The story of the carousel in America can be traced back to 1837 when Michael Dentzel traveled in horse drawn wagons through the southern German countryside with his portable hand carved machine, going from fair to fair or market. Michael's sons followed in his footsteps and were all sent by their father to try their hands in America. Michael's second eldest son, Gustav, emigrated to America in the early 1860's, introducing America's first amusement park carousel, brought over on a sailing ship from Germany. Gustav worked very hard and found himself hiring many German and Italian immigrants, who were trained in the old country, to do the carving. These carvers were classically trained as apprentices and carvers of archetecture and saints for the churches. The mechanisms made by the Dentzel Carousel Company were noted for there solid design and operation.

Gustav's two sons, William and Edward, continued their father's craft after his death in 1908 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. William, the older of the brothers, embellished the carousel and took it to its grandest state of development. The family's carousel business continued to flourish under the management of his sons where it remained until William H. Dentzel's death in 1927. At that time, Edward was in southern California setting-up and operating carousels. Soon afterward Edward gave up the carousel business and stayed in California to build homes in Beverly Hills. He served on Beverly Hills City Council from 1933 to 1948 and was mayor from 1945 to 1948.