Ringling Brothers Circus Winter Quarters
In November of 1887 the Ringling Brothers purchased their first piece of property along the Baraboo River for permanent use as their winter quarters, a site they had been renting since the fall of 1886. The property grew to include several acres along the river and 26 buildings by 1913. Additional properties included the Ringling Car Shop upstream and the Case Farm to the south west. By 1916 the animal count consisted of 500 horses and ponies, 29 elephants, 15 camels, along with tigers, lions, monkeys, ostrich and other exotic animals. Eleven of the original Ringling winter quarters buildings remain today and are listed as a National Historic Landmark. Circus World Museum, which opened in 1959 and is owned by the State of Wisconsin owns eight of the original buildings. To learn more, visit the Circus World Museum.
Circus World Museum
Ringling Car Shop
In 1908 the Ringling brothers began construction of a new shop for working on railroad cars about a half mile up river from their winter quarters along the Baraboo River. The original structure was 64 by 87 feet and could hold three railroad cars at a time for painting and repairs. By 1913 the building was expanded to over 250 long and was used by the circus until it left Baraboo for good in 1918. The building was then leased to process tobacco. In 1925 the North Western Refrigerator Line moved in and used the building to build and repair refrigerated rail cars. The building was expanded to its current size of 600 feet long and is reportedly the longest wooden railroad building in the country still standing. Refrigerated cars were rebuilt and serviced here until 1963. Today the building is owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Gollmar Brothers Circus Winter Quarters Site
Although lesser known than their first cousins, the famous Ringling brothers, the Gollmar brothers started their own circus in 1891 and made lasting contributions to American circus history. The Gollmar Bros. Circus operated out of winter quarters along the Baraboo River on Second Avenue from 1891 until 1916, with brothers Walter, Fred, Charles, Ben, and Jake Gollmar as proprietors. After they sold their circus in 1916, the Gollmar name was leased to other circuses, last being used in 1926. None of the Gollmar circus winter quarters buildings remain. All were built of wood and the site was developed with new houses after the circus left.
Van Orden Mansion
Although not a member of the Ringling family, Jacob Van Orden played an important role in the lives of the Ringlings as their banker. In 1902 he commenced construction of a new mansion to keep up with the new homes that the Ringlings had recently built. The house was designed in the Tudor Revival style by architects, Ferry and Clas, the same firm used by Charles Ringling to design his house just a few years earlier. The house was purchased in 1938 by the Sauk County Historical Society and remains virtually unchanged. Original woodwork, wallcoverings and rugs still remain from the time the Van Ordens and Ringlings lived in Baraboo. The house is now the Sauk County Historical Museum and is open to the public.
Original Ringling Brothers Circus Performance Site
On May 19, 1884 the Ringling brothers, along with circus veteranYankee Robinson, put on their first circus performance at this site. The tent sat about 600 and a section of the home-made bleachers gave way during the performance. Although Yankee Robinson died during the first season, the Ringling Brothers never looked back and were on their way to becoming America’s largest circus enterprise. A plaque commemorates the site.
Moeller Wagon Shop
German immigrant and wagon maker, Henry Moeller, came to Baraboo in 1856 and set up a wagon shop in conjunction with blacksmith Gottlieb Gollmar. He married Katherine Juliar, a sister to Mrs. Gottlieb Gollmar and Mrs. August Ringling, and thus became the uncle to the Ringling brothers and the Gollmar brothers. Moeller steadily grew his wagon making business eventually locating it in the 200 block of Third Avenue. In 1896 he constructed this building to expand his operation which by this time included his two sons, Corwin and Henry Jr. After the Ringling Brothers Circus started in 1884 the Moellers started making circus wagons for their relatives and for other circuses. One of their most renowned wagons is the 1892 Ringling Brothers Bell Wagon.
Al. and Lou Ringling Mansion
In 1899 Al. Ringling purchased the south west corner of Broadway and Fifth Avenue and constructed a wood-frame Queen Anne style house which was a copy of a house built the year before by H. L. Halsted a few blocks away. (715 Ash St.) Five years later, after two of his brothers had built larger homes Al. had the house moved and began plans for a palatial new residence. Architect Fred Keese, who had designed Alf. T. Ringling’s house in 1900, was called on to outdo himself with a mansion clad with brown sandstone from near Lake Superior. The house took more than a year and a half to build and cost $35,000. (the average house at the time was $2,500) The contractors were Carl and George Isenberg who built most of the Ringling buildings in Baraboo and even some in Sarasota, Florida. The mansion was completed in 1906 and contained a ladies parlor, library, billiards room and dining room opening off of a central hall on the first floor. Several bedrooms and bathrooms made up the second floor. The basement contained a ballroom and the house was equipped with all of the modern conveniences of the time. After Al.’s death in 1916, his widow, Lou, left the home, and her only sister-in-law, Ida Ringling North, moved in with her family. In 1936 it was purchased by the Elks Club. A large two-store carriage house at the rear of the property was demolished and the stones from it were used to face a new hall added to the back of the house. The house was purchased several years ago by private owners who now give tours and rent out parts of the mansion. It will eventually also be a bed and breakfast.Visit the alringlingmansion website.
