Redford Carousel - Redford, NY
- What: Rare 1890s Armitage-Herschell Carousel, Donated to The Church of Assumption, in 1910
- Where: Housed at 78 Clinton Street [just off Route 3], Redford, New York, Clinton County.
- When: Carousel Started in 1910 - Present, Redford Picnic Started 1855 - Present
- Contact: This carousel is private property and house in a modest wooden warehouse on Church Property. The carousel is open for both viewing and rides during annual August picnic, contact TAUNY or Redford Church of the Assumption for exact dates, times, etc.
- Phone: 518-293-6259
- Click here to add your own memory of the Redford Carousel to our guestbook.
Only one day a year do you get to see it, much less take an enchanting ride or two on it, for this is the treasured heirloom of the whole community of Redford--a once-bustling small mining town on the Saranac River--and it is well cared for. The center of attention at the Redford Picnic–the annual church festival that once celebrated the mid-August Feast of the Assumption, honoring the patron saint of the village’s Catholic parish--is a rare antique Herschell-Armitage carousel, with its 24 original carved wooden horses and four sleighs (with room for several riders each), all brightly painted and well maintained by a small corps of volunteers. The local story is that the church was given the simple track machine over a hundred years ago, after a traveling carnival went bankrupt and abandoned the carousel in town. In the midst of a typical North Country summer festival--with games of chance, bluegrass music and lots of food--the lines of riders–from infants to octogenarians–wait throughout the day for their few minutes of nostalgia.
Additional Photos
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Hopeful riders wait patiently outside storage shed which is the permanent home of rare carousel on Church of the Assumption grounds on Redford Picnic day
Riders climb aboard the Redford carousel for a once-a-year ride
An original carved horse and sleigh with happy riders on Redford Picnic day
Father Phillip Allen, former pastor of Redford Church of the Assumption, and young parishioner take a turn on the carousel
Faster! Faster!
Longtime volunteer carousel operators Nelson Durocher and Charlie Perry pull on the carousel to help get it moving.
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