An archive photo of Butler Township's Alameda Park shows its original form as an amusement park between 1901 and 1944. Submitted Photo

Today, Alameda Park is one of the largest municipal parks in Butler County. In the first part of the 20th century, however, Alameda Park was a very different place, offering such attractions as bumper cars, a Ferris wheel, a dance hall, and even a roller-coaster.

It was Butler County’s closest thing to Disneyland, decades before Disneyland ever opened. Hence the title of historian Bill May’s presentation, “Alameda Park: Butler’s Disneyland,” which will take visitors through the nearly-forgotten history of Butler’s long-gone amusement park.

The presentation is part of Alameda Park’s summer outdoor entertainment series and is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 13, in Alameda Park’s First Responders Shelter.

May promises rare photographs and video clips of Alameda Park in its former state as a full-fledged amusement park from 1901 to 1944. According to May, Alameda Park opened in 1901 as one of several “trolley parks” in Pennsylvania — amusement parks accessible by streetcar lines.

“I tell the stories behind the park and how it’s created and the famous performers that came to the park over the years,” May said. “I show video clips of some of the acts that performed there. So it’s a real multimedia presentation.”

May also promises to provide guests with a “virtual ride” on Alameda Park’s long-gone figure-eight roller-coaster.

“It was one of the earliest roller-coasters, so it used a different technology than the modern coasters do,” May said. “So people will get an idea of what it was like.”

According to May, Alameda Park in its original form closed in the 1940s, partly as a result of the Great Depression and the end of the streetcar lines that originally served the park.

“Any time there’s a huge economic decline, one of the things people cut out of their budget is entertainment, such as going to an amusement park,” May said. “The trolleys stopped running and people had automobiles, but Alameda was landlocked for parking facilities for cars.”

Admission for May’s show is free.