Vanished Hillsdale

Home City News Vanished Hillsdale

Esli K. Crocker was born in 1859 on a farm in North Reading. He learned how to train horses from his father, but he soon surpassed his old man in years. By the mid-1880s, he was known as Professor E.K. Crocker and had taken his “educated horses, ponies and mules” on the road.

His first show was conducted in Hillsdale, Mich. with a troupe of 12 horses. Acts included the horses’ telling colors apart, pretending to be schoolchildren, and even holding a mock-trial “that brought down the house.”

On May 25, 1887, The Pittsburg Dispatch described his show as “an electric success.” “There are 15 horses and three ponies,” the article read. “Any one of which has more sense than some men.”

The show was so popular in the United States and Canada that it travelled Europe for 17 years. By that point, the troupe had expanded to 30 horses and performed in opera houses and high-end theaters. Audience members even included the then-Prince of Wales, Edward, son of Queen Victoria.

All information from the Hillsdale Historical Society and Clarke Historical Library.