The Flying Horses carousel is the nation’s oldest platform carousel and has been designated by the U.S. Department of the Interior as a national landmark. Constructed in 1876 by Charles Dare, it is one of only two Dare carousels still in existence. Originally operated as a Coney Island, New York amusement, it was moved to Oak Bluffs in 1884, where it has lived in its red barn, delighting generations of Island residents and visitors ever since.

The carousel was acquired by The Vineyard Trust in 1986 to prevent it from being dismantled and sold piecemeal to collectors of antique carved horses.