Salome Ringling House
Salome Ringling, the congenial matriarch of the Ringling family, moved nearly a dozen times in her married life due to the economic wanderlust of her husband. A harness maker by trade, August Ringling was always looking for a better market for his products. He moved to Baraboo three times and died here in 1898. Salome Ringling probably never lived in a new home until she moved into this house at the southwest corner of Oak Street and Seventh Avenue in 1900. No doubt financed by her sons, the modest Queen Ann home was comfortable and just large enough to have the entire family home for Christmas. During a delayed Christmas get-together in January of 1907, Salome Ringling died in the house. Later the house was lived in by her only daughter, Ida Ringling North, and her family before they moved into the Al. Ringling Mansion in 1916.
Al. Ringling Theatre
Completed in November of 1915, the Al. Ringling Theatre, known locally as “the Al.”, was a legacy gift to the city of Baraboo from its namesake. Designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Rapp & Rapp the theatre interior was designed to resemble an 18th century French opera house. The theatre was built as a playhouse and movie theatre and hosted live performers including Lionel Barrymore, Mary Pickford, Fiske O’Hara and Gene Autry. The theatre was purchased by the Al. Ringling Theatre Friends in 1989 which has worked to restore the theatre. In February of 2016 the theatre reopened after a nine month, three million dollar restoration of the interior. The theatre is still run as a venue for live entertainment and vintage films.To learn more, visit the Al. Ringling Theatre website.
Rooney Ring Barn
The Rooney Training Barn was converted to apartments by 1936. Built by the Rooney family for working on circus acts during the off season, the Rooney Ring Barn is a reminder of the many people that worked for the Ringling Brothers and Gollmar Brothers Circuses. Twelve of the children of Irish immigrant brothers, John, Hugh and Mike Rooney and their wives, eventually worked in the circus industry, many as trick riders.
Charles and Edith Ringling Estate
Charles Ringling was the first of his brothers to buy property for a house in Baraboo in 1899 but waited until the following year to start construction of a new house at the north east corner of Ash and Eight Streets. The house was designed by the prominent Milwaukee firm of Ferry and Clas who had done such prestigious residences as the Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee. Architect Alfred Clas was a local favorite as he grew up in nearby Sauk City. The new house was designed along Colonial Revival lines and was soon enlarged with the addition of a wing to the north. The lots around the home were also purchased, and the grounds eventually included a carriage house with attached green house, a cottage for Mr. Ringling’s mother-in-law and a small barn. The house was purchased by Henry Ringling in 1917 and it remained in family hands until 2015. New owners have converted the house into a bed and breakfast.Charles Ringling House B & B website.
Gus and Annie Ringling House
Although not one of the original founding brothers, August “Gus” Ringling, Jr. was nonetheless employed by the Ringling Brothers Circus. In 1899 he built a modest home at the northeast corner of Birch Street and Eighth Avenue. The house was designed as an American Foursquare. Its commanding site high above the street set it apart from other homes nearby. August did not enjoy his house for long as he died in 1907, being the first of the brothers to pass away. His widow and daughter continued to live in the house. During a winter absence in 1920, thieves turned the home into a “robber’s roost” living there for several days before a neighbor noticed the lights were on. The thieves used forks to keep the window shades tight against the woodwork.
Alf. T. and Della Ringling House
Alf. T. Ringling purchased a commanding site for a new house in 1899 at the north east corner of Oak and Tenth Streets. In 1900 architect Fred Kees of Minneapolis was hired to design the house which was based loosely in the Neoclassical style, borrowing elements from Georgian, English and Italian style vocabularies. The house was spacious, being about 40 by 65 feet with rooms for entertaining and even a pipe organ. The interior was lavishly decorated with mahogany wood work in many rooms. In 1913 Alf. T. and his wife, Della, were divorced, and Della continued to live in the house until she donated it for use as a hospital in 1922. It was demolished in 1977. The stone retaining walls of the yard still exist and mark the spot where the house once stood.
Walnut Hill and St. Joseph’s Cemeteries
Four of the seven Ringling brothers are buried in Baraboo (five if you count the “eighth” Ringling brother, George, who died in infancy), more than any other place in the world. The Ringling brothers’ parents, August and Salome, as well as their maternal grandparents, Nicholas and Marie Juliar, are also buried here along with many descendants and other relatives. All can be found in Walnut Hill Cemetery and adjoining St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery. Al. and Henry Ringling, the youngest and oldest of the Ringling brothers, each built a mausoleum at Walnut Hill. Al. Ringling commenced construction of his mausoleum as the finishing touches were being placed on his lavish theatre downtown in 1915. It is built of Vermont granite, and the top is one large piece of stone weighing twelve tons. Al. Ringling died January 1, 1916, only six weeks after his theatre opened. Lou Ringling, his wife, died in 1941 and was then placed inside the mausoleum. The Henry Ringling mausoleum contains six members of the family including all three “Henry Ringlings”. Nearby are other Ringling family members.Walnut Hill Cemetery St. Joseph's Cemetery
