Brattleboro ‘circus man’ Kevin O’Keefe takes us on a journey through time and space, sprinkling kooky and colorful newspaper accounts of the various circuses that passed through town with his own erudite observations on how the tradition lives on through institutions like the New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA) launching the first annual Vermont Circus Festival November 2 to 9 in Brattleboro. In his unique and entertaining manner, Kevin makes the case that Brattleboro, Vermont is the circus capital of America. Kevin describes how the train would roll into town in the 1800s, listing a difficult to imagine number of rail cars filled with animals and equipment. He starts at the old Island Park, an amusement pavilion on an island in the middle of the Connecticut River over the old Anna Hunt Marsh Bridge adjacent to the rail station where circuses would perform to thousands. He discusses PT Barnum’s visit to another circus location, Frost Fields, site of today’s Cersosimo Lumber yard, and how Jumbo the Elephant bathed in the Whetstone Brook. He paints an engaging portrait of ‘Tom Thumb’ – the 28-inch tall performer – and other circus acts of the time. He also adds amusing details some of the petty crimes that occurred during the circus performances. He ends at the Brattleboro Fairgrounds, site of today's Brattleboro Union High School, where giant circus spectacles last took place. On more serious note, he reflects on why Vermont has been home to so many circus performers and details several circuses that persist to this day here, including the legendary Rob Mermin's Circus Smirkus, his own Circus Minimus, and Troy Wunderle and his Wunderle’s Big Top Adventures. He also highlights twin aerialists Elsie and Serenity Smith Forchion’s New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA), America’s largest professional circus school, and plugs NECCA’s first annual Vermont Circus Week from November 2 to 9, 2025 in – you guessed it - Brattleboro, Vermont.
This episode of the Brattleboro Words Trail Podcast was researched, written by Kevin O'Keefe and Christopher Grotke with research help from Rolf Parker. It is narrated by Kevin O'Keefe. Editing was by Alec Pombriant. Executive Producer and sound design was Lissa Weinmann. Merry-go-round music "Over the Waves Calliope" and "Texas Sunflower' are both by Martha Van Dorn, Boris Yakovleff and Eric Ramberg, from Smithsonian Folkways Records 1955 album 'Sounds of Carnival’. ‘‘Whispering’ from the 2010 Classic Carnival Circus Calyope, Volume 2 from the Carlisle Music Company was used at the end of the segment. Other circus sounds came from Tom Glazer’s 1948 recordings from Smithsonian Folkways ‘The Circus Comes to Town.’ Many thanks to the New England Center for Circus Arts first annual Vermont Circus Festival taking place in and around Brattleboro November 2 through 9, 2025. Thanks for listening, and we will see you next month on...the Brattleboro Words Trail Podcast.
For more information on Jumbo and circus in Brattleboro, see IBrattleboro story by Christopher Grotke: https://www.ibrattleboro.com/culture/history/2014/06/pt-barnum-in-brattleboro-and-jumbo-in-the-whetstone/
For more information on NECCA and the Vermont Circus Festival: https://necenterforcircusarts.org/about/vermont-circus-festival/
BRATTLEBORO WORDS TRAIL PODCAST OCTOBER 2025
America’s Circus Capital, KEVIN O’KEEFE, NARRATOR
TRANSCRIPT
Word’s Theme Music
Host: Welcome to the Brattleboro Words Trail Podcast
CIRCUS MUSIC RISES UP
NARRATOR KEVIN O'KEEFE: Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, welcome to the greatest show in Brattleboro, the circus and its rich history, presented by the Brattleboro words trail, hello. I'm your host. Kevin O'Keefe, I've been a circus man for the past 40 years, and I live right here in Brattleboro. And I've been astounded by Brattleboro's rich circus history. Consider that PT Barnum and Jumbo the Elephant played here in the 1880s and twin aerialists from Cirque du Soleil have created the premier circus training facility in the USA today right here in good old Brattleboro.
In this podcast, we will travel from an island in the middle of the Connecticut River to a lumberyard on Flat Street to the site of the old Civil War hospital, today's Brattleboro Union High School. We'll hear first hand accounts from newspapers of the time that bring to life these marvelous spectacles. All this leads me to believe Brattleboro, Vermont is the circus capital of America.
MUSICAL INTERLUDE
We begin at Island Park, a 40 acre park in the center of the Connecticut River. Now that part of the island is gone now, so don't go looking for it. It's been submerged since the flood of 1927. You can still survey the island from the foot of the bridge right by the train station. Yes, Island Park the home of, quote, ‘clean amusement.’ They had a permanent pavilion there with seating for over 1000 it hosted baseball games, wrestling matches, concerts, and of course, the circus.
On August 9, 1851, Barnum brought his ‘American Museum and Menagerie’ to Brattleboro. The toll bridge was always free on circus days, admission to the show was 25 cents for adults and. Kids, 10 cents.
