The Carousel

The WGAEC proudly houses an 1896 Children’s Carousel (first public display in 80 years) and a host of carousel animals collected by Dr. Rice.

The Children’s Carousel was built by W.H. Halstead in London, England; the horses were handcrafted at Burton-upon-Trent by C. J. Spooner, the premier wood carver in England. With all the original horses and original parts, it is the world’s most complete and original English children’s carousel.

The carousel originally had gondolas, but they were replaced with the advent of automobiles. In the 20’s, the carousel was converted to electric and a new rounding board was added to advertise the new electric model. In 1938 it went into storage in Switzerland where it remained until it was re-discovered in 1996 and brought to America.