Attraction Profile
Step into the prehistoric On a recent road trip, North American editor, Paul Ruben decided to
stop by Dinosaur Land, Virginia, where it’s safe to say he had a roaring good time!
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n Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley for over 50 years, Dinosaur Land in White Post is a roadside attraction that features over 50 dinosaurs. It invites visitors to step into the world of the prehistoric past, turning back the pages of time to the Mesozoic era, when dinosaurs were the only creatures that roamed the earth. “The business is run by my two sisters, Barbara Seldon, Grace Newman, and myself,” says Joann Leight (pictured left). “My oldest sister, Gloria Talbott, died in 2001.” Joann believes the park will entertain families and friends. When done, she thinks they will continue to entertain themselves in the enormous gift shop stocked with gifts for the entire family, and of course lots of dinosaur items.
“My dad, Joseph C. Geraci,” Leight recalls, “opened a small five shop around 1962 or 1963 and called it Rebel Korner, now the present location of our shop. Every winter he and my mom would go to Florida for four to six weeks. One day while he was in Florida he noticed some dinosaurs at a putt-putt golf attraction. He met the man who made them, Jim Sidwell, and thought they would be something to draw attention to his gift shop. So he ordered five and Jim made them and brought them to White Post the following fall, 1968. At first he only had them out to the side of the shop, but vandals keep stealing parts off them, so he decided to put them inside a fence and make a “park.” He named the park Dinosaur Land. He ordered a couple more and every few years added more. The dinosaurs are made of fibreglass and are pretty sturdy, except for the toes, fingers, and so forth. Sim Sidwell died a few years after my mom and did not buy any more dinosaurs. “My dad,” she continued, “was a man who could do almost anything, like plumbing, wiring, lay brick, and similar tasks. So he did most of the work building and designing the park. He had many interests and in the late ‘70s became interested in growing grapes and making wine. My mom worked the shop since my dad was building a winery business in Middletown. In 1081 my mom passed away and dad was trying to work and run both the winery business and Dinosaur Land. My dad
DECEMBER 2020
passed away in 1987 and my three sisters and I took over the business.”
In the past 25 years the park has added 18 more dinosaurs. These were made by a man from Lexington, Virginia, Mark Cline. “The dinosaurs he makes seem to be interacting with the environment and not just a statue,” says Joann. “A Triceratops is sticking its horns into T-Rex and a Megalosaurus is taking a bite our of an Apatosaurus, for example. It is very noticeable which ones Mark made and which were the original ones from Jim Sidwell.
“Mark is a very creative guy and has his own business where he makes his own creations. He has a haunted house, Foamhenge, and several other attractions in the Natural Bridge, Virginia, area.”
“We have many visitors who came here as a child and they are now bringing their children. They are surprised that we are still here. 52 years for a roadside attraction is almost unheard of these days.
“We have great people work for us and each summer we have school kids work too.”
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