Arkansas

Little Rock

Little Rock Zoo

The Arkansas Carousel

Over-the-Jumps

The Over-the-Jumps carousel at the Little Rock Zoo is a fully restored 1924 Spillman Engineering, two-row, portable, undulating, track carousel with forty jumpers (two of which are Allan Herschell horses) and four chariots. It is only one of four carousels of this type built by Spillman Engineering. The drive mechanism is from a 1960s caterpillar. It is the only Over-the-Jumps carousel that is still fully operational. The platform is mounted on a 1960s caterpillar mechanism. It is the only pre-1930 carousel in Arkansas.

From its manufacture in 1924, it was part of a traveling carousel based in Arkansas until the 1940s. The carousel took up residence in Milford, Connecticut until 1945 when it returned to Arkansas to reside in War Memorial Park until placed in storage in 1990. An independent non-profit group purchased the carousel, fully restored it, and donated it to the Little Rock Zoo where it opened it to the public in 2007.

The carousel is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Rides are $3.00 in addition to the entry fee to the zoo. Regrettably, it was not yet operating when we visited.

For information on operating times, call 501-666-2406 or access their website at www.littlerockzoo.com/carousel.

For further information:

The Little Rock Zoo

https://littlerockzoo.com/carousel

The National Carousel Association

http://carousels.org/USACensus/stdqueries/census-CLA.html

Youtube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eB1wn9xh5s