Roadside Attractions: Clyde, Toy Town Horse - Winchendon, MA

Clyde, Toy Town Horse

Winchendon, MA

N 42° 40.910 W 072° 03.195

Short Description: 

A reproduction of the original Clyde, Toy Town Horse is located at the intersection of Front (Rt. 202) and West Street in Winchendon, MA.

Long Description:

A four-fold larger version of a child's wooden rocking horse is on display in Winchendon, MA. The horse is the symbol of the town's historical role as a center for the manufacture of wooden toys.

A tablet on the shelter enclosing the rocking horse provides the history of the rocking horse. It is inscribed:

THE TOY TOWN HORSE IS HOME AGAIN. THIS IS A REPRODUCTION OF THE 
ORIGINAL TOY TOWN HORSE THAT STOOD FOR SO LONG IN THE WINCHENDON AND HELPED IDENTIFY WINCHENDON AS "TOY TOWN".

THE ORIGINAL TOY TOWN HORSE WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1914 AS A FLOAT
FOR THE TOWN'S 150TH ANNIVERSARY. WINCHENDON WAS THE HOME OF THE
CONVERSE COMPANY AND THE WORLD'S LARGEST WOODEN TOY FACTORY.
WORKERS FROM THE CONVERSE COMPANY - FRED DWELLEY, DESIGNER;
CHARLES TENNEY, CARPENTER; JESSE BEZIO, WOOD TURNER; JOHN DAMON,
PAINTER; SPENT FIVE MONTHS CONSTRUCTING THE HORSE WHICH WAS A FOUR
TIME ENLARGEMENT OF THE CONVERSE COMPANY'S NO. 12 ROCKING HORSE.
THE ORIGINAL HORSE TOOK 3,000 FEET OF TWO INCH PINE NAILED TOHETHER
TO COMPLETE.

THE HORSE RESTED IN THE TOWNS'S RAILROAD STATION FOR TWENTY 
YEARS AS A LANDMARK FOR TRAVELERS PASSING THROUGH WINCHENDON.
IN 1917 THE HORSE APPEARED IN THE SUNDAY EDITION OF THE "BOSTON
AMERICAN". IN 1934 THE HORSE WAS MOVED TO THE TOY TOWN TAVERN
PROPERTY (NOW THE WINCHENDON SCHOOL). FOR THIRTY YEARS AT THAT 
LOCATION IT WAS CLIMBED ON BY CHILDREN AND WELL PHOTOGRAPHED.

THE HORSE MADE TWO OTHER NOTABLE APPEARANCES FOR WHICH IT WAS
REFURBISHED. IN 1964 IT WAS PARADED IN THE TOWN'S BICENTENNIAL PARADE,
AND AGAIN IN 1976 FOR THE NATION'S BICENTENNIAL. AFTER THAT IT FELL
INTO DISREPAIR AND RUIN.

RECENTLY, THE WINCHENDON HISTORICAL SOCIETY SPEARHEADED A DRIVE TO
BRING BACK THE HORSE AS A SYMBOL OF CIVIC PRIDE AND A FOCAL POINT OF
OUR HISTORICAL IDENTITY. THROUGH THE EARNEST EFFORTS OF THE TWO
ORGANIZATIONS AND MANY TOWNSPEOPLE, FUNDS WERE RAISED AND THE 
PROJECT BECAME A REALITY.

THE CRAFTSMAN FOUND TO CREATE THE NEW HORSE WAS SHERMAN 
LABARGE OF FRYEBERG, MAINE. IT TOOK HIM 18 MONTHS TO COMPLETE THE
HORSE HERE IN FRONT OF YOU. THE NEW HORSE MADE ITS PUBLIC DEBUT
AT WINCHENDON'S 1988 TOY TOWN FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION. IT NOW
STANDS IN THE GAZEBO CONSTRUCTED THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THE DONATION OF LABOR AND MATERIALS FROM
CHAMBER MEMBERS.

THE HORSE THAT STANDS BEFORE YOU IS A SYMBOL OF PRIDE TO THE
CITIZENS OF WINCHENDON THAT WE WISH TO DISPLAY TO ALL. AS IT ONCE
STOOD AT THE RAILROAD STATION, IT NOW STANDS AT THE JUNCTION OF TWO
WELL TRAVELED ROADS PASSING THROUGH WINCHENDON FOR ALL TO SEE.
WITH THE HELP OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY AND THE SHELTER WE HOPE THAT
PEOPLE CAN ENJOY THIS TOT TOWN HORSE WITH US FOR ANOTHER SEVENTY
FIVE YEARS TO COME.