The Historic Williams Grove Carousel House in Cumberland County

The historic Williams Grove Carousel House is still located on the now defunct property of the Williams Grove Amusement Park located in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. As a small child...I remember many visits to the amusement park during the summertime seasons. It was one of my favorite amusement parks from my childhood. For local families...it was affordable compared to others located throughout the state.

Below you'll find some of the history of the Williamns Grove Carousel House taken from the historical marker located nearby. Here's the information. 

In 1850, the Williams family began hosting picnics on their farm along the Yellow Breeches. This along with the completion of the Dillsburg & Mechanicsburg Railroad in 1872 led to the Grangers Fair taking place yearly on the property. During World War 1 the property was sold to Charles Markley in 1918. Unable to revive the operations of the Williams Grove Picnics, it was sold to the Richwine Family in 1924. The Richwines converted the land into the Williams Grove Amusement Park. In 1928 the Carousel House was built for the carousel the family acquired. The Richwine family is of great significance to WGHSEA as they allowed our organization to use what are now the Association's grounds from the late 1950s until 1971 when the park was purchased by Morgan Hughes. Mr. Hughes allowed WGHSEA to continue to use the land. In 2006 Mr. Hughes announced the closure of the park. The opportunity to purchase our 90 acres from Mr. Hughes came in January 2007, 1 year prior to his passing.

Despite the park closing in 2005, the many floods that have ravaged the park through the years, the Carousel House has stood tall and virtually untouched for the better part of 100 years. Williams Grove Speedway, Inc. donated this magnificent structure to our organization for preservation. 

Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation. This project was financed with a grant from the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Financing Authority. 

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Baron Stiegel Famed Glassmaker Historical Marker

Over the past 15 years we've been documenting all of the historical markers that we come upon across the great state of Pennsylvania. In case you didn't know...there's an official Pennsylvania historical marker trail that you can follow. Millions of people pass by these markers every day and never give them a second thought. We're trying to change that! 

These markers contain important historical information related to that specific area, a person who lived in that area at one particular time, a battle that may have taken place there, pertain to an old business and all sorts of other things. Today's marker is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

You'll find the Baron Stiegel historical marker located on N. Main Street in Manheim. It's in the park at the town square. You can find several places to park to get out and photograph it for your waymarking records.

Baron Stiegel

The famed glassmaker and ironmaster of colonial days founded Manheim in 1762, and set up his glassworks in 1764. He gave land for the Lutheran Church which still pays his heirs one red rose a year.

Erected in 1947 by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

You can check out all of the Pennsylvania Historical Markers that we've documented so far on the Pennsylvania Travel Blog by visiting that section on our website.