The Ferry County Carousel is an operational wooden carousel

Carousel

A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...

 located three miles (5 km) east of the town of Republic, Washington

Republic, Washington

Republic is a city in Ferry County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,073 at the 2010 census, a 12.5% increase over the 2000 Census. It is the county seat of Ferry County.-History:...

 on the Ferry County Fairgrounds. This carousel features 24 horses in two rows and is fitted with a jumping mechanism. The Ferry County Carousel is one of only seven classic wooden carousels in Washington state and possibly the oldest.

The carousel

This all wood carousel consists of 24 horses mounted in two rows on a traveling "country fair" style mechanism. There are three distinct carving periods to be found among the horses while all of the horses feature detachable "pillows" or saddle

Saddle

A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse, but specialized saddles have been created for camels and other creatures...

s. Two of the styles are differentiated by the mane carving styles, and are traceable back to the Armitage Herschell Company and the Herschell Spillman Company, while two horses are thought to have been carved by Charles Dare. One of the horses was missing from the carousel for nearly 15 years. It was thought lost until being discovered in the garage of a house which a person had just bought. It was in very poor condition upon return and was sent to a carver in Missoula, Montana

Missoula, Montana

Missoula is a city located in western Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the population of Missoula County at 109,299. Missoula is the principal city of the Missoula Metropolitan Area...

 for intensive restoration. While some of the horses are painted to resemble common breeds, many are named and painted in remembrance of horses known or owned by the sponsors. The horses range in color from Appaloosa

Appaloosa

The Appaloosa is a horse breed best known for its colorful leopard-spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's color pattern is genetically the result of various spotting...

 and Red Sorrel to an African Paint. The breeds are as diverse as the colors and include a Morgan horse

Morgan horse

The Morgan is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the stallion Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, the breed excels in many disciplines, and is known for its versatility....

, wild mustang, and even a Zebra

Zebra

Zebras are several species of African equids united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds...

. The zebra, "Echo babe", is the carousel's spare, and only new, "horse". Sponsored by the local mining company, she was donated by a Tacoma carver, Joanne Sessions, so the children could have a zebra to ride. The horses "Mary Jane" and "Frosty" are thought to have been carved by Charles Dane while he was under contract to Armitage Herschell.

At the time of the restoration the Keller, Washington

Keller, Washington

Keller is an unincorporated community in southeastern Ferry County in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington.-History:The town is located in the San Poil Valley , and was founded in 1898 by John C. Keller, a local businessman...

 4-H

4-H

4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture , with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development." The name represents...

, having been saving money for a project for several years, decided to sponsor one of the horses. Having only $400 of the needed $1,000, the club successfully petitioned the Colville Confederated tribes

Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation

The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation is the federally recognized tribe that controls the Colville Indian Reservation, which is located in Washington, United States....

 for the remaining $600. In honor, painter Sandy Shiflett, painted "Running Brave" as an Appaloosa mustang with traditional feathers in the mane and war paint on the rump. She designed the blanket with a 4-H Clover

Clover

Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes...

 on the saddle blanket and a sunflower

Sunflower

Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...

 carving on the saddle in honor of the Keller area.

Each of the running boards was painted by a local artist and feature different landscapes from around the county. The back panels are painted with scenes of wildlife, country life, and history, and include one scene by well known western artist Everett Russell, a Ferry County resident. To include even the children the "This Little Light of Mine" project allowed one to sponsor one of 540 lights on the machine for $10 in the name of a child, and a memorial board was painted by a Republic High School senior, showing the sponsors and where to find the specific light on the carousel itself.

Whether this carousel originally had an organ

Organ (music)

The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

 is unknown, and music is provided currently by a CD player donated from Spokane

Spokane, Washington

Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...

 and housed behind a carved facade donated by a wood carver also from Spokane.

Early history

While the exact date this carousel was built is not known, the simple styles of the horses show it to be from the beginning of the golden age of carousel building in America, between 1890 and 1900. Constructed in the style common for transportable "Country fair" the carousel features two rows of twelve horses each. The carousel was made by either the Armitage Herschell Company or the Herschell Spillman Company. During the golden age of carousels an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 carousels were built by a number of different companies. Of that estimated number only 208 were listed in the National Carousel Associations 2000 census. The original owner and destination of the carousel is unknown. Belly mounts on the horses indicate the carousel was originally track driven, but the track mechanism was replaced at some point with a 1935 mechanism built by Hatfield Engineering, when the entire carousel was refitted to the jumping format present today.

Purchase and transport

At some point the carousel was purchased by a carnival

Carnival

Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...

 or the City of Tacoma, Washington

Tacoma, Washington

Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...

 where it remained until 1958. In that year a group of farmers from Ferry County located the carousel in Tacoma. The group applied for and obtained a $2,000 loan for the purchase of the machine from the Tacoma owner. The entire machine was then transported back to the Ferry County fairgrounds on the bed of a wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

 truck. At this time the carousel was repainted and received an art deco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

 makeover, including metal running board

Running board

A running board is a car or truck accessory part, a narrow step fitted under the side doors of the vehicle. It aids entry, especially into high vehicles. Typical of vintage cars which had much higher ground clearances than today's cars, it is also used as a fashion statement on vehicles that would...

s and neon lights. This marked the last major changes until the mid-1990s.

Rehabilitation

Close to 30 years exposure to hot summer and freezing winter conditions, common in Ferry County, took their toll on the carousel and in 1993 county residents approached the county and worked with the county government to restore it. This also lead to an agreement by the county never to sell the carousel outside the county and the formation of the Merry-Go-Round Friends Committee to oversee the project. The project was estimated to cost approximately $30,000; $1,000 for each of the horses and an additional $6,000 for the machinery. In the span of a year the committee raised nearly half of the total cost. Every part of the carousel, from the horses to the backboards to the individual lights open for sponsorship from the community. Each sponsor of a horse was also allowed to name that horse. In addition to the monetary support, numerous local artists donated time and sill to the repainting and rehabilitation of the horses and scenery. These local volunteers were assisted by carousel enthusiasts from around the United States.

Housing

Another project was started in 1995 to further preserve the carousel for future generations. Coinciding with a visit from officials of the National Carousel Association a new committee was formed to oversee the construction of a permanent building around the carousel. A number of parties donated significant funds to the project including $80,000 raised in the community alone. The construction was facilitated by the Curlew

Curlew, Washington

Curlew is an unincorporated community located in northwestern Ferry County, Washington, United States, between Malo and Danville on State Route 21. The BNSF Railway ran through the town. The historic Ansorge Hotel is located in Curlew.-Geography:...

 Job Corps

Job Corps

Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free-of-charge education and vocational training to youth ages 16 to 24.-Mission and purpose:...

 building-trades classes and a week of work was donated by crews from Colville

Colville, Washington

Colville is a city in Stevens County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,673 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stevens County.- History :...

 and Seattle to finish the project before winter. The 5500 square feet (511 m²) building consists of an octagonal room for the carousel, a meeting room, restrooms, and a full kitchen. A large stained glass piece featuring a white carousel horse with black saddle, created by leaded glass artist Bonnie Schmidt, was donated for the restoration project and incorporated into the carousel room.