[5] Initial design was performed by Paul Murphy, who also had a full time job at Santa Clara University as director of publications.

[1]: 11–12 [11] The park, developed at a cost of $2 million,[12] opened on October 21, 1961,[2] surrounded by a high barricade of logs, and was themed to the Old West.

[1]: 71 [2] The actors were equipped with actual firearms (Colt Single Action Army revolvers and double-barrel shotguns) firing blanks filled with black powder.

[16] Other self-claimed world records set at the park in 1966 include the finish of the longest foot-propelled scooter journey (114 mi (183 km) from Big Sur, by Byron Jones) and largest pizza (4+1⁄2 ft (1.4 m) in diameter).

[19] In 1977, Charles Jacques rated the park as the 45th best in the United States, behind local competitors Marriott's Great America (#12) and Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (#30).

[23][24] Block would break the record in 1993 with a 38-day ride on the same Ferris wheel,[24] which had been relocated to the Orange County Fair after Frontier Village's closure.

[1]: 88, 92  The homegrown mascots were replaced by six characters from Hanna-Barbera cartoons in 1979: Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Jabberjaw, Scooby-Doo, Fred Flintstone, and Huckleberry Hound.

[11] According to Zukin, the protests and opposition from the park's new residential neighbors, who complained about the noise and fought development plans,[2] led Rio Grande to drop the expansion.

[28] Despite a petition drive that collected 10,000 signatures by September 19, 1980, which would have declared the site a historical landmark,[28] Rio Grande announced the park would be closed.

[2] The Bren Company held a public auction in October 1980, disposing of all the rides, buildings, and lumber that made up Frontier Village.

[3] Bren built a residential development just west of present-day Edenvale Garden Park on the site of the planned expansion; the condominium complex is named "Frontier Village".

[42][43] Frontier Village's 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge train, originally built by Arrow Development,[44] was bought in 1981 by Jerry Burke, who made it the central focus of his 10 acre themed 1880 Western themed Burke Junction shopping center in Cameron Park, approximately 30 mi (48 km) east of Sacramento.

[52] Frontier Village is the subject of an eponymous song by singer-songwriters Jeff Larson and Jeffrey Foskett, released as part of the 2018 album ʻElua Aloha.