Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 11:02 am
Even though Arkansas is not a part of the traditional "south" this information was shared with us by Brad Moretz.
Marble Falls Resort was constructed in 1972 by developer Jess Odom of Maumelle and it flopped in large part because the snow blowers he bought wouldn't work unless the temperature was below 28 degrees.
The Ozarks had a streak of mild winters after the resort opened, so skiers didn't have many days on the slopes.
"It might be 28 degrees in the Ozarks at night and 50 degrees the next day," said Wayne Thompson of St. Joe, who managed Dogpatch from 1974-75 and was co-owner from 1980-90.
Odom, who owned Dogpatch for a decade beginning in 1969, closed Marble Falls Resort in the mid-1980s, Thompson said. The resort has been vacant ever since he closed it. Odom died in 1998 at the age of 84.
Bob Richards and Randal Phillips bought the former Marble Falls Resort in Newton County from Debra Nielsen and renamed it The Hub. It includes 25 acres and five buildings adjoining the 141 acres that served as the Dogpatch U.S.A. theme park from 1968 to 1993.
The resort (which now caters to motorcycle enthusiasts) includes a 60-room hotel and 13,000-SF convention center accommodating 1,700 people where rallies could be held. And the highway is already popular with bikers.
Marble Falls Resort was constructed in 1972 by developer Jess Odom of Maumelle and it flopped in large part because the snow blowers he bought wouldn't work unless the temperature was below 28 degrees.
The Ozarks had a streak of mild winters after the resort opened, so skiers didn't have many days on the slopes.
"It might be 28 degrees in the Ozarks at night and 50 degrees the next day," said Wayne Thompson of St. Joe, who managed Dogpatch from 1974-75 and was co-owner from 1980-90.
Odom, who owned Dogpatch for a decade beginning in 1969, closed Marble Falls Resort in the mid-1980s, Thompson said. The resort has been vacant ever since he closed it. Odom died in 1998 at the age of 84.
Bob Richards and Randal Phillips bought the former Marble Falls Resort in Newton County from Debra Nielsen and renamed it The Hub. It includes 25 acres and five buildings adjoining the 141 acres that served as the Dogpatch U.S.A. theme park from 1968 to 1993.
The resort (which now caters to motorcycle enthusiasts) includes a 60-room hotel and 13,000-SF convention center accommodating 1,700 people where rallies could be held. And the highway is already popular with bikers.