Story Land owner dies of cancer at age 50

BARTLETT, N.H. – Stoney Morrell, who ran the White Mountain attractions Story Land and Heritage New Hampshire, has died of cancer. He was 50.

Morrell died Sunday, the same day Heritage New Hampshire closed its doors for good.

His parents, Ruth and Bob Morrell, opened Story Land in the village of Glen in 1954. The amusement park, which is aimed at younger children and features characters and attractions from nursery rhymes, has drawn tourists from southern New Hampshire and the greater Boston area for half a century.

Bob Morrell opened Heritage New Hampshire next door in 1976 to showcase the state’s history, but the attraction’s attendance had fallen off in recent years.

Morrell “stepped into very big footsteps after his father died,” said Dick Hamilton, former president of White Mountains Attractions.