Salem, Nh: Trolleys, Canobie Lake, and Rockingham Park

The clang of the first trolley bell in 1902 signaled the beginning of a century of excitement and celebrity that would transform the tiny town of Salem, New Hampshire, into a recreation destination for millions. With the trolley company’s opening of Canobie Lake Park in August 1902 and Bet a Million Gates’s big gamble on Rockingham Park in 1906, New Englanders, regardless of age, ethnicity, or social status now shared a recreational common denominator. At Canobie Lake Park, generations played, met, danced, and fell in love. Rockingham Park brought world-class horse and auto racing, the nation’s first modern lottery, and a parade of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The two parks hold fond memories for the millions who have passed through their gates, and for the thousands who have worked there over the years, their jobs at Canobie and Rockingham are often the ones they most fondly remember.