Midas Mare , located outside City Hall in downtown Meridian , was the first horse unveiled as part of the Around Town Carousels Abound community art project . Sponsored by Meyer & Rosenbaum , the horse was painted by artist Greg Cartmell .
The brightly colored carousel horse located outside the Glover , Young , Walton and Simmons Law Firm at 1724A 23rd Avenue is actually a replacement after the original horse was damaged in an accident .
Mississippi Power ' s carousel horse outside the company ’ s Meridian office at 2401 11th Street has a lightning bolt on its forehead . The seat of the Iron Horse pony , right , located at 1901 Front Street , gives railroad history .
of businesses , restaurants , schools , colleges , government buildings , and private homes in Meridian and Lauderdale County and , even , at the Mississippi Welcome Center at Toomsuba , according to an online exhibit brochure from the Visit Meridian tourism office . Around Town Carousels Abound horses are also located in Enterprise , Stonewall and Quitman .
The horses bare names such as Iron Horse , My Brother ’ s Keeper , Wildcat Sunrise , Horseplay , Wild Blue , Spirit of Mississippi and Faith Riding Hope , which is the name of the horse displayed at Hope Village for Children on 23rd Avenue .
Around a dozen of the horses are located in the heart of historic downtown Meridian and make up an Around Town walking tour starting at Dumont Plaza . The others are grouped in geographical sections , such as north of downtown , west of downtown , toward the interstate from downtown and nearby communities .
“ Hope Village still benefits from this fundraiser ,” Casey Culpepper , director of development for Hope Village , said of the Around Town art project .
Back in the early 2000s , the first phase of the Around Town project was responsible for more than $ 73,000 in donations to Hope Village . Cater and