Herschends built theme park legacy from the (under)ground up

Mary Herschend would not let trees be cut down.

The property in the lush green hills of the Missouri Ozarks was set to become a frontier theme park set in a century in the past. But the matriarch of the family had rules. The buildings had to be real, not built on facades like a theater or movie set. And leave the trees.

That is why when visitors walk around Silver Dollar City near Branson, Missouri, today, they may still notice trees sticking out the sides of buildings and porches. They were built around the trees, following Mary’s wishes.

The Herschends this week announced the buying of Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, adding to their portfolio of more than 40 family-oriented and faith-based theme parks and entertainment ventures that include Dollywood and the Harlem Globetrotters.

I got to know the Herschends as a young arts and entertainment reporter covering Branson in the late 1980s in Springfield, Missouri. But I had grown up when the area was exploding as a nationwide destination for country music.

The Herschends had been there practically from the beginning. The empire that took over Silverwood was not built from the ground up, but rather from underground.

When the Herschends, Mary, husband Hugo and sons Pete and Jack, moved from Chicago to a corner of the Missouri Ozarks, the cave they had leased from a couple of sisters for 99 years already drew a crowd. Marvel Cave had been offering tours since the late 19th century. When the Herschends took over management of the cave in 1946, it was already drawing 8,000 visitors a year.

The area gained popularity from the 1907 best-selling novel “Shepherd of the Hills,” later made into a movie starring John Wayne. It had also become a spot known for its rich fishing on the nearby lakes.

The Herschends improved access to the cave entrance and then began developing an 1880s mining village featuring local artists and later musicians. Silver Dollar City opened in 1960. That first year, the park drew 125,000 people.

When Missouri native Paul Henning brought his top-rated CBS television series “The Beverly Hillbillies” to tape episodes at the theme park in 1969, the next-year attendance soared to 900,000.

As the Herschends continued to add rides, live stages and other attractions, Branson expanded with the addition of family country music shows. By the 1980s, music icons including Roy Clark and Mel Tillis had put their names on theaters and Branson’s popularity exploded, drawing millions to a town with a population then of about 3,000.

The Herschends expanded their offerings with a water park and showboat, and eventually partnered with Dolly Parton.

A 2014 report estimated the family’s private worth at more than $1 billion for the Atlanta-based operation that remains family owned.