Now here's an account from the July 24 Vermont Phoenix: “The riding, the vaulting, tumbling, the wonderful feats of Zazel and Lulu and all the features of the ring. performances were excellent and left nothing to be desired. It was especially noticeable that the whole entertainment, including the jokes and antics of the clowns, was entirely free from anything verging on coarseness or vulgarity. The menagerie is excellent, comprising an unusual number of rare animals.”
CIRCUS MUSIC INTERLUDE
In 1868 it was Lenz New York Circus, the Vermont Record and Farmer said: “The public may expect to witness equestrian and acrobatic performances of a more elegant and refined type than they have been in the habit of Seeing in traveling exhibitions. No nosy nuisances of sideshows are allowed. Circus had to overcome its unsavory reputation by selling itself as family entertainment above board, honest and not some fleecing fly-by-night operation.”
Another quote from the Phoenix: “There are no shell games nor thieving methods used in or about the circus. How times have changed in regard to circus people and their ways. Not so long ago, a circus advance agent, or in fact, anyone having anything to do with the circus, was a colossal bluffer, a rude man, a boor and a disagreeable fellow in general, if indeed not a knave.”
MUSIC
Once, while the entire town was out at the circus, thieves who had followed the tour made off with the goods. The man whose house was broken into and his winter jacket stolen, returned to the fair grounds and found it on the back of another man. The police were called.
The Vermont Transcript had this to say: “We learn of many instances where people were relieved of their money while attending Last Tuesday's circus. One man in Chester lost $1,000. Care should be exercised when in the crowd for tickets…The reputation of this circus is such that it attracts audiences of a superior class wherever it goes, and those who attend its exhibitions in this place may safely rely upon witnessing a display of horsemanship and other feats of rare and remarkable interest. Many of the townspeople would crane their necks out the back of the windows to see the elephants as they bathe in the Connecticut River.”
MUSIC (continues as low bed under the list:)
Now here's some interesting statistics from the 1885 tour. Imagine this, arriving by train at the station: Number of flat cars, 24. number of stock cars, 11. Number of elephant cars, five. Number of baggage cars, one. Number of sleeping cars, seven. Number of advertising cars, four, number of baggage and tableau wagons: 75. Number of animal cages, 25 number of elephants, 30. camels, 25. number of horses and ponies, 270. Number of employees, 620!
And here's what they had for tents. It's the size of a small town!: The Big Top, almost 500 feet, The Menagerie and museum, 200 feet, plus the dressing room, 130 by 75 feet. Horse tents, seven of them, 80 by 40 feet. Horse tents, seven of them, 80 by 40 feet. A Sideshow tent 156 by 116 feet. Cook tents, 60 by 40 and 50 by 30.
Now after flooding from the Vernon dam put an end to Island Park as the home to circus, presenters turned to a place known back in the day as Frost Fields, but today it's the home of Cersosimo’s lumber yard on Flat Street right in downtown Brattleboro.
MUSIC ENDS
Tuesday, July 25 was a big circus day in Brattleboro, the greatest living showman, P, T, Barnum and the greatest show on earth were in town, promising larger tents, three rings and two enormous menageries, also adding a new word to the American lexicon, with Jumbo, The Mastodon Elephant.
Here's an ad for Jumbo: “His trunk reaches 26 feet. He weighs 10 tons. His height is beyond belief! Jumbo pet of royalty, pride of America, friend of children.
ELEPHANT CALL
No wonder everyone in town was interested in seeing this mighty beast – and I do mean everyone! Tthe circus would play two shows, and over 8000 people would attend.
SOUND EFFECT OF BARKER AT CIRCUS….
In addition to Jumbo, there were 22 other elephants, a three month old, baby elephant, 10 giraffes, the Norway giant, she Mab, the four legged girl, the Chinese rebel dwarf, fat beauties, skeleton men and two wild men of Borneo, all arriving by railroad cars and heading over to Frost Fields.
Now Jumbo was joined by other sideshow stars like JoJo the Dog Face Boy, Arabs the wild man, tattooed Hindu dwarves, Miss Zamamoto mounting the ladder of naked swords, Japanese slack wire performers, ascensionists, aerialists, wrestlers and over 100 marvelous acts. The price of entry to the world's greatest show was one quarter.
Here's what the Vermont Phoenix reported. “Jumbo was taken to the Whetstone Brook to have his first bath since leaving England. At first, he showed some hesitation about entering the water, but being urged on by his keeper soon caught the spirit of the occasion and began rolling and plunging about repeatedly dipping himself entirely under the water. (ELEPHANT CALL sound). This was probably the first time the mammoth old fellow had ever bathed in a stream of running water.”
