Ups and Downs at Endwell’s Highland Park Carousel

The season for riding Broome County's historic merry-go-rounds is winding down.

The Binghamton area - which prides itself as the "Carousel Capital of the World" - has six publicly-owned antique merry-go-rounds. They were donated by Endicott Johnson Shoe Company founder George F. Johnson.

The carousels operate every day during the summer months but they're not always busy.

Things were slow at the carousel in Highland Park in Endwell on Wednesday afternoon. Ridership was light on the cool and occasionally rainy day.

Despite the less-than-perfect weather, the lights were on at the carousel and a parks employee was ready to operate the merry-go-round as young and old visitors showed up.

She said she enjoyed the summer job at the carousel. She'll be going back to school after the merry-go-round closes for the season on Labor Day.

The carousel has been at Highland Park since 1967. Before that, it had been at En-Joie Park in Endicott since 1925. The Union-Endicott School District sold the merry-go-round to the town of Union for $2,501 and then it was moved to Endwell.

Four other Broome County carousels will continue to offer free rides through September 2. Those merry-go-rounds are located at West Endicott Park, George W. Johnson Park in Endicott, CFJ Park in Johnson City and Recreation Park in Binghamton. They plan to operate daily, although they could close during inclement weather.

The sixth area carousel - at Ross Park in Binghamton - remains out of service. It was removed from the park on the city's South Side in the fall of 2022 for restoration.

The project to repair and relocate the carousel to another section of the park has been beset with delays. It's now expected that merry-go-round may return to service in 2026.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: Two merry-go-round riders chatted with a reporter at Highland Park on August 21, 2024.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.