First True U.S. Roller Coaster
The 1885 patent (details pictured) for LaMarcus Thompson’s “Roller Coasting Structure” certified the first coaster to be designed as a U.S. amusement ride.
The Coney Island, New York, attraction had opened in June 1884 and went by the name Switchback Railway. It cost only a nickel but was so wildly popular that it made Thompson a fortune. Its success inspired many imitators–and launched an industry that turns 125 in the U.S. in June 2009.
“That was more like a railroad on an incline, not an exciting roller coaster by today’s standards,” explained enthusiast Eric Gieszl, founder and editor of ultimaterollercoaster.com. “But it is what started it all.”
â”Excerpts from U.S. patent #310966 by LaMarcus A. Thompson
The earliest patent relevant to roller coasters is that of John G. Taylor of Baltimore (US #128,674, 1872, Improvement in Inclined Railways). The description is of a ride with obvious similarities to Thompson’s first ride of more than a decade later…Dallas Courier Service