931: Willie "Young" Stribling set up a boxing training camp for his world heavyweight championship fight against Max Schmeling.

They also added a race track and a 1926 Marcus Illions Carousel. This 64-horse, hand-carved masterpiece is one of the only remaining operational Illions carousels in the world.

1939: The dance hall and ballroom are Geauga Lakes most popular draws, where big band performers, like Shep Fields and Guy Lombardo, entertained guests.

1941: A mini-cyclone sweeps through the park leveling buildings, knocking down trees and demolishing part of The Big Dipper. The park reported $50,000 in damage and six people were injured.

1952: A fire rips through Geauga Lake damaging the bowling alley, theater, dance hall and roller rink. The estimated damage was $500,000.

1969: Funtime, Inc. purchases Geauga Lake and begins transformation of the park from a local amusement park to a nationally-recognized family entertainment center.

1972: Main gate redesigned; Merry Oldies antique cars and Gold Rush log ride were added.

1974: Geauga Lake introduces the Skyscraper to guests. The ride takes passengers on a leisurely ride up to 21 stories.

1975: Geauga Dog is introduced as a "fun" ambassador to visitors.

1977: Geauga Lake adds the Double Loop, the first double looping, steel coaster in Ohio.

1978: Corkscrew coaster is added making Geauga Lake the first amusement facility in Ohio to have two looping coasters.

1983: Geauga Lake constructs Boardwalk Shores, which includes Neptune Falls, the Rampage, a new bath house, paddle boat marina and wide boardwalk area.

1984: The Wave, the only authentic Tsunami wavepool in the midwest at the time, joined Boardwalk Shores. It was the first pool of its kind in the U.S. to create a six-foot ocean-like surf!

1986: Rainbow Island, a children's dry ride area, and Sail Company restaurant are added.

1987: Stingray waterslides and Euroracer Grandprix were added.

1988: Geauga Lake celebrates its Centennial Anniversary with the introduction of the Raging Wolf Bobs, a replica of the Chicago Riverview Bobs.

Geauga Lake was one of the first major amusement facilities to recreate a famous coaster from the 1920's. The wooden coaster features an 80 foot apex, 3,246 foot track and nearly two minutes of ride time.

1989: Geauga Lake creates the ultimate children�s water playground Turtle Beach. Its pint-size attractions are geared towards the creative fun and safety needs of varying age groups.

1991: Geauga Lake expands their midway to include the Mirage.

1993: Geauga Lake introduces their new $2.1 million attraction, the Texas Twister. It will be the first ride of its kind introduced to North American thrill-seekers.

1994: Geauga Lake jumped into action with the Cleveland Cavaliers and National Basketball Association with the exclusive CAVS/NBA Jam Session.

Geauga Lake also designed the new Stage Coach Theater where guests enjoy a little bit of country and rock-n-roll.

Geauga Lake also took pride in restoring the hand-carved Marcus Illions Carousel and completed a five-year rehabilitation of the Big Dipper in which each nut, bolt and piece of wood was replaced.

1995: Geauga Lake adds a new addition for kids to Rainbow Island: Butch Hightides Playpark.

Geauga Lake is purchased by Premier Parks, Inc.

1996: In celebration of its 108th Season, Premier Parks, Inc. invests over $9 million in new rides, attractions and restorations to the park. Geauga Lake introduced the one-of-a-kind Mind Eraser, a backwards-looping steel roller coaster.

It also introduced the new Grizzly Run, a white water raft ride. On June 20, 1996, Geauga Lake celebrates the 70th birthday of the Big Dipper.

1997: Mr. Hydes Nasty Fall is the latest addition to the parks 50's area. This incredible tower of terror drops riders straight down 13 stories!

Geauga Lake expands the water area by 32,000 square feet with the all new Hooks Lagoon. This interactive water paradise was designed to provide hours of splashtastic fun for the whole family.