The Circus is Coming to Town

Along with three other couples at our Wisconsin Dells “gathering,” we decided to run away and join the circus – at least for one day.  As everyone knows, you can’t run away on an empty stomach, so after we fueled up with a hearty breakfast at Paul Bunyan’s Cook Shanty, off we went.

All-you-can-eat breakfast at Paul Bunyan's Cook Shanty, served family-style

Fueled up and ready to go.  L to R:  Bob, Adrienne (rear), Joyce (front)
Yvonne, Ralph, Al and Susanne.  The Blue Ox, of course, is Babe

 

The circus life reigns supreme in Baraboo, Wisconsin, a short 11 miles from the famed Wisconsin Dells.  One can experience the excitement of the Big Top and delve into the intriguing social history of the circus.

 

Unloading the Circus Trains.  This mural is on the wall as you
enter the Circus World Museum

The term “circus” was first used in America in 1793 when John Ricket’s troupe of entertainers performed in a temporary wooden structure in Philadelphia called “The Circus.”  But it was some 31 years later, in 1824, when J.W. Banker referred to his company of entertainers as “Banker’s New York Circus” that the term was applied to the performers themselves, rather than the structure in which they performed.


Al and Sue rode an elephant, and were able to cross that item off their bucket list



Circuses bring out the kid in all of us.  Adrienne puts her head in a lion's mouth
(OK, it's really just a drinking fountain, but it could be a real lion!)

The dream to create their own circus began for the Ringling brothers (Alf, Al, Charles, John and Otto) of Baraboo, Wisconsin, in 1869.  Two other brothers later joined the show.  By 1885, the Ringling Bros. Circus was touring the Midwest.  The pinnacle of the American circus is considered to be between 1880 and 1930.  In 1916, the Ringling Bros. Circus included 500 horses and ponies, 29 elephants, 15 camels, plus lions, tigers, monkeys, and a wide variety of performers and acts.  Nearly 120 employees were required to move, set up and tear down, and otherwise run the circus, including feeding and caring for all of the animals.  By April 1918, “Ringlingville”, the winter quarters of the Ringling Bros. Circus, occupied the land between Water Street and the Baraboo River in the brothers’ hometown.  It consisted of more than 25 separate structures.  Today, 10 of the winter quarters’ building still exist and are included on the register of National Landmark Historical Structures.



The horse barn. The 30 horses housed here during winter lay-over were used to perform work that
needed to be done. The rest of the herd was stabled in rented barns on surrounding farms.

This building housed lions, tigers and other "exotic" circus animals.  Except for the horse
barn, most of the building were constructed of brick and were very well built.

This building housed about 30 elephants and included an elephant training room, shown
here. One of the elephants' elaborate costumes is displayed on a life-sized form

Through the 1870’s, James A. Bailey and legendary showman P.T. Barnum each had their own circuses.  In March 1881, they agreed to combine their shows and created the Barnum & Bailey Circus.  P.T. Barnum died in 1891 and Bailey purchased his share of the venture from Barnum’s widow.  After touring Europe with his circus for a number of years, Bailey returned to the United States in 1902.  James Bailey died in 1906, and a year later, the Ringling Brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus from Bailey’s widow.  The Ringling brothers ran the circuses as separate entities for a number of years, with the original circus touring the western part of the country and the Barnum & Bailey Circus touring the eastern U.S.  However, in 1919, Charles and John, the only two of the original five founding brothers still living, decided to combine the two circuses, creating the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which quickly took on the moniker "The Greatest Show on Earth."


One of the railway cars used to transport animals...probably horses or elephants
from the size of the stalls inside the car

This sign is still posted on the end of one of the wagons that were used as ticket
booths. Not sure what year this was, but note the 19% and 20.4% tax rates

The circus atmosphere today permeates the grounds of the Circus World Museum, bringing out the kid in all of us.  Strolling through the grounds, one can almost hear the barkers…. ”Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, step right up….”  Everyone enjoys the circus in Baraboo!  Intricate miniature tableaus of circus scenes – under the Big Top; unloading the circus train; the circus parade through town – occupy one building.  Another building houses over 5,000 original circus costumes plus a couple of the wagons that served both to transport the costumes and as dressing rooms.  Still another building once housed all the elephants and included a very large training room, complete with a tricycle large enough to hold the elephant that “rode” it around the ring.  A portion of one building is dedicated to the restoration of wagons and other circus artifacts, including carousel figures.  Outside, a working carousel is available for rides for the young and the young-at-heart.  It is partially restored; one of the employees told us that they were re-finishing five of the merry-go-round's figures each year.

 

This miniature diorama of famed circus elephant Jumbo
under the Big Top was crafted in 1882 

Some of the animals on this carousel have been refurbished.  Others,
like this zebra, are still waiting for restoration.

Adrienne on the carousel. Of course, all eight of us rode it!

A bandwagon from The Royal Italian Circus will be restored to
its former glory at the Circus World Museum restoration shop

Original circus posters illustrate the work of talented artists.  Woodcuts were used for the earliest circus “posters.”  By the middle of the nineteenth century, lithography was the medium of choice; by 1920, the process of screen printing was perfected and proved to be more economical.  Circus posters are truly works of art, and original posters are highly collectible and command high prices.


