Hand-Carved Wooden Horses Still Circle On The Restored 1920s Idaho Centennial Carousel In Rexburg
Thirty-eight wooden horses rise and fall under a round roof in a city park in eastern Idaho, and many drivers passing nearby never know they are there. From the outside, the building looks like an oversized picnic shelter.
Inside, a nearly 100-year-old carnival ride still spins to music played from paper scrolls. It is one of fewer than 175 rides like it left in the whole country, and a single spin costs about as much as a candy bar.
Under the Porter Park Dome
A round, peaked roof sits in the middle of Porter Park, and from the parking area it looks like a picnic pavilion that got ambitious. Step closer and the shape makes sense.
Inside, a ring of hand-carved wooden horses waits for the next rider.
That ring belongs to the Idaho Centennial Carousel, the only antique wooden carousel still turning anywhere in Idaho. Across the entire country, fewer than 175 carousels like it remain in working order, which makes this one a rare find in Madison County on the Upper Snake River Plain.
The key word is working. Nobody stands behind velvet ropes admiring these horses from a distance.
Kids climb on, grandparents steady them, the organ starts up, and the whole platform begins its slow spin, every horse rising and falling just the way it did generations ago.
Rexburg treats the carousel as the summer centerpiece of its biggest park. Shade trees, open grass, and a busy splash pad surround it, so a quick ride often stretches into a whole afternoon.
For eastern Idaho families, it has become a simple ritual that marks the warm months, one lap at a time.
A Carnival Ride Finds Home
Around 1926, the Spillman Engineering Company of New York built the machine that now spins in Rexburg. It did not start out with a permanent address.
Like many carousels of that era, it rolled from town to town as a traveling carnival attraction.
Between 1947 and 1952, the carousel spent time in Salt Lake City and Ogden, Utah. Then Rexburg made its move.
In 1952, residents pooled their money and raised $5,500 to buy it, mostly so the town would have something special for its Fourth of July celebration.
Think about that for a second. A small farming community in eastern Idaho decided a carousel was worth chipping in for, and neighbors followed through.
That shared effort still shows in how people talk about the ride today, as something that belongs to the whole town rather than to any one owner.
Two years after it arrived, the city added a protective dome to shield the horses from wind, snow, and summer sun. You can find it today at S 3rd W in Rexburg, inside Porter Park, where it has stayed put ever since its traveling days ended.
After the Teton Flood
June of 1976 changed a lot of things in the Upper Snake River Valley. When the Teton Dam gave way, floodwater swept through Rexburg and much of Madison County, and Porter Park sat right in its path.
The carousel took a hard hit, and several of its horses were never recovered.
One of the original flood-damaged horses survives at the Museum of Rexburg. Seeing it there, weathered and worn, gives you a real sense of what the town faced and how much work lay ahead.
Recovery took patience. In 1988, skilled craftsmen began carefully taking the entire carousel apart, piece by piece, so it could be rebuilt properly.
Some Rexburg families still recall relatives who helped rally support for the effort, which shows how personal the project felt to the community.
The work wrapped up in 1990, the same year Idaho celebrated 100 years of statehood. That timing gave the ride its current name.
A traveling carnival machine became the Idaho Centennial Carousel, a symbol of a town that rebuilt after the water receded and chose to bring its horses back, too.
Twelve New, Twenty-Six Mended
Count the herd and you will reach 38 horses. Twelve of them were newly carved during the restoration, while 26 originals were repaired and brought back to life.
Try guessing which are which on your first lap; it is harder than it sounds.
Each horse carries its own painted details, from flowing manes to decorated saddles. They come in big and small sizes, so a toddler can find a shorter mount while an older kid goes for the tallest one on the outside row.
Every single horse glides up and down as the platform turns.
Not feeling like a horse today? Restored chariots and benches offer a seated option, handy for grandparents holding a nervous little one or anyone who would rather sit than straddle a saddle.
Visitors also mention carved sleighs in the ring, adding a bit of variety to the lineup.
