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180 Thompson Street

 North Tonawanda, NY

Placed on the National Register of Historic Places April 18, 1985.

The Allan Herschell Company, founded in North Tonawanda, New York was the fourth in a series of companies in the community which manufactured carousels and other amusement park rides.  Allan Herschell had previously been a partner in the earliest of the area's carousel firms:  the Armitage Herschell Company in 1873 and later with the Herschell-Spillman Company in 1901.  The Spillman Engineering Company operated from the 1920s through the 1930s in competition with its founder.

The Allan Herschell Company, the most prolific maker of carousels, specialized in producing portable machines which could be used by traveling carnival operators.  The company produced over 3,000 hand-carved wooden carousels and out produced all of its rivals in the carousel industry.  Each hand-carved wooden carousel featured striking yet simple horses.  

The star attraction at the museum is the beautifully restored 1916 Number One Special Carrousel.  With 36 hand-carveed wooden horses and more than 500 twinkling lights,  this ride spins to the sounds of a vintage Wurlitzer band organ.  Built in the former factory, it's a rare chance to experience a working piece of American amusement history with no theme park required.  

North Tonawanda, once an industrial powerhouse with 150 lumber mills was the longtime home of the Herschell Company, which led the carousel industry from 1883-1970.  Today, visitors from around the world come to ride the fully restored carousel.

A major employer in the community, the Allan Herschell Company had a worldwide reputation for quality rides.  Carousels from this company were shipped throughout the United States and Canada, as well as to all parts of the world including South Africia, India, Tahiti and Mexico.

Of the 148 antique, hand-carved wooden carousels still in existence in the United States and Canada today, 71 were manufactured in North Tonawanda in one of the four Herschell companies.  The Allan Herschell Company had a major influence on the development of the American amusement ride industry, where this influence continues to be felt.

Beyond the Carousel

Over the years the Allan Herschell Company expanded its line of amusement park rides and pioneered such concepts as "Kiddieland", a specialized group of rides designed for small children.  It also introduced adult thrill rides such as the Twister, the Hurricane and the Sky Wheel which was a double Ferris wheel nearly 90 feet tall.  Much of this growth occurred under the ownership of John Wendler and his family, starting in the 1930s. 

The company maintained its North Tonawanda operation until the late 1950s when it moved to Buffalo.  It continued as a locally owned firm until it was sold in the early 1970s to Chance Manufacturing of Wichita, Kansas, a rival maker of amusement rides.

Many of the popular rides today can trace their origins to the company. Nearly every person who has visited an amusement park at some time in their lives has experienced the thrill of riding on one of the Herschell rides.   

An interesting sidenote is that the word, carousel is spelled as carrousel with two r's at the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum. If you call the museum, the Education Director when providing their website address over the phone, that person must interject with "We spell it with two r's" or they will not get the right page. 

When the carousel came to America it went through a few changes.  American carousels rotate in the opposite direction of their British cousins

www.carrouselmuseum.org

The Lead Horse on a Carousel

The Lead Horse is often called a King Horse.  Positioned on the outside row, often right behind the chariot, if one exists.  The horse is typically the largest, most ornate and most heavily decorated (often with armor or jewels) to serve as a marker for operators to count revolutions.  It is generaly a "stander" (three or four feet on the ground) and is the most elaborately carved.  While "Lead" or "King is the generic term, famous examples exist such as "Jingles" on the King Arthur Carousel at Disneyland.  The Lead Horse is often the most sought-after horse by collectors. 

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