C. W. Parker Carousel Museum

Opened in 2005 and operated by the Leavenworth Historical Museum Association, this unique museum shares the history of carousels including artifacts and intact carousels from renowned Kansas designer Charles Wallace Parker. Growing up in Abilene, Kansas, Charles Wallace Parker became fascinated with amusement devices, starting with the purchase of a portable shooting gallery. Using earnings from working as a janitor, Parker soon created his own designs, beginning a career that would make him well-known as the "amusement king." He built his first carousel not long after. He founded the Parker Carnival Supply Company, becoming known for his unique designs that were meant to be portable, making them especially well-suited to county fairs. At the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum, visitors can see carousels like Parker's 1913 Carry-Us-All and some of the instruments that would have played alongside his carousels, including cylinder pianos and band organs.

Born in Griggsviille, Illinois, Charles Wallace Parker moved to Abilene, Kansas, with his family at age five. As he became an adult and started work as a janitor, he quickly discovered his love for amusement devices. When he purchased his first portable shooting gallery with his earnings, he soon decided he could do even better, building one of his own. Soon after, he made his first carousel. According to the website for the city of Abilene, he was inspired to after one day of running errands:

As the story goes, Parker and his daughter were headed towards the general store one afternoon. Parker had one dollar in his pocket to buy the family’s groceries. Suddenly, his daughter noticed a carousel offering rides for a nickel. After much pleading from his daughter, Parker paid for his daughter to ride the contraption. His daughter did not stop riding until Parker had spent eighty-five cents, leaving only fifteen cents to pay for the family’s groceries.  Seeing that the excitement of a carousel could get him to spend most of his last dollar, Parker decided he should be in the carousel business.

Soon after, in 1894, he started the Parker Carnival Supply Company, renamed the C.W. Parker Amusement Company in 1896. Over the years, Parker and his company became famous for producing Ferris wheels, shooting galleries, and especially carousels. Most of his equipment was known for being portable, and this was especially true of his most famous carousel, the Carry-Us-All. It was easy to take devices like these apart and put them back together, and most of the parts were interchangeable, so they would be easily replaced if something broke. Parker's business continued in Abilene until a dispute with the city over property lines led him to relocate to Leavenworth. Here, he made even more opulent designs for his carousels, carefully decorating the horses and introducing more ridable animals. When World War I caused a shortage of supplies for manufacturing and a lack of money for families to visit carnivals, Parker's company was one of the few that survived. From Parker's death in 1932 until 1955, his son ran the company here.

Today, at least sixteen of Parker's carousels still exist today. Several of them can be seen here at the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum, one of the museums run by the Leavenworth County Historical Society. These include the 1913 Carry-Us-All, Parker's main attraction, the Liberty Carousel, and the Primitive Carousel, which was built in the 1850s or 1860s, long before Parker ran his business. The former two can be ridden, but the latter is too old to be used. Also on display are several instruments that would have provided backing music for his carnival rides, including turn-of-the-century cylinder pianos and band organs. Some of Parker's works can also be seen at the Dickinson County Heritage Center in Abilene, including the 1901 carousel, the oldest of his extant carousels that can still be ridden.

C.W. Parker Carousel Museum, Leavenworth Historical Museum Association. Accessed September 10th, 2023. https://firstcitymuseumslhma.com/c-w-parker-carousel-museum/.

Dickinson County Historical Society. The Amusement King, Visit Abilene Kansas. December 16th, 2020. Accessed September 10th, 2023. https://abilenekansas.org/blog/2020/12/16/the-amusement-king.

C.W. Parker Carousel Museum, Wikipedia. Accessed September 10th, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.W._Parker_Carousel_Museum.