In 1930, Hugh Durden discovered a 24-horse carousel in Clay, Texas, where a carnival had left it in a pasture during the Depression after it could not afford the rent. Durden told members of the Washington County Fair Association that the old carousel could serve the community, and F.C. Winklemann, Hans Schleider, and O.H. Fischer returned, braved swarming hornets, rescued it 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, with Fischer's daughter, Mrs. Alvin Suter, remembering that they unbraided hemp rope to make new tails for the horses. In the fall of 1932, the repaired carousel debuted at the Washington County Fair on October 12, 1932, with tickets priced at 25¢ for 6 rides. In 1935, a 16-sided building constructed by the Works Progress Administration housed the horses. The horses were identified with assistance from the National Carousel Association as having been manufactured by Charles W.F. Dare, whose carvings established the country fair style seen on the Brenham carousel. Dare, who began a toy and carriage manufacturing and retail business in Brooklyn, New York, in 1859, may have begun building carousels as early as the late 1860s, established The C.W.F. Dare Company by 1884, and in 1890 established the New York Carousel Manufacturing Company, exporting carousels around the world and producing them for domestic and international sale. Early catalogs show his carousels typically cost $425 to $2200 depending on model, size, and finish. Dare did not manufacture the carousel's frame; during a recent restoration, an imprint of C.W. Parker, Leavenworth, Kansas, 48 2H, was found on the turning mechanism, confirming that the structure dates to the Leavenworth years, which began in 1911.

Photo: James Hulse

Photo: James Hulse

Photo: James Hulse