With breathtaking drops and “spine curling” thrills, early roller coasters delight the most daring Americans in parks across the country. As more people experienced the adventure and as the mechanics improved, roller coasters became essential rides and amusement parks began competing for the biggest and most intricate rides. Read more about it!

The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.

The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.