In 1818 Charles K. Kenny purchased a tract of land above the Monongahela River. Where Charles and his son mined Coal. Over the years the Kenny family became rich from selling their coal. In 1998 Charles's grandson Anthony leased one hundred and forty-one acres of the family land and a picnic grove, known as Kenny's Grove, to the Monongahela Street Railway company.

 

During the early 1900's Kennywood remained a popular trolley park with games, band concerts, food and a picnic grove. There were many changes between the 1900's and  the 1930's. In the early 1910's Kennywood built two large roller coasters. The Racer and The Speed-O-Plane.

 

In the 1920's two more rides were added. The Jack Rabbit, and The Pippin. In 1925 the Kennywood Park Swimming Pool was built. The pool held 2,250,000 gallons of water.

The Great Depression was especially hard on Kennywood. Dancing helped keep the park in business during the period. As the great dance band's played in the park from the 1930's to the 1950's. In the 1950's the park grew drastically. Some popular rides included the Hurricane, The Looper. The Rotor, The Wild Mouse, and The Octopus.

In the 1960's and 70's Kennywood had competition with "Disneyland", and other theme parks. So in 1966 the Turnpike was built, along with The Thunderbolt in 1968. In the 1970's Kennywood became known as the home of the Ultimate Rollercoaster, The Thunderbolt.

In 1985 The Raging Rapids were added. The in 1987 the theme park was designated a National Historic Landmark. In 1991 one of most popular additions was the steel looping coaster, The Steel Phantom. The Steel Phantom's top speed was 80 miles per hour, and it's longest drop was 225 feet with four loops. The park continued to grow with it's largest expansion, Lost Kennywood in 1995. Some rides that can be found in Lost Kennywood are the Exterminator, the Pitt Fall, the Pittsburgh Plunge, and the Whip. As Kennywood moves through the twenty- first century, it continues to find new ways to thrill it's guests, and also to hold on to tradition. Kennywood remains one of "America's Finest Traditional Parks."