North Dakota

Fargo

Diederich Carousel

Red River Zoo

The Alan Herschell carousel at Red River Zoo is one of the best and most gorgeous Herschell carousels we have ever seen. The carousel is a 1928, wood and metal, 3 row which was beautifully restored and is meticulously maintained. It is housed in a gorgeous pavilion that will allow visitors to enjoy the carousel year-round. There are 30 jumpers and 2 chariots on a new metal platform.

Although the original location of the carousel is unknown, it is thought to have been in Texas for an extended time after which it was in storage in Ohio from 1983 to 1985. The carousel was at Huckelberry’s Buffet in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (1985 to 1995) and at Industrial Builders in Fargo, North Dakota (1995-1998). It has been at the Red River Zoo since 1998.

There is no band organ.

For information on opening times, call 701-277-9240 or access their website (www.redriverzoo.org).

For further information:

The National Carousel Association

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

Wahpeton

Prairie Rose Carousel

Chahinkapa Zoo

The Prairie Rose Carousel is the only pre-1930 carousel in North Dakota. The Prairie Rose Carousel is a 1926, two-row, portable carousel with 20 jumpers and 2 chariots manufactured by Spillman Engineering. The horses are mainly the Country Fair style although most horses display some jewels. The carousel was beautifully and meticulously restored by Lonnie Halverson and Delores Berg. All the paint was stripped, new parts including tails, teeth, saddles and legs carved to replace the wood rot and then repainted. The carousel is housed in a beautiful climate-controlled building. The inside of each horse is also beautifully restored as can be seen in one of the photographs below.

Each horse has a name. If you visit the carousel you will get a flyer stating how each horse was named. For example. King Leo was named for the Wahpeton Lions Club, one of the major sponsors during the restoration project.

The carousel was originally located at Lee Funland that operated in the North Tonawanda, New York area from 1926 to 1954. The carousel was in storage in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota from 1974 to 1988. It has been at the Chahinkapa Zoo in Wahpeton, North Dakota since 1988.

The band organ is a Johnson Organ Company 125.

The carousel is located outside the zoo/nature center and can be visited without entering the zoo.

For information on opening times call 701-642-8709 or visit their web site at www.chahinkapazoo.org.

For further information:

The National Carousel Association

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

North Dakota Legendary

https://www.ndtourism.com/wahpeton/attractions/prairie-rose-carousel

Inside Design

(L) Back of Chariot, Inside of a Rounding Board

(L) Inside Panels, Sweeps

Ticket Booth (L) and Band Organ

Rounding Board