Ortonville

Ortonville. The Orton Circus. At one time the community of Ortonville included a cafe and grocery store, gasoline station, elevator, post office, stockyard and two telephone companies. Ortonville was named after the Orton family, who moved to this area in 1866., Hiram Orton, who established the Orton Circus, selected this site as the winter quarters for their circus. For 66 years and four generations of Ortons, the circus entertained people living throughout the central part of the United States., The circus traveled by horse drawn wagon from one community to the next, making their way throughout the upper midwest. According to one source, the Orton Circus was the largest wagon circus in the world. The animals and attractions provided entertainment for thousands of people living in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Montana and Iowa., The show animals were overwintered at Ortonville because the fertile soil provided good crops and grain for the animals. Animals in the circus included monkeys, horses, elephants, lions, dogs, camels, tigers and leopards. Additional entertainment was provided by a band, trapeze artists, tight wire and slack wire walkers, swinging ladder and rolling globe performers, contortionists, acrobats, and clowns. Side show attractions included alligators, an ostrich, baboon, boa constrictor and more., With the death of Criley Orton and the stock market crash leading to the great depression, the hey-day of the Orton Circus came to an end in 1929., Photo captions (clockwise): , Three men erecting the big tent , Elephants were a main attraction of the circus , Swinging Ladder Act , Rolling Globe Act , The main show was performed in the big tent and animals were on exhibit in the tent pictured on the right. , Band , Slack Wire Act