Welcome to the Bickleton Carousel Web Site.

Bickleton, Washington, USA

Bickleton

The modern-day story of the carousel (or merry-go-round) in America traces back to the mid-19th century when Gustav Dentzel, a German immigrant, opened the G.A. Dentzel Steam and Horsepower Carousel Company. During this time, carousels were in their heyday and were  considered the premier amusement ride, with more than 7,000 in existence. Today    the number of wooden carousels has dwindled to approximately 250 as a result of The Depression, fires, floods and neglect. Fortunately, the future of the carousel looks bright; they are riding the comeback trail with museums, national organizations, collectors, art, amusement parks, cities and downtown areas restoring and showcasing the magnificent masterpieces.

The smiles and laughter which carousels inspire is a centuries-old tradition; in fact, today's carousels are the proud inheritors of a rich history stretching back 1,500 years. The earliest known record of a carousel device is a Byzantine etching from 500 AD which portrays riders swinging in baskets tied to a center pole (the Byzantine Empire consisted of varying parts of present day Italy, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey from 395 AD to 1453 AD). Evidence of carousel-like activities in ancient Mexico and India has also been uncovered.

 The modern-day story of the carousel (or merry-go-round) in America traces back to the mid-19th century when Gustav Dentzel, a German immigrant, opened the G.A. Dentzel Steam and Horsepower Carousel Company. During this time, carousels were in their heyday and were considered the premier amusement ride, with more than 7,000 in existence. Today    the number of wooden carousels has dwindled to approximately 250 as a result of The Depression, fires, floods and neglect. Fortunately, the future of the carousel looks bright; they are riding the comeback trail with museums, national organizations, collectors, art, amusement parks, cities and downtown areas restoring and showcasing the magnificent masterpieces.

History (legend?) shows that the word carousel dates to the 1100's ad. The crusaders are reported to have brought a game back to Europe involving little clay balls filled with scented water. A game played by the Arabian and Turkish horseman. The riders tossed the clay balls back and forth until one of them missed. They were the losers and smelled of perfume for a few days. The Italians called the game garosello and the Spanish called it carosella. The game spread to France where it was called carrousel. 

A highlight of the French game was the ring spearing contest. Riders at full gallop tried to capture a ring suspended between two posts with their spears. It took a very experienced horseman with a good eye and lots of practice to master this game. In the 1680's someone hung a legless wooden horse from arms attached to a center pole. Young riders trained for the tournament by riding these devices and trying to spear small rings. The machine was powered by horses, mules or servants. From this practice was the carousel as we know it born. along with the phrase "catch the brass ring". 

During the 1700's and more in the 1800's carousels started appearing in Europe and America. In 1870 an engineer named Frederick Savage hooked a steam engine to a carousel and put the horses, mules and servants out of the business of powering them. This also allowed carousels to increase in size and scope. The use of fixed ponies instead of the free swinging ones was also possible now. Somewhere about the same time, Robert Tidman of England designed one of the first up and down devices that gave the horses their "galloping" motion.