Business and Industry | Page 31

Sellner Swooper

Cover of the advertising brochure for the Sellner Swooper amusement park ride, 1929. Sellner Collection, Rice County Historical Society, Faribault. Used with the permission of Rice County Historical Society.

Tilt-A-Whirl advertising brochure

Cover of the advertising brochure for the Sellner Tilt-A-Whirl amusement park ride, 1928. Sellner Collection, Rice County Historical Society, Faribault. Used with the permission of Rice County Historical Society.

Tilt-A-Whirl patent application drawing

Figure 1 of Herbert Sellner’s “Patent Application for Amusement Device,” filed with the US Patent Office on April 24, 1926. Sellner Patent Application for Amusement Device, Sheet 1, filed April 24, 1926. United States Patent and Trademark Office. Public domain.

The first Tilt-A-Whirl, installed at Wildwood Amusement Park

Children at Wildwood Amusement Park in the first Tilt-A-Whirl, built by Herbert Sellner in Faribault and moved to White Bear Lake. Photograph collection, White Bear Lake Historical Society. Used with the permission of White Bear Lake Historical Society.

The first Tilt-A-Whirl

The first Tilt-A-Whirl, built by Herbert Sellner in James Chapman’s garden in Faribault, 1926. It was later purchased by the Wildwood Amusement Park in White Bear Lake. Photograph collection, White Bear Lake Historical Society. Used with the permission of White Bear Lake Historical Society.

Water Wheel advertising brochure

Advertising brochure for the Sellner Water Wheel, 1923. Used with the permission of Rice County Historical Society. Sellner Collection, Rice County Historical Society, Faribault. Used with the permission of Rice County Historical Society.

Water Toboggan Slide advertising brochure

Cover of the advertising brochure for the Sellner Water Toboggan Slide, 1923. Sellner Collection, Rice County Historical Society, Faribault. Used with the permission of Rice County Historical Society.

Ideal Lamp Company catalog

Cover of the Ideal Lamp Company catalog, 1917. Sellner Collection, Rice County Historical Society, Faribault. Used with the permission of Rice County Historical Society.

Sellner Manufacturing Company

On April 24, 1926, Herbert W. Sellner filed an application with the United States Patent Office for an “Amusement Device” designed for parks and resorts. His goal was to provide riders with “pleasurable and unexpected sensations” by swinging, snapping, and rotating them in an unpredictable pattern. He named his creation the Tilt-A-Whirl, and it became the most popular ride made by his Faribault-based Sellner Manufacturing Company.

Rice, Henry Mower (1816‒1894)

As a trader, businessman, treaty negotiator, and legislator, Henry Mower Rice played a crucial role in Minnesota’s statehood and the development of St. Paul. At the same time, Rice was responsible for policies that benefited himself and his business partners at the expense of Minnesota’s Indigenous populations.

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