Delavan in Walworth County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Delavan's Circus Colony
Photographed by Fitzie Heimdahl, August 30, 2023
1. Delavan's Circus Colony Marker
The marker was reinstalled in August 2023.
In 1847 two New York brothers, Edmund and Jeremiah Mabie, toured Wisconsin with their United States Olympic Circus. The circus stopped over in Delavan and the brothers took time off to hunt prairie chicken near Delavan Lake. They liked the area so well that they purchased 400 acres of land and established winter-quarters for the circus here.
Because this circus was the largest and most profitable in existence, circus performers and other show personnel flocked to Delavan. Twenty-six circuses winter-quartered here between 1847 and 1894, including Harry Buckley’s National Circus and Roman Hippodrome, W.C. Coup-Dan Castello’s Egyptian Caravan, Holland and McMahon World’s Circus. The colorful days of the circus era in Delavan ended with the E.G. Holland & Co. Railroad Shows.
In 1871 the idea for forming the P.T. Barnum Circus was developed in Delavan by W.C. Coup, who also was first to put a large circus on rails and introduced the second and third ring to the performance. Delavan reached its peak as a “circus town” during the 1870’s. About seventy members of the “circus colony” are buried in Spring Grove and St. Andrew’s cemeteries.
Erected 1963 by State Historical Society of Wisconsin. (Marker Number 128.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in
this page online
Location. 42° 37.994′ N, 88° 38.857′ W. Marker is in Delavan, Wisconsin, in Walworth County. It is on Park Place, on the left when traveling west. The marker is located in Tower Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 117 Park Place, Delavan WI 53115, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Wisconsin. It is also in the American Midwest, on the Great Lakes, and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: "19th Century Circus Capital of the Nation" (within shouting distance of this marker); Delavan’s Historic Brick Street (within shouting distance of this marker); Historic Circus District (within shouting distance of this marker); Wisconsin's First School for the Deaf (approx. 0.4 miles away); Civil War Tree (approx. 0.4 miles away); Birthplace of “The Greatest Show on Earth” (approx. half a mile away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 1.3 miles away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial (approx. 3˝ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Delavan.
More about this marker. The marker was taken down temporarily to do renovations
Photographed by Paul F, July 21, 2010
2. Delavan's Circus Colony Marker
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. This is a list of Wisconsin circus markers.
Photographed by Paul F, July 21, 2010
3. Delavan's Circus Colony Marker
Photographed by Devon Polzar, July 1, 2021
4. Former marker location - marker missing
This marker was missing in 2021 from this location.
Photographed by Devon Polzar, June 1, 2022
5. Tower Park
The newly renovated Tower Park in downtown Delavan. Unfortunately, the marker was still missing as of June 2022.
Photographed by Devon Polzar, June 1, 2024
6. Delavan's Circus Colony Marker at new location in Tower Park
Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 23, 2010, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 4,307 times since then and 234 times this year. Last updated on May 19, 2025, by Susan Van Den Bosch of Almond, Wisconsin. Photos: 1. submitted on August 31, 2023, by Fitzie Heimdahl of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. 2, 3. submitted on July 23, 2010, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. 4. submitted on January 29, 2022, by Devon Polzar of Port Washington, Wisconsin. 5. submitted on January 16, 2023, by Devon Polzar of Port Washington, Wisconsin. 6. submitted on August 17, 2024, by Devon Polzar of Port Washington, Wisconsin. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
