In 1900, a few rich businessmen built a summer home on a hidden hillside nook.

The bucolic, laurel-covered plateau on Locust Mountain at Tamaqua featured a pond fed by fresh mountain springs.

Yet, oddly, the men tore down their cabin 13 years later.

At that point, during the summer of 1913, miners’ kids claimed the abandoned place, originally calling it “The Bungalo.”

Since then, it’s grown into a multimillion dollar recreational venue and a “w” was added to the name. It’s a spot imbued with historic intrigue.

The beginning

According to early accounts in the Tamaqua Evening Courier, it began when James Turk, former superintendent of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, joined with merchants George Haefeker and Harry and S.G. Seligman. The four erected a summer cabin with a distinct, out-of-town feeling. Not much is known about early use of the site since it was in private hands. But, for whatever reason, they chose to abandon it shortly later.

Once they left, the scenic location and earthen dam proved to be so popular that, in the 1920s, the Tamaqua American Legion Post took it on as a community betterment project. They installed the original bathhouses at the south end and playground equipment and a few tables on the west hill.

Later, the Tamaqua Rotary Club built a wall around the dam, cementing part of the dam floor and installing protective rails for children. The club also constructed newer bathhouses.

By 1935, two groups, the Bungalow Boys Club and the Tamaqua Civic Improvement Association, were organized. A $110,000 overhaul was undertaken through the Public Works Administration and Works Progress Administration, government programs, including paving of the entire pool.

Many of those improvements are still visible today: the bridge, the low perimeter wall and the steps leading to the picnic grove, all made of mountain stone. Basketball and tennis courts were added.

Others also made major contributions: the John E. Morgan Foundation, Tamaqua Lions Club, the Eastern Schuylkill Recreation Commission, Tamaqua Borough, Reading Anthracite, and numerous scout troops.

Oversight

The Bungalow Park Commission, formed under the auspices of borough council, was organized in 1941. They added a 120-seat pavilion, still in use, topped with a corrugated metal roof.

In 1942, nearby Farber’s Spring water was piped into the grove. Each year after that the park saw more improvements.

Then came an unexpected surprise - a $260,000 bequest in 1968 from a man with no children. He was local cafe owner Howard “Moe” Buehler, a bachelor known for kindness and a loving disposition. In gratitude, the community named the pool in his honor - H.D. Buehler Memorial Pool at Tamaqua Bungalow Park.

Overhauled and rededicated in 1976, the pool has benefited from countless volunteers and supporters, including the late Mary and Dick Southam, John “Sonny” Trudich, Pauline Boettger and a social network of devoted women who call themselves the “Bungalow Babes.”

Today, the sprawling facility is well known in the region and even throughout the state.

“It’s an oasis, a paradise,” says Beth Fritzinger Jones, manager for the past 15 years. Her husband Rob, retired public works director, has devoted three decades to the facility.

Mystery

The hidden park occupies land in two municipalities. The pool and pavilion are in Tamaqua while the spring and northern laurel trails fall within in Schuylkill Township.

Some say the land itself carries secrets. It might even be treasure laden.

Years ago, a Scout troop buried a time capsule on the trails above the pool. As time went on, key participants passed away and the time capsule has been lost. Nobody knows its location.

Even more intriguing are tales of money, even gold coins, reportedly unearthed on the hillside.

At least one man was rumored to have found a $20 Double Eagle gold coin. If so, its value today would be in excess of $20,000.

It begs the question - did the wealthy men who settled the site also use the area to hide sums of money? It’s been a topic of speculation for years.

Nobody knows the answer.

Regardless, most everyone agrees that the park is a treasure all its own.