Banners on canvas promote the acts appearing in the sideshows, housed in the tents:  the freak
show; Hindoo, the sword swallower; Jo-Jo, the dog-faced boy; and Carlos, the Mexican fire-eater

Perhaps the most captivating artifacts are the circus wagons.  There are several types:  baggage and equipment wagons, cage / animal transport wagons, and the spectacular carved, highly decorated parade wagons, including bandwagons or wagons with steam or air calliopes.  The parade wagons were an effective advertising tool – the final “come to the circus” message when the circus finally came to town - and the calliope was always the last wagon in the parade, leading the townspeople, Pied Piper-like, to the circus grounds.  The zenith of the great circus wagons was in 1903.  In preparation for a triumphant return from his European tour, James Bailey ordered 10 brand-new parade wagons.  Not to be outdone, the Ringling brothers ordered 12 new wagons and had a number of other wagons already in their show refurbished.

Gordon Lillie, a.k.a. Pawnee Bill, ordered this bandwagon for his Wild West Show
in 1903. It was built by Sebastian Wagon Co. of New York at a cost of $4,000

These wagons were typically 18-20 feet long, 7-8 feet wide, and stood over 14-15
feet high. The larger wagons weighed 4- 5 tons and were pulled by eight horses



Even smaller regional circuses had elaborate parade wagons.  This one belonged
to the Cole Bros. Circus. Founded in 1884, Cole Bros. still operates today, and is
one of a very few that still perform under the Big Top.



Transport wagon for hippopotamus (foreground) and "The Golden Age of Chivalry" parade
wagon. The heads, tails and wings of the dragons were removed and stored inside when
the wagon was transported between venues.  Each dragon's head weighs 300 pounds.



This wagon transported giraffes in the circus parade. The interior is padded in white leather
for safety, and the top is open to allow the animals to stand with their heads extended out the top

As part of the purchase of Barnum & Bailey, Ringling Bros. also acquired
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show



Even the wheels of the wagons were colorfully decorated

Built about 1880, this wagon was purchased by Ringling Bros. in 1890 and used as
their lead band wagon in parades until it was retired in 1915. It was pulled by 8 horses 



The Elephant Tableau Wagon, built for the Al G. Barnes Circus and used
as a parade wagon by that circus from 1921-1926

Built in England ca. 1880, this Victorian wagon traveled with the Hanneford
Circus in Ireland between 1903 and 1913.  It was given to Circus World in 2000

 Various factors around 1917-18, including the Spanish Influenza epidemic, World War I, the growth of cities and subsequent movement of circus venues to outlying areas away from centralized railroad yards, and the development of modern highways caused the demise of “street parades” to the Big Top.  By 1930, many of the circus wagons were stripped of their elaborate carvings and modified for more utilitarian purposes or were abandoned altogether.  A few remained in the possession of department stores, zoos or private collectors.  Thanks to the efforts of Charles “Chappie” Fox (1913-2003), a circus historian and philanthropist from Milwaukee, more than 200 of these treasures have been saved and restored.  Circus World’s collection of circus wagons is the most significant in the world.  Two-thirds of the original circus wagons known to exist today are housed at Circus World in Baraboo.  Ringling Bros. had a series of wagons depicting fairy tales for the children’s section of the parade; today only three remain.  Mother Goose and Cinderella have been restored, and The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe is undergoing a multi-year renovation.  It is estimated that upon completion, the gold leaf that will be used to cover the characters on this wagon will cost some $30,000, in addition to all other restoration costs.


The Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe, one of only three remaining "fairy tale" wagons,
is undergoing restoration.  The gold leaf that will be applied will cost $30,000

Mother Goose has already been restored.  Cinderella (not pictured) has also been restored
and is in the museum's collection. These smaller wagons were known as "pony floats."

 

Circus World Museum was started in 1959 with less than one acre of land and six wagons.  Today the site comprises over 64 acres of land and includes more than 220 wagons.  A library was established in 1965 and now houses 10,000 circus posters, original music compositions and recordings, 85,000 catalogued photographs, a reference file of more than 30,000 names of circus employees and performers, and information on 2,800 American circuses, large and small, that operated during the “golden age” of the circus.

5,000 original circus costumes are housed in this building.  Thy are made of very heavy fabric for
durability but must have been very hot and uncomfortable during Midwest summer performances



A trunk full of hats worn by the "clown band" during the circus parade.

Ralph "clowning around" in the Circus World Museum costume building

In addition to its function as a depository for primary source material, another important mission of the Circus World Museum is to re-create the fun, excitement and environment of a true circus experience.  Just watching the smiles appear on each guest’s face during two daily live circus performances is evidence that this mission is being met each day.


Under the Big Top, waiting for the 11:30 am performance to begin



The entire cast in the opening number

Trained dogs perform.  All of the dogs were rescued from shelters
and then trained by the woman trainer



The elephant performance was a crowd favorite

 

In 1956, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus abandoned the canvas Big Top in favor of arenas and stadiums.  A piece of the fabric of America died with that decision, but the folks in Baraboo, Wisconsin are preserving the history of the circus, and allowing future generations to hear and re-live their Road Stories.

Circus World Museum

550 Water Street

Baraboo, WI 53913

(608) 356-8341

www.circusworldbaraboo.org

Look for these two "clowns" out on the road, gathering more Road Stories