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When Leavenworth, the first city in Kansas, was established in 1854, its founders could not possibly have imagined the city would become famous for manufacturing carousels. But in 1911, Charles Wallace Parker moved his thriving carousel-manufacturing business to Leavenworth from Abilene, Kansas. The new facility had more room for building various types of carnival equipment and the railroad cars needed to transport them all over the world. Of all of Parker’s amusement products, though, his “Carry-Us-Alls” (a play on the word “carousel” coined by Parker) were the most important to him.

Parker built five big, fancy carousels for large amusement parks; only one of these is in use today. He also built hundreds of smaller carousels that could travel with a carnival or circus. Parker’s son took over the business in 1932 when Charles passed away and continued the business until 1955.

In all, the company made about 1,000 carousels. Only about sixteen of these are in use today. Two are housed in Leavenworth at the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum: the 1913 Carousel and the Liberty Carousel. A third carousel, called the Primitive Carousel, whose builder is unknown, is also kept there.

The 1913 Carousel
Visitors must hang on tight when riding this carousel! The 1913 Carousel goes much faster than modern-day carousels, and riders can be a little shocked at its speed. The fully operational carousel is comprised of thirty-one hand-carved wood features, including two bunnies, four ponies, one sleigh ride, and one lovers’ nest tea cup. When the museum obtained the carousel, wood rot had damaged many of the horses, and these had to be re-carved by hand. Restoration was completed with primitive tools and wooden dowels instead of nails to keep with historical methods. It took thousands of hours of work before safety requirements were satisfied and the public could enjoy the carousel.

The Liberty Carousel
Built by Charles’ son, Paul Parker, in the 1950s, this all-aluminum carousel features twenty aluminum horses and two benches. Because it is smaller and has wheels, the entire carousel is portable.

The Primitive Carousel
The Primitive Carousel, probably built between 1850 and 1860, has twelve paired horses and two benches, all rough-hewn and without embellishments or much paint. In its prime, the carousel was turned manually, probably by two men, but it is no longer in use, except for short demonstrations by museum personnel.

The museum also is the home of a 1900 C.W. Parker cylinder piano that must be hand cranked and plays ten songs, and an artisan A-X-1 band organ that provides music while the 1913 Carousel is moving, just as it probably did a century ago.

Ranked as one of the top “Eight Wonders of Kansas,” the C.W. Parker Museum also has a gift shop and hundreds of artifacts dating from the Parker era. Young visitors will especially enjoy going upstairs to the balcony, where they can watch the carousel’s gears turning and crankshafts raising and lowering the horses.