Snake Den Wagon

 

Ringling Bros Snake Den Wagon

During their years as a wagon show & years after the show went to rails in 1890, the Ringling Brothers World’s Greatest Shows depended mainly on their home town cousins, the Moeller brothers of Baraboo for wagon support.  The Moellers provided them with the various baggage, tableau, and cage wagons needed to load the circus.

During the winter of 1902-03 the entire circus world awaited Barnum & Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth’s return to the US. (They had been in Europe for the five previous seasons.) To make 1903 a grand & glorious tour, James A. Bailey placed a large order for a set of new parade wagons with the Sebastian Wagon Works of NYC. The Ringling Brothers felt they must do something to counter this gigantic new street parade, so they proceeded to make plans to put on their own parade.  On par with the one Bailey was about to spring.  Competition.  Competition.

In an out of the ordinary move, The Ringlings by-passed the Moeller cousins and went to the Bode Wagon Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, where they placed an order for four huge tableau wagons and a glass enclosed snake den.

The wagons ordered from Bode were costly but no finer were to be found.  The wagons and their prices were:

• United States Tableau,  $1,500.00
• Great Britain Tableau,    $1,500.00
• Russia Tableau,             $1,900.00
• Germany Tableau,         $1,900.00
• Snake Den,                    $   850.00

By 1903 standards, the prices were tremendous!  The wagons were large, heavily carved and superiorly built.

Documents show the snake den remained on the show at least through 1916 or 1917, at which point spectators did not see it for a while.  Following the 1920 season the combine Ringing-Barnum show discontinued the street parades.  Parade equipment was stored at the Bridgeport, Connecticut quarters.  From then on, the snake den is “lost.”

In 1927 the snake den wagon was spotted in a sideshow at Grant Park, Chicago.  At which time the den had full glass sides, the carved figures had been removed yet the skyboard still had the carved snakes on it.  

Moving forward to the winter of 1972/1973, a side of the wagon was found in an “art of woodcarving” display. The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company acquired the wagon side and donated it to the Circus World Museum.

The wagon building team at the Musuem re-created this great parade feature.  Measuring 15’10” long x 7’9″ wide x 11’3″ tall, this wagon graced the Milwaukee Circus Parades for many years and currently can be seen in the Big Top Parade in Baraboo, snake charmers and all!