A few practical notes help here. Each horse has a weight limit of around 300 pounds, so most adults can hop on if they want.
Riders also need to be dry, a rule that matters more than you might expect given what sits just a few steps away in the park.
Music From Paper Scrolls
Before you even see the horses, you might hear them. A cheerful, brassy tune drifts across Porter Park whenever the carousel runs, and it comes from something far older than a speaker system.
The music plays on a Stinson 30M-1 band organ, which Rexburg acquired in 1952 along with the carousel itself. The organ reads original scrolls from the Stinson Band Organ Company, so the songs you hear are the same kind of tunes riders heard decades ago.
It has 46 notes and weighs roughly 425 pounds.
Take a minute to look at the organ up close. Ornate hand-painted filigree covers its face, with swirls and curls that match the carnival spirit of the horses.
Visitors often point out the percussion, which sounds almost live as drums and cymbals keep time with the melody.
For little kids, the music is half the fun. A three-year-old might be unsure about climbing onto a wooden horse, but once the organ starts up, the whole mood shifts.
Parents often find the tunes stuck in their heads long after the drive home to Idaho Falls or Rigby.
A Park Built for Lingering
About 20 feet from the carousel, a free splash pad sprays water all summer long, and it pulls in kids from across Rexburg. The combination is hard to beat on a hot July afternoon in eastern Idaho.
Here is the trick families learn quickly: ride first, splash second. Wet riders are not allowed on the carousel, so a soaked swimsuit means waiting to dry off.
Bring a change of clothes, save the water for last, and everyone stays happy.
Porter Park stretches well beyond those two attractions. You will find pavilions for picnics, tennis courts, restrooms, a wide open field, and a jogging path.
Big swings, slides, and monkey bars fill the playground, while tall shade trees work nicely for hammocks.
Snacks are easy, too. The carousel concession stand sells cotton candy, drinks, and small treats, and it even keeps swim diapers on hand for the youngest splashers.
More food and ice cream options sit just across the block.
For road trippers heading toward Yellowstone or the Tetons, the park makes a smart pit stop. Kids burn energy, parents rest in the shade, and nobody feels rushed.
Tickets, Passes, and Summer Timing
Mark Memorial Day on the calendar. The carousel runs seasonally, typically opening at the end of May and closing around Labor Day, so a September drive will leave you staring at a quiet dome.
During the season, rides generally begin around lunchtime and continue into early evening, with adjusted hours toward late August. Schedules can shift from year to year, so check before driving, especially if you are coming from Pocatello or farther.
A single ride costs just a couple of dollars. Regulars save even more with multi-ride passes and punch cards, which bring the price per ride down noticeably.
That matters when a little one wants to go five times in a row, which happens often.
Adults who only climb aboard to steady a child ride free. If you want your own horse, you will need a ticket like everyone else.
Each ride lasts several minutes, and because the carousel keeps turning steadily through the afternoon, waits tend to stay short.
Getting there is simple. Rexburg sits along US Highway 20 in Madison County, and Porter Park is an easy trip from downtown on the south side of 3rd West.
Worth One More Lap
Plenty of attractions shout for attention. The carousel simply turns, horse after painted horse, while an old organ plays tunes from paper scrolls.
The appeal is quiet and physical: the gentle sway of the platform, the smooth wood under your hands, the moment a hesitant toddler finally grins.
Grandparents who rode as kids now bring great-grandchildren. Summer visitors return year after year with the same routine of rides, cotton candy, and splash pad.
Road trippers stumble onto it during a lunch break and leave with a story. The ride manages to feel like it belongs to all of them at once.
History adds weight to every lap. A 1920s carnival machine, bought by a town that passed the hat, battered by the Teton flood, and rebuilt in time for Idaho’s centennial, still delivers rides for pocket change.
Few places in Idaho pack that much story into a single circle.
Plan for a summer visit, arrive dry, and give yourself time to linger in Porter Park afterward. Bring a picnic, and let the kids pick their favorite horse.
Chances are they will ask for another turn, and at a couple of dollars, saying yes is easy.
