OLDEST -- Carousel in Texas - Brenham, TX
Posted by: 
Raven
N 30° 10.405 W 096° 24.044
14R E 750299 N 3340856
Originally built in 1911 and only 1 of 5 still remaining classic wooden Carousels in Texas, Brenham's Flying Horses carousel is recognized by the National Carousel Association as the oldest one in the state.
Waymark Code: WM10A94
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/31/2019
Views: 2
Per the city's Parks & Recreation
website:
"The popularity of the American Carousel soared and at one time estimated to be around 4,000 Carousels with beautifully carved horses that graced the U.S. Today, that number has dwindled to fewer than 150. Brenham's Flying Horses Carousel is only one of five surviving classic wood Carousels that exist in Texas. According to the National Carousel Association, Brenham's Flying Horses Carousel is the oldest in Texas and one of the few remaining Carousels consisting of Charles W. Dare horses.
There are three styles of Carousel horses: Philadelphia, Coney Island and Country. Our horses are carved in the "country fair" style. Those were a sleek style, with form and function as closely united as the wooden horses and their built-in saddles. The horses seem to fly, with manes and tails carved to give an appearance of speed. Building each horse to conform to the same mad dash pose had a two-fold benefit. The animated sense of speed appealed to the customers' imagination, and the identical leg position satisfied the traveling fair or carnival's need to erect and dismantle rides in a hurry.
The National Carousel Association assisted in identifying the horses as being manufactures by Charles W. Dare, a hobbyhorse and toy manufacturer who entered into the carousel manufacturing business in the last quarter of the 19th century. The overall forms of the horses including the manes and the running martingale - a leather thong that linked the bridle with the chest strap and prevented horses from throwing their heads back are consistent with the Dare style. The carousel frame was not manufactured by Dare. During a recent restoration, an imprint of C.W. Parker, Leavenworth, Kansas, 48 2H, was found on the carousel's turning mechanism. This confirms that the structure dates to the Leavenworth years, which started in 1911. Interestingly, a few of the horses also bear the tags of the Armitage-Herschell company of New York. Armitage-Herschell also manufactures horses in the country fair style. It is not known if these particular horses were purchased by Armitage-Herschell from Dare stock or were refurbished by them.
Our carousel was discovered in 1930 by Mr. Hugh Durden in Clay, Texas. It was left in a pasture years earlier, during the Depression, by a carnival that couldn't afford to pay rent on the land they used for their carnival. Mr. Durden saw the potential of the old Carousel and told members of the Washington County Fair Association about how it could serve our community. F.C. Winkelmann, Hans Schleider, and O.H. Fischer returned and braved swarming hornets to rescue the Carousel from the pasture and moved it to Brenham for repair. O.H. Fischer, owner of Brenham Furniture Repair and Clarence Fischer refurbished the 24 horses, to the delight of the community.
"It turned out that a traveling carnival had set up there several years earlier and then didn't make enough money to pay the rent for the pasture. So they just left their 24-horse Carousel there. We got those hobby horses for a very reasonable amount, somewhere around $30, which is good because it cost a lot of money to restore them." F.C. Winkleman, Jr."
-----
There are three information boards all around the perimeter of the carousel. One of them, which includes fun facts, includes the following statement:
"
According to the National Carousel Association, Brenham's Flying Horses Carousel is the oldest in Texas!"