Photo by Jonathunder, via Wikimedia Commons (GFDL 1.2)
Upcoming Events
No ticketed events are currently listed for Circus World Museum. Many heritage operators publish schedules seasonally or run on regular open hours instead of dated events.
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About Circus World Museum
Guests enter the historic Ringlingville winter quarters in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and stroll among the original Ring Barn, Elephant House, and restored wagon pavilion. The Hippodrome presents a daily circus and magic show beneath a permanent big‑top. Nearby, the Irvin Feld Exhibit Hall displays Ringling Brothers artifacts, while the C.P. Fox Wagon Restoration Center reveals wagon refurbishments in progress. The museum also offers free research access at the Robert L. Parkinson Library.
History
The Circus World Museum originates from Baraboo’s role as the Ringling Brothers’ winter headquarters, where the Ringling Brothers Circus launched its first tour in 1884 and expanded from a wagon show to a railroad show over six seasons. After the Ringlings purchased the Barnum and Bailey Circus in 1908, the two entities merged in 1918, forming the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which continued until its final performance on May 21, 2017, in Uniondale, New York. In 1954 former Ringling attorney John M. Kelley incorporated the museum to preserve circus history, and the Wisconsin Historical Society received the deed to the former Ringling wintering grounds, opening the museum to the public on July 1, 1959. The museum is owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society and operated by the nonprofit Circus World Museum Foundation, and it now houses eight of the ten surviving Ringling buildings and one of the world’s largest circus collections. The institution served as the primary participant in the Great Circus Parade, a traveling exhibition that ran from 1963 through 2009.
The Trains
The museum’s circus train travels the standard‑gauge line between Baraboo and Milwaukee, using trackage owned by the Chicago and Northwestern, Milwaukee Road, Wisconsin and Southern, Wisconsin Central and Soo Line railroads. When a steam locomotive is assigned, the train has been pulled by Chicago Burlington and Quincy No. 4960 (1965‑66), Grand Trunk Western No. 5629 (1967‑68), Southern Railway No. 4501 (1973) or Chicago and Northwestern No. 1385 (1985‑87); otherwise diesel engines handle the haul. The consist includes the museum’s restored circus wagons and related cars that form the rolling stock for the Great Circus Parade.
Nearby
Wisconsin's Circus World Museum sits about 7 mi from the Mid-Continent Railway Museum and 12 mi from the Riverside & Great Northern Railway, three stops within easy reach.
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