North Tonawanda, N.Y.- The Herschell Carrousel Musuem offers up a unique history and a bit of hands-on education.

I had taken a trip back to my childhood and believe me it was an unexpected, but welcome journey down memory lane.

Growing up I had always had an affinity for carousels, I mean what kid didn’t. Maybe it was the music, or the ornately decorated horses and bright colors, but something seems to lure children to a carousel.

And even to my surprise, the Herschell Carrousel Factory in North Tonawanda-just a short drive from where I grew up- was the world’s premier producer of the hand-carved amusements during the late 1800s and early 1900s and the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum (180 Thompson St. North Tonawanda, N.Y. 14120) tells the history in a unique and interesting fashion.

Through a self-guided tour, I had learned that many of the fairs and amusement parks I frequented growing up, featured amusements produced at the Herschell Carrousel Factory.

Allan Herschell first began producing his world-famous carrousels in the 1880s and had them shipped across the globe. His wooden, hand-carved treasures were found in places like San Francisco, Detroit, Bombay, India and South Africa to name a few.

Between 50 and 75 skilled wood carvers worked around the clock producing not only standard horses, but an array of animals including giraffes, tigers and frogs in the North Tonawanda Factory. The museum displays many of these surviving artifacts at the museum.

As a true testament to the quality of carousel being produced at the Herschell Carrousel Factory in North Tonawanda, of the approximately 140 antique hand-carved carousels still in existence today, 71 were built at Herschell’s factory.

Over the years, technological advancements allowed for the carousel business to transform from a labor based operation to a more streamlined operation, where hand carved, wooden horses were soon made from metal and then fiberglass. This marked the end to the golden age of carrousels.

However, at the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum, Doug Bathke, a wood carver and museum trustee works at keeping Herschell’s legacy alive. Even today, Bathke and a group of volunteers still hand-carve wooden animals, using the original blueprints workers in Herschell’s factory used more than 100 years ago.

And Bathke is hoping to pass the lost art of wood-carving on, by offering a series of classes at the museum throughout the month of October in hopes of teaching those more about the history of Herschell, while picking up a new craft.

The fall carving class series takes place October 1, 8, 15 and 22 and is offered in a beginner level ($90 for four classes) and Intermediate level ($85 for four classes). The beginners will be provided with carving knives that they can keep following the classes. For more information or to pre register call 716.693.1885 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For more information on the museum visit www.carrouselmuseum.org.

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