Alfred Theodore "Alf" Ringling (formerly
"Ruengling"), was born in 1861, and died unexpectedly in 1919. The
son of a Bavarian harness maker, Alfred, with his five brothers,
formed the Ringling Brothers Circus, which later purchased the
Barnum & Baily Circus, to form "The Greatest Show on Earth".
Alf was responsible for circus publicity and authored a
book of his family's stories.
Although Baraboo, Wisconsin was the official
summer home for the circus, in 1900 Alf bought a 1000 acre tract of
land in Jefferson Twp, then known as
Petersburg including Petersburg Pond and a smaller nearby lake
which was damned and stocked with fish. In 1913 He built several
stone buildings including a huge
mansion and several others to house the family business. When
complete the main home consisted of approx 30 rooms, 14 fireplaces,
theater, pipe organ and used on-site water turbines for
electricity. An unusual aspect of this landmark is that it is made
of poured concrete. The walls around the property are all
fieldstone, provided by local landowners at 25 cents per
wheelbarrow full. The mansion was sold in 1955 to become
headquarters for the Spes Foundation, a worldwide order of the
Roman Catholic Church.
The Ringling Manor consisted of all the stone
buildings in the immediate area, centered around this 3"x10" tube
container. The mansion (now monastary) is across Berkshire Valley
Rd, encircled by Manor Dr. The dam to the north is boardered by the
boathouse, carriage house and several other buildings that housed
horses, big cats, aviary & others, visible from the center of
the bridge. A water tower & stone silo behind the carriage
house was home to monkeys. The foundation of the elephant house is
on the golf course's 12th tee, 2/10 mi SE, visible from the
gate.
Other Historical References:
greater
area,
Ringling,
Swannanoa.