Exhibitions

To preserve this working artifact, we require a minimum of 10 riders on the Carousel.

With riders evenly distributed, the Carousel can maintain the weighted balance needed to operate smoothly. This helps protect its working parts now, and for generations to come.

Thank you for your patience and partnership in preserving this century-old treasure.

The carousel originally featured forty animals, including 36 horses of three sizes and in various poses, along with two donkeys and two deer. The substitution of other animals for horses was a mark of distinction among carousels, as was the "Neptune's Chariot," a decoratively carved seat. A rocking carriage and a spinning “Love Tub” are also on the carousel. The animals were placed in three rows, with the largest and fanciest animals on the outside. These also featured inset jewels that would glitter when caught by the light. A total of fifty people could ride at one time.

The Stadel Brothers of Wellsville, New York, acquired the carousel circa 1914. For years, they operated it on their property for a few weeks after Memorial Day before dismantling it and sending it by train to local fairs around New York’s Southern Tier and into northern Pennsylvania. At the end of the season, it would be returned to Wellsville and stored, in pieces, for the winter. In 1933 the Stadels sold the carousel, and it became the main attraction at Cuba Lake’s Olivecrest Amusement Park, where it operated until 1972. 

Purchased by the New York State Museum in March of 1975 from Robert Hopkins of Cuba, New York, the merry-go-round remained in storage at the Museum's collection facility in Rotterdam until it was fully restored and installed in its current location in the newly constructed Terrace Gallery in 2001.