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Logansport in Cass County, Indiana — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
 

Dentzel Carousel

 
 
Dentzel Carousel Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Trevor L Whited, May 30, 2023
1. Dentzel Carousel Marker
Inscription.
Logansport was founded in 1838, the same year the Dentzel name first became associated with carousel manufacturing in Germany. A circuitous series of events. eventually brought what is perhaps the most famous name in carousel carving to Logansport.

Gustav Dentzel, whose father introduced carousel carving to his family, emigrated to the United States and began building an estimated 100 carousels in Philadelphia, Pa. in 1867. The Smithsonian Institution once determined there to be 19 carousel-carving shops like his in the United States from 1880 to 1930. But the end of the Depression that followed signaled the end of the carousel carving era as materials from metals to fiberglass replaced wooden animals.

The Dentzel carousel here is believed to have been carved in the late 1800s or early 1900s. It was operated at Fort Wayne's Robison Park for several years. But after a dam burst at the park, attendance dwindled. In 1919, it was moved to Spencer Park at the east edge of Logansport. It served as an incentive for streetcar customers to pay full fare. to the end of the line at the east edge of the city. Owner Dewey Schmidt sold it to Lawrence Jones, who in turn sold it to Harold and Mary Thomas.

In post-streetcar 1949, the carousel was moved again to Riverside Park and its wooden quarters west of its current
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home. In 1963, the carousel was sold to Lawrence Kandler, who received an offer to sell it for $45,000 to an interested buyer in Illinois. Kandler passed away in 1965 and the carousel remained in his estate until the Logansport Jaycees raised more than $21,000 in 1972 to purchase the carousel so that it could remain in Logansport. Representatives from communities in South Carolina, Texas, New York, and Georgia also sought to purchase it. The nonprofit Cass County Carousel Corporation was formed to manage it.

In 1987 the Carousel was named Cass County's first National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service. It was recognized as only one of three intact Dentzel carousels in the United States. The Carousel menagerie of horses, goats, reindeer, along with a tiger and lion, were removed in 1993 and restored to their current condition at the Carousel Works in Mansfield, Ohio.

In 1995, the 100th anniversary of Riverside Park coincided with a community-wide fund drive to construct an all-season home for the carousel that provides for its use throughout the year. It was dedicated that summer as the South Bend Symphony Orchestra played songs from the musical "Carousel". The Carousel sign on the east side of the complex was designed by the late Matt McGrath, a Logansport native, and is considered his masterpiece.

The Carousel served as the centerpiece
Dentzel Carousel Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Trevor L Whited, May 30, 2023
2. Dentzel Carousel Marker
for the National Carousel Convention and the site of the issue of the U.S. Postal Service Dentzel commemorative stamp.
 
Erected by City of Logansport, Indiana.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, MusicEntertainmentParks & Recreational Areas. In addition, it is included in the National Historic Landmarks series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1838.
 
Location. 40° 45.576′ N, 86° 21.344′ W. Marker is in Logansport, Indiana, in Cass County. Marker is on Riverside Drive east of Race Street, on the left when traveling west. The marker stands inside Riverside Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1208 Riverside Dr, Logansport IN 46947, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Wilmer Flory Daylilies (approx. 0.3 miles away); Potawatomi Encampment (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Kendrick-Baldwin Home (approx. half a mile away); Vietnam Veterans Memorial (approx. half a mile away); W. W. I War Memorial - Cass County Indiana (approx. half a mile away); Logansport Settlers in the Ninth Street Cemetery (approx. half a mile away); A Childs Veterans Memorial (approx. half a mile away); Veterans Freedom Park (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Logansport.
 
Also see . . .
Dentzel Carousel Marker along the west side of the building image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Trevor L Whited, May 30, 2023
3. Dentzel Carousel Marker along the west side of the building
 Spencer Park Dentzel Carousel National Register Nomination Form. (Submitted on May 31, 2023, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
 
The Dentzel Carousel building image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Trevor L Whited, May 30, 2023
4. The Dentzel Carousel building
Dentzel Carousel with its National Historic Landmark plaque image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Trevor L Whited, May 30, 2023
5. Dentzel Carousel with its National Historic Landmark plaque
Dentzel Carousel Lion image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Trevor L Whited, May 30, 2023
6. Dentzel Carousel Lion
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on May 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 29, 2023, by Trevor L Whited of Kokomo, Indiana. This page has been viewed 88 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on May 29, 2023, by Trevor L Whited of Kokomo, Indiana. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 29, 2024