“The circus is coming, the circus is coming!”

That long-ago announcement sparked wonder and excitement for generations of children more than a century ago. Though rare in Grand Junction today, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this small town saw more than its fair share of entertainment—thanks to the railroad.

Today’s circuses often arrive by truck, offering acrobats, aerialists and oddities, supplemented by thrill rides and carnival food. 

But in early Grand Junction, the circus was an all-day spectacle that brought exotic sights and sounds. It gave many people the rare chance to witness animals and performers they’d only seen in the pages of National Geographic. Perhaps, more than any other childhood experience, it was the circus that brought the world to Grand Junction.

How did our little town come to have three or four big circuses a summer? Grand Junction was a convenient stop for circus trains. The town was a day’s journey from Salt Lake City, Denver, Pueblo and Colorado Springs—making it the ideal layover between big-city engagements. Circus owners quickly learned that setting up the big top and blanketing the town with advertisements was an easy way to fill their coffers between larger gigs.

THE EARLY YEARS

The first mention of a circus in Grand Junction came in the August 23, 1884 issue of the Daily News—a tiny notice stating only “Circus Next Week”—an event that appears to have been a no-show. 

Five years later, the combined Farini’s Grand Australian Circus and McMahon’s Great World’s Circus announced its arrival by special train. Its roster featured wrestlers, tumblers, gymnasts, Russians, “foreign” athletes and dazzling equestrians. In 1890, The Grand Valley Star announced the arrival of “Queen Jumbo,” touted as the largest animal in the world. 

The next summer, Grand Junction played host to its first truly big show. Sells Brothers’ Millionaire Alliance came to town with exotic Moorish, Japanese and Ancient Roman acts, tropical island troupes and a free parade—for one night only! 

It was truly a marvel! The Daily News sang the show’s praises in its post-show editorial, calling the Sells Brothers “enterprising showmen and honorable men.” 

Streetcars were packed from morning until night, and more people wandered the circus grounds than attended church. 

Smaller circuses came and went throughout the 1890s. In 1891, Adam Forepaugh Jr. brought lion tamers, clowns, trapeze artists and a Wild West Show. The Grand Valley Star warned patrons of grifters and pickpockets.

In 1893, Grand Junction introduced a licensing fee for visiting circuses. The small Sanger and Lent Circus balked at the extra charge, and city authorities chose to shut down their parade mid-route at the corner of Fifth and Rood. Circus owners that refused to pay were fined and arrested. 

That year also brought Cook and Whitby’s English Circus, featuring racing horses, exotic animals, dancing ladies, a double balloon ascension and parachute jump. Special trains were hired to bring in spectators from as far away as Ouray and Glenwood Springs.

The Great Wallace Shows arrived in 1894 with 300 horses, 400 performers and a parade a mile long. In 1897, Walter L. Main’s circus used Grand Junction as a western base, showcasing a high-diving lion and a deep-sea “bovalapus” (a water buffalo). The operation left some elephants in the city while the main circus toured the San Juans. 

The first mention of the Ringling Brothers came in 1899. The Daily Sentinel proclaimed it “one of the cleanest” entertainments the city had experienced, and free from “gambling and fake games.” Despite the name recognition, the ticket sales were not what was expected.

Later that same year, The Campbell Brothers Circus rolled in. Again, the Sentinel lauded the cleanliness of the operation and called its acts “novel and daring,” with special mention of a very young somersaulting equestrian named Dollie Julian.

A NEW CENTURY OF SPECTACLE

In 1900, Campbell Brothers’ Circus returned to Grand Junction, starting the new century with a classy performance. The ill-fated Ringling Brothers bypassed the city altogether, causing grumbling among locals.

Through the early 1900s, Grand Junction witnessed memorable spectacles, from the Bungling Brothers’ parade of jungle animals to the arrival of the Sells-Floto Shows and their four-ring extravaganzas. The Bungling Brothers even invited local talent to join them, so Grand Junction’s own Columbine Band and the Woodmen Band both had a seat of honor in multicolored chariots pulled by magnificent stallions. 

In 1901, legal issues made headlines when Grand Junction tightened enforcement of its circus licensing policies. The only circus to visit that summer was the smaller Sells and Gray Show in June.

In 1903, the great Ringling Brothers Circus “skipped” Grand Junction again, making only a long stop at the depot to water and feed their animals under the hot July sun while traveling from Leadville to Ogden, Utah. The slight didn’t deter hundreds of locals from strolling down after church to watch the colorful cages, exotic animals and bustling crews. Five sections of train cars—75 in all—rolled in and out of town, reminding residents of the spectacle they’d missed two years earlier, while offering a tantalizing taste of what had passed them by.

The following summer, a version of the Floto Circus arrived with spectacular unicycle acts, bicycle acrobatics and a mix of exotic animals and comic sideshows, including a “gala street parade.” The Sentinel reported a “laughable accident” on Ute Avenue when a circus worker was jolted from the back of a carriage and a water-filled bucket swung down, landing upside down on his head and drenching him—to the howls of amused onlookers.

Read the rest of this story—including the arrival of Barnum and Bailey’s “Greatest Show on Earth” and Buffalo Bill—in next month’s issue.

READ PART 2 of 2: 

Bigger shows and bigger crowds: Grand Junction’s circus glory days (Part 2)

Step right up! Discover how early 1900s circuses, carnivals and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show dazzled Grand Junction—turning the town into a hub of spectacle, excitement and showbiz history. Read More »