Ringlingville USA : The Stupendous Story of Seven Siblings and Their Stunning Circus Success

by Apps, Jerry

• ISBN13: 9780870203558
• ISBN10: 087020355X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-15
• Publisher: Wisconsin Historical Society

Summary

Ringlingville USAis the story of seven brothers who started with next to nothing and became the most famous circus family ever known. This is an extensively illustrated history with many never before published photos. This first history of the Ringling Circus in over fifty years recounts the hard work, business savvy, and entrepreneurship of the Ringling Brothers as they created the largest, most famous circus in the world. Author Jerry Apps presents a comprehensive history of the family business while at the same time recreating the sights and sounds of the circus at the turn of the century. Distributed for the Wisconsin Historical Society Press

Author Biography

Jerry Apps is the author of more than thirty-five books on Wisconsin and U.S. history. His writing has appeared in such publications as The Journal of American History, Wisconsin Trails, and the Wisconsin Magazine of History, and he is a regular columnist for Wisconsin Guide. He is especially known for his histories of rural and country life.  Apps has won numerous awards for his writing from the Wisconsin Library Association, the  Council for Wisconsin Writers, the Robert F. Gard Foundation, the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association, and the Wisconsin Historical Society. In 2001 he received the Barnes and Noble Pride of Wisconsin Award for Excellence in the Field of Regional Literature. He divides his time between his home in Madison and his farm, Roshara, near Wild Rose, Wisconsin.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Fred Dahlinger Jr.
Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	xv
The Idea for a Circus: 1848--1881	1	(10)
Hall Shows and an Overland Circus: 1882--1884	11	(14)
Establishing a Reputation: 1885--1889	25	(19)
Taking to the Rails and Growing: 1890--1894	44	(23)
A Giant Emerges: 1895--1899	67	(21)
Facing a New Century: 1900--1901	88	(13)
Making Money and Pleasing People: 1902--1903	101	(13)
Keeping the Lead: 1904--1905	114	(12)
Becoming Even Larger: 1906--1907	126	(20)
Managing Two Big Shows: 1908--1909	146	(15)
Doing the Impossible: 1910--1911	161	(12)
Tax Woes: 1912--1914	173	(17)
The Effects of War: 1915--1918	190	(37)
Epilogue: After Ringlingville	207	(10)
Appendixes
I. 1903 Ringling Brothers' Official Program	217	(4)
II. The Ringling Family	221	(4)
III. Ringling Homes in Baraboo and Vicinity	225	(2)
Notes	227	(18)
Index	245