Kratz Steam Colliope – Wikipedia
So what is a calliope and how in the world do you pronounce that?
A calliope is a steam organ or steam piano that was named after the Greek Muse Calliope who presided over poetry, song, and the arts and sciences.
I had to practice how to say it and after looking up the pronunciation a dozen or so times while I was writing my book, In the Shadow of the River, I finally wrote it down on my desk calendar and practiced saying it every time I noticed the word there. I thought I might need to be able to correctly say it before I started talking about my new book this year. So here’s the way the internet says to say calliope.
kuh·lai·uh·pee or kuh lye uh pee
Both ways sound the same. Just a different way of writing that accented syllable.
Okay, now that you know what it is and how to pronounce it (well, you probably already did, but I didn’t until I started writing about it), maybe you’d like to know more.
The first calliope was invented by Reverend James Birkett of Ovinsham, England in 1838 but he didn’t call it that. He called it a steam organ, but never patented his invention. So, a few years later in the 1840s, Joshua C. Stoddard built a steam powered calliope. In the second half of the 19th century, there was plenty of steam power available. Riverboats used it for power. Amusement parks and circuses used steam for electrical power. Steam power was what carousels used to keep their horses circling. So if you’ve been to a fair or a circus you’ve probably heard calliope music even if it most likely didn’t come from an actual steam calliope. After steam power was no longer common, an air-operated version of the calliope was developed and that’s what might still be found playing today. Plus there are recordings.
But when river showboats needed a way to announce they were stopping at a landing along the river to put on a show that evening, the owners started installing calliopes on their top decks. The music from a calliope would drift across the country for miles and had the local people shouting, “A showboat is coming!”
Harper’s Weekly May 12, 1866 (Source Library of Congress)
The players often wore asbestos gloves to protect their hands as they played. So, it seems amazing that any tune could be recognizable but some players were amazingly good. One song they never, ever played was “Home Sweet Home.” There was a superstition that if that song was played, their boat would sink before the next landing.
merry go round Margolies, John John Margolies Roadside America (photograph archive Library of Congress)
If you’ve ever been on a merry-go-round, you’ve probably heard something similar to the calliope music played on the river showboats.
(The picture of the small 24 whistle steam calliope in the top picture was built in Cincinnati by George Kratz in 1901 and may be the only Kratz steam calliope still in existence. This one was on the 5th French’s “New Sensation” showboat, one of the showboats I read about in my research for In the Shadow of the River. It is now in the collection at The Mariners’ Museum in Virginia.)
When you hear a calliope, do you immediately think of riding a merry-go-round?
The people along the river thought about the fun they’d have on a showboat. And if you want to hear some calliope music played with a more modern callipe than the steam powered ones, you can check out the YouTube link.
Comments 14
You need to ride the Belle of Louisville! It was a very nice trip years ago.
Author
I do, Janice. I kept intending to check in about the chances to maybe get to do that while I was writing In the Shadow of the River, Janice. I could have even called it book research, but it was winter while I was writing and then it never worked out when spring came around. I wasn’t sure they even still did the rides down the river.
Going to the county fair once a year in the fall when I was growing up was so much fun. Yes, I had to ride the merry-go-round and it did sound like calliope music.
Author
I didn’t always get to go to the fair when I was a kid, but sometimes got to go, Connie. Then we always took our kids when they were young. Riding the merry-go-round was definitely on the agenda.
I’ve heard calliope music all my life from the steamboat docked in the Ohio River in my hometown of Louisville, KY ❤️
Never knew it was so unique 💕
THE BELLE OF LOUISVILLE RIVER BOAT
Author
I kept thinking I’d come take a ride on the Belle of Louisville if they still take cruises, but never made the drive to Louisville, Bettie. Maybe I will yet.
So, you’re an old hand at hearing calliope music.
Thank you for this info and the video! That was really cool! I definitely think of a merry go round when I hear this. There’s an actress named Callie Thorne whose real name is listed as Calliope.
Author
When I Googled calliope, the first thing that popped up was a woman named Calliop, Deana. I didn’t read about her, but it could be the one you mention. I’ve heard worse names. Calliope has a poetic tongue pleasing sound.
The music puts me right on that merry-g0o-round rides I enjoyed as a kid.
Nice to read that information. Our Labor Day Parade always had a man playing the calliope, the kids loved it and so did the adults. Sadly the man either passed away or just quit playing because it is no longer in the parade. Miss those good old days.
Author
Calliope music would certainly add to the fun of a parade, Donna. Especially if you could actually see the guy playing it. I’m guessing that these days it would be hard to find calliope players.
Such fun information! I love it when you share your research.
When I was very little I loved going to the local carnivals. My grandmother asked me one night, walking into the park, if I could hear the calliope. When we got closer, I saw what I called the “merry go round”. Later I learned the word “carousel”. But for many years I thought calliope was just a fancy word for carousel. Living near the Ohio River, we occasionally heard music on the riverboats. But I just thought (as a kid) those boats had “merry go rounds” because I associated calliope music with those pretty horses. Then I got older and learned the difference and realized there were no horses on those boats. Growing up can be such a disappointment sometimes! Hahaa! 🙂
Author
Glad you enjoyed a peek at my research, Lavon. Maybe I’ll do some more next week. I have a fun theater quote/definition that I want to share. That’s fun that you thought of the carousel or merry-go-round as a calliope when you were young. And even cuter that you imagined carousels on the river boats. No horses on those riverboats. Such a disappointment as you say, but amazingly enough some of the early showboats actually had horse acts and there was a boat that was a circus.
We have a local amusement park called Knoebels Grove and is in PA. It has a very old and magical carousel that I got to ride on often as child and then again as an adult with my own children. I did think of that music and imagined the excitement of the people as they heard the boat coming down the river. There is a clip on YouTube I found of a calliope that Knoebels has. I tried to share it with you on Facebook, but I couldn’t get it to work for me. Thanks for writing such a great story and for sharing all of this extra history with us which brings your story alive even more! 🙂
Author
Thanks for trying to share the YouTube clip, Hope. I was glad to find a clip myself of the music although the one playing on the video had to be an air driven calliope instead of steam driven. Interesting how just thinking about riding on a carousel can transport us back to childhood and some fun memories. I remember always being disappointed if I was on the last ones on and all the horses that went up and down were already taken. That didn’t feel like a real carousel ride.