CIRCUS MUSIC
The papers said that there were few crimes that day. Government detectives traveling with the show arrested some gamblers and a few pickpockets. One local man was fined $5 for being inebriated. Local bakers furnished the circus people with 400 pounds of bread. the Brooks House fed 400 people. The Brattleboro and American houses, 300 each, and still, the cry was for more. Local stores also found it a good day for trade, and were kept busy until the performances began, but then it was close up the shop and run to the circus.
CIRCUS MUSIC WITH DRUMS
In the 1880s General Tom Thumb also visited Brattleboro. This diminutive performer was discovered by Barnum at age four, and went on to become a global sensation, performing for an estimated 50 million people across two dozen countries. He was a talented entertainer, performing skits while dancing and singing and posing as classical statues.
His real name was Charles B Stratton, and he met and charmed numerous dignitaries over the course of his long career including Queen Victoria and President Abraham Lincoln.
Here's some more Barnum hokum about General Thumb: “The Lilliputian General Tom Thumb, in person, being carried on a small elephant with a cortage of 110 horses and 90 men, this 28 inch, 15 pound General will give performances as he did for the crowned heads of Europe, including impressions of Napoleon and Frederick the Great.
Also on board was Mr. Nellis, the man without arms. He'd be there to load and fire a pistol with his toes, then shoot a bow and arrow and play musical instruments. Mr. Pierce would also be there to enter the den of wild beasts, giving his illustrations of Daniel in the lion's den. Admission still 25 cents for the nearly three hour performance.
From the Vermont Phoenix, this quote: “It is doubtful if any circus has ever attracted a larger crowd of people to Brattleboro than did Barnum's on Tuesday, the throng began to pour in in early morning, and by the time the street parade took place at half past nine. The sidewalks were practically one solid mass of people along Canal Street and all the way from the Main Street Bridge up to The Commons. Citizens who watched the unloading and loading of the circus train observed that everything was done with perfect method, and there was no confusion of any sort.”
Now, as the previous quote proves, circus, which at times in our current day, has been mischaracterized as ‘bedlam’, is anything but. In fact, before World War One, when the US military wanted to learn how to move men and materials efficiently, Circus folks are the ones they consulted.
The ads for the July 1885 performances in Brattleboro were billed as Jumbo’s farewell tour. Barnum planned to take him to Europe. When Brattleboro bid adieu to Barnum and jumbo they fully expected to read reports of their travels, but tragedy struck shortly after leaving Brattleboro. The headlines read: Jumbo hit and killed by a train” Not to be outdone by a little thing like death, Barnum quickly adapted the story to a heroic tale of Jumbo, saving a young elephant by picking him up and hurling him safely away from the oncoming train. Barnum ended up showing the remains of jumbo to everyone he could.
Eventually, the circus was presented at the Fairgrounds, which was the site of the Civil War hospital, but today it's the location of the Brattleboro Union High School.
This from 1912: “Cheer up! The Circus will be in Brattleboro tomorrow. The Big Show carries three. Trains transporting 400 performers, 50 clowns, 750 horses and the Carl hagenbach menagerie embracing more than 400 wild animals. There is fun in every square inch of a small circus, if one puts himself in the attitude to be amused.” – the Vermont Phoenix.
Llisteners, I must contextualize this experience. This was pre internet, pre TV. Film was in its infancy, and here live and in person, were animals of every sort from every corner of the world, not just animals, but humans doing impossible feats in the same time and place. No trick photography, no gimmicks, just impeccable timing and lifetimes of practice.
OLD CIRCUS MUSIC HERE CONTINUES AS BED UNDER MOST OF NEXT PARAGRAPH
Here's a list from The Menagerie and the parade: Six naked horses, a pair of mighty elephants, a Roman chariot, Egyptian camels, Withers Army Band, 25 star performers, equestrians, clowns, humorists, fun-makers, tightrope walkers, aerialists, ventriloquists, rhinoceros, four little baby lions, man-eating tigers, herds of dromedaries. There was even a balloonist. Now, this man set himself on fire accidentally, THEN went out and did his show THEN he went to the hospital. For him, the show really must have gone on.
CLOWN LAUGHS AT JOKE, MUSIC…
Here's a list of some of the circus shows that played Brattleboro from the years 1851 to 1951 the John H Spark Circus; Edie's Brothers Circus; Ringling Brothers; Walter L Main Circu;, Lentz, New York Circus, tone and Murray circus, Bailey and company; R, sands and company G, C, Quick and Company, the John Cook circus, Sawtells Circus.
We close the old time section with this quote from the 1859 Vermont Phoenix: “ The circus has come and gone for more than 4000 spectators on Saturday last. No one will pretend that circuses are schools of morality, but it is proper to say that this company – they offered an entertaining bill of fare the. Clause was hearty, while the jokes of the clowns kept the tent in a roar, without ribaldry or profanity. We doubt if there was one coarse, Ill bred blackguard among them.”
