Among my childhood memories, I recall few things more thrilling than the circus we attended when I was seven years old. It was in 1952 when the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus came to Lexington. We looked forward to seeing “The Greatest Show on Earth” for weeks. From the moment we parked, with the huge tent in the distance, we kids were practically quivering with excitement. The show did not disappoint.
We walked past cages of wild animals, then found our seats under the Big Top. It was a challenge to keep up with events often going on in all three rings. I remember the trapeze and high wire acts, the trained elephants and bareback riders, and the clown acts that kept the audience in stitches. I have a vivid recollection of a host of clowns emerging from a tiny car (though I’m not sure whether I saw it that day or later).
Although Winchester never had an actual Ringling Brothers circus, I found that the city has hosted several less famous circuses. There were seven different circus companies that came to town between 1911 and 1956. Most were held at the Winchester Circus Grounds on Winn Avenue (also called the Quisenberry Show Grounds or Rice Circus Grounds). They all began with a parade through town, followed by a single matinée and evening performance. All were staged under a tent, with a seated audience, and featured a collection of “wild animals” on display and in their acts.
Young Buffalo Wild West, the first, held a performance on September 20, 1911. While they billed themselves as a circus, they were, in reality, a Wild West show modeled after Buffalo Bill’s Wild West. Young Buffalo toured from 1911 to 1913. It was held under a tent and featured horse races, trick riders, sharpshooters, and clowns. The star of the show was the famous Annie Oakley.
Next up on April 18, 1928, was the Walter L. Main Circus, one of America’s most famous. It was a true three-ring circus under a tent that could seat 5,000 patrons. They advertised 100 acts with 30 aerialists, 40 riders, 50 acrobats, 40 clowns, and 400 animals. The company had 600 employees and its own circus train. Walter Main, a farmer-turned-circus entrepreneur, began touring in 1886. He sold the company in 1904 and it operated under different owners until 1937.
The Rice Brothers Circus, organized by Dan Rice in 1852, came to Winchester on August 27, 1935. They boasted of 200 acts with 60 clowns and Allen King, “the greatest wild animal trainer of all time!” Their parade included caged animals, a herd of 200 elephants, and elaborate floats. Rice Brothers were on the road 200 days a year, traveling an average of 30,000 miles.
Buck Owens Circus and Wild West was here on August 10, 1946. That year, the Western actor Buck Owens (not to be confused with Buck Owens the musician) joined with Sy Rubens to start this small circus. They began the season in Springfield, Missouri, and ended in Florida. In 1947, the circus was sold and renamed the Rogers Brothers Circus. Publicized as “America’s Greatest Horse Fair,” the star attraction was Buck Owens and his twenty “Liberty Horses.” Acrobats, trapeze artists, clowns, “trick monkeys, and “educated” dogs and bears.
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Three years later, Biller Brother Circus was here for a show on May 3, 1949. They billed themselves as “America’s Newest Big Show” and “Accredited the Largest Circus,” whatever that means. They also advertised that they were transported by GMC trucks rather than a circus train. Their acts were very similar to the Rice Brothers Circus that was here in 1935. The main attractions were Prince Ki-Gore, the “lion training star” and his black-maned African cats, Elephant Boss Swede Johnson, and Janie Statz, trick rider and roping star.
Rogers Brothers Circus, successor of Buck Owens, played here on May 27, 1953. Sponsored by the Winchester Kiwanis Club, they set up at the intersection of Ironworks Road and Ecton Road. It was a typical three-ring circus with Ringmaster Bud Hamilton, but their ads offered few details.
The show returned on May 18, 1955, sponsored by the Optimists Club. This time, they performed at the Winchester High School athletic field. Their elaborate ads cited “150 people in 46 acts, including ‘Capt. Eddy Kuhn’s Wild Animal Act,’ the ‘Death-Defying Aerial Stylites,’ and ‘Wayne Newman’s White Horse Troupe.’”
Christini Brothers Circus arrived for a show on April 28, 1956, sponsored by the Winchester Jaycees. The Christini family brought their acclaimed bareback riding act from Italy to America in 1934 to perform in the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus. They went out on their own in 1949, becoming the second-largest circus in the country. In addition to the Christinis, the high school show featured high-wire and animal acts. The location was described both as the “Winn Avenue Show Grounds” and as the “Rice Circus Grounds, Ecton Road.” This suggests the oft-used circus grounds may have been near the Ecton Road-Winn Avenue/Iron Works Road intersection.
After their heyday in the 1950s, three-ring circuses began to decline. Growing movie audiences and television’s popularity put many circuses out of business. The industry has since morphed into a different genre, now performing in indoor arenas, epitomized by Cirque du Soleil, the largest contemporary circus in the world ($1 billion in revenue in 2017).
