Over the 10 years our family was involved in 4-H while living in Malo, WA. All the 4-H clubs took turns running the Merry-Go-Round during the annual Republic Fair. No way did we know that this Merry-Go-Round was really a Carousel. According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, "between 2,000 and 3,000 carousels were produced in the U.S. during its 'golden age' of wooden carousels" (late 1880s - to early 1930s). Of those, the National Carousel Association's 2000 Census lists only 208 as still operational in the United States and Canada.
In 1958 a group of local ranchers cosigned a $2000.00 loan to purchase a portable Country Fair style carousel, with 24 hand-carved horses, that they'd located in Tacoma, Washington. They carried it back to Republic, Washington in the back of a wheat truck, where it quickly became a favorite attraction at the annual Ferry County Fair.
All of the horses were originally mounted on a track steam machine as indicated by their belly mounts. The machine that now runs the carousel was built by Hatfield Engineering in 1935, when the entire machine was converted to the jumping mechanism that exists today.
Though the carousel received an Art Deco makeover in the 1950's (including neon lights and metal rounding boards) and a repainting after its arrival in Ferry County, its full restoration didn't begin until 1993.
In 1995, the National Carousel Association Annual Convention visited Republic on its tour of northwest carousels and donated $2000 to the preservation project. Later that year, a new committee was formed to spearhead the construction of a building to house the carousel.
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Information from Wikipedia: In the UK and Europe, merry-go-rounds (as they are most often referred to in those countries) usually turn clockwise (see photograph at top), while in North America, carousels typically go anti-clockwise (or "counter-clockwise"). One mounts a real horse by lifting one's right leg over the animal's back as it stands with its head towards one's left (the horse's left side is called its "near" side). Likewise for a carousel that turns anti-clockwise: one stands on the near side of the horse to mount (towards the center of the carousel, not on its outer edge). One possible reason for carousels in the USA turning anti-clockwise may be so that the rider can use their right hand to catch a brass ring.
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