MUSIC
As we survey the present and look to the bright future of circus in Vermont, we are compelled to ask, what is it about circus and why is Vermont the de facto circus capital of America?
Well, go to any kindergarten classroom and ask the kids who would like to run away and join the circus. Then ask them if they have ever seen a circus. Their answers may surprise you. Many of them will want to join, but few will know what they're joining. The point being that perhaps the idea of circus is already inside of us, a seed waiting for us to discover it.
The idea of circus taps into our created or discovered families, where everyone respects and honors you.Circus may be the place where you get to be who you really are, where everyone is included and everyone gets a moment to shine in the spotlight. Where all the freaks, misfits and homeless are given a home. A voice and a platform where each and every community member is celebrated. Vermont's like that too. Like Vermont, we circus people prize the entrepreneurial spirit and Yankee stick-to-itiveness.
In the rocky soil and small towns of Vermont circuses found a hospitable environment to thrive.
Here's just a few examples:
MUSIC
Circus Smirkus is the only tented traveling youth circus in the United States, performing under the traditional European style circus tents. This award winning circus company consists of some 80 people, including teen performers, professional circus coaches, crew and a live circus band performing an original score each year. The tour caravan requires 23 support vehicles and launches its big top in nearly 20 New England towns each summer, performing to approximately 42,000 patrons each year. Smirkis also runs summer camps and in school residencies throughout the year. They were founded in 1987 by the legendary Rob Mermin.
Here in Brattleboro, the New England center for circus arts was founded in 2007 by the award winning aerialists, identical twins Elsie Smith and serenity Smith, Fortune whose careers include stints in Cirque du Soleil and Ringling Brothers NECA rapidly expanded, moving out of their original cotton mill studios and building a state of the art trapezium right on Putney Road. NECCA is the premier circus arts training facility in the United States, offering a three year pro track for adults wishing to pursue a circus performing career, as well as 60 community classes each week, and more than 50 immersion workshops a year for visiting students, many student productions each year, a touring show with their graduates throughout New England. In 2025 NECCA launched the annual Vermont Circus Festival.
MUSIC
Now, yours truly, Kevin O'Keefe, I've traveled the world since 1982 to both teach and study circus, theater and yoga and as the artistic director of Circus Minimus, I've directed residencies and performances that have touched the lives of over 200,000 kids and their families. My one man circus in a suitcase show has toured the world in and recently completed its 600th show. And for five years I was an instructor at the Big Apple Circus School in New York City. I'm the founder and past president of the American Youth Circus Organization, and I live on Circus Hill in, you guessed it, Brattleboro.
Lastly, native Vermonter Troy Wunderle. He founded Wunderle’s Big Top Adventures. After touring with Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey as a clown, he returned to Vermont to work for Circus Smirkus, and for the past 28 years, he's performed, coached, directed and produced circus entertainment throughout the state. There are over 115,000 Vermont school kids who have gone through his circus residency programs. In addition, he's performed hundreds of shows and directed countless workshops, corporate events and camps for Ringling Brothers, Circus Smirkus and Wunderle's Big Top Adventures. Troy creates memories and inspires dreams in all that he does, and he gets the last word on circus in Vermont: Quote, “Vermont cherishes the arts and welcomes creative thought. Circus offers both physical exploration and creative expression. Vermont is a state that understands the values of both.”
MUSIC
So dear listeners, we have in these recollections, tried to give you an appreciation for the past and the present state of circus in Vermont, the future looks pretty bright and beyond these and many other artists who continue the tradition of circus and who continue to pass it on to future generations. As we say in the circus, ‘See you down the road!’ From the Brattleboro Words Trail, I'm Kevin O'Keefe.
MUSIC continues, fades out.
BRATTLEBORO WORDS TRAIL THEME MUSIC
This episode of the Brattleboro Words Trail Podcast was researched, and written by Kevin O'Keefe and Christopher Grotke with research help from Rolf Parker. Narration was Kevin O'Keefe. Editing was Alec Pombriant and mastering by Guilford Sound. Executive Producer and sound design was Lissa Weinmann. Merry-go-round music "Over the Waves Calliope" and "Texas Sunflower' are both by Martha Van Dorn, Boris Yakovleff and Eric Ramberg, from Smithsonian Folkways Records 1955 album 'Sounds of Carnival’. ‘‘Whispering’ from the 2010 Classic Carnival Circus Calyope, Volume 2 from the Carlisle Music Company was used at the end of the segment. Other circus sounds came from Tom Glazer’s 1948 recordings from Smithsonian Folkways ‘The Circus Comes to Town.’ Many thanks to the New England Center for Circus Arts first annual Vermont Circus Festival taking place in and around Brattleboro November 2 through 9, 2025. Thanks for listening, and we will see you next month on...the Brattleboro Words Trail Podcast.
END