More than 3,000 hand-carved wooden carousels were made in this factory, where portable carousels supplied carnivals around the country and stationary units became main attractions at many early 1900s resorts, while other rides built here entertained adults and children in parks that foreshadowed modern amusement parks and thrill rides. Allan Herschell, a Scottish immigrant born in Arbreath, Forfarshire, Scotland, built machinery and boilers until seeing a carousel on a trip to New York City, after which he began building carousels and by 1915, when he bought this factory, had become the most productive carousel builder in America. The factory employed as many as 75 skilled carvers and included a roundhouse where carousels were assembled and tested. Its horses were simple and elegant but also sturdy, durable, and easy to maintain for travel, and the original carousels were a thrill ride for adults only. A menagerie of figures also appeared on the carousels, including giraffes, kangaroos, and a hop-toad. The factory later expanded into carousels for children and many other carnival rides, then introduced adult thrill rides such as the Twister, the Hurricane, and the 90-foot-tall Skywheel ferris wheel. Under John Wendler's ownership in the 1930s, wooden horses were replaced with aluminum, and steel-bodied cars were produced for whirling rides and bumper cars. The business began in 1872 as the Armitage-Herschell Company making steam engines, gears, and machinery, added its first steam riding gallery eleven years later, became the Herschell-Spillman Company in 1900 as a joint venture with Edward Spillman, saw Allan Herschell retire from that firm in 1913, formed the Allan Herschell Company at this location in 1915, and after later ownership changes, acquisitions, and moves, the factory building became the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum in 1983 and the company returned to North Tonawanda in 1997.