Al G. Barnes Circus

Al G. Barnes Circus was an American circus run by Alpheus George Barnes Stonehouse.

History

Stonehouse started the show in 1895 with a pony, a phonograph, a stereopticon. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Died |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,846966-2,00.html |quote=Alpheus George Barnes Stonehouse (Al G. Barnes), 68, circusman, founder and longtime owner of Barnes's Circus; after a lingering illness; in Indio, California. He started his show in 1895 with a pony, a phonograph, a stereopticon. A colorful participant at every performance, he would lead the opening parade seated on the head of a mammoth elephant. Two years ago he sold his interests to Circusman John Ringling for $1,000,000. |work=Time (magazine) |date=August 3, 1931 |accessdate=2008-07-22 ] His circus was purchased by the American Circus Corporation in 1929 and was merged with the Sells-Floto Circus, John Robinson Shows, and Sparks Circus. That same year John Nicholas Ringling bought out the American Circus Corporation and folded all the performers into his Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. cite web |url=http://www.ringling.com/explore/history/bailey_2.aspx |title=Bailey and the Ringlings |accessdate=2008-07-21 |quote=In 1929, reacting to the fact that his competitor, the American Circus Corporation, had signed a contract to perform in New York's Madison Square Garden, Ringling purchased American Circus for $1.7-million. In one fell swoop, Ringling had absorbed five major shows: Sells-Floto, Al G. Barnes, Sparks, Hagenbeck-Wallace, and John Robinson. |publisher=Feld Entertainment ]

One of their more famous animals was Black Diamond, an Indian elephant whose unpredictable temper resulted in the deaths of four people.

External links

* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~esthersgenealogypage/al_g_barnes.html Alpheus George Barnes Stonehouse]
* [http://www.westland.net/venicehistory/articles/BarnesCircusZoo.htm Barnes Circus Zoo]

References