The Parker Carousel: Abilene's Merry-Go-Round King
Near Abilene, Kansas
Charles W. Parker built carousels here in Abilene starting in the eighteen eighties, eventually producing hundreds of them, shipping them to fairs and parks across the country. He called himself the Amusement King.
Nearly all of his machines are gone now. This one, built around eighteen ninety-eight with twenty-four hand-carved horses and four chariots, is the only Parker carousel that stayed in Abilene. It sat in the city park for decades before eventually moving to the Dickinson County Heritage Center, steps from the Eisenhower Presidential Library.
In nineteen eighty-seven the federal government designated it a National Historic Landmark, one of the few carousels in the country to earn that distinction. It still runs. You can still ride it.
Only a few of Parker's machines survive. This is the one that made it home.
