Ovid Hazen Wells Carousel 2017

Wheaton Regional Park
July 23, 2017

Children young and old are enchanted by this historic symbol of bygone days. The beautiful Ovid Hazen Wells Carousel was built by the Herschell Spillman- Company of Tonawanda, New York in 1915. It features 33 jumping horses, three zebras and two chariots, making it a mixture of Herschell-Spillman(circa 1905-1915), Spillman Engineering (circa 1920)and, Allen Herschel (circa 1920) carvings.

In the 19th century, carousels were common features at city parks, carnivals, state fairs or resorts, and thousands of beautifully decorated, hand-built structures with delightful hand-carved animals were manufactured. Of the thousands produced during that time, only a few hundred survive. From the 1960s until 1981 this carousel was operated on the Mall in Washington, D.C., when it was acquired by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and relocated to Wheaton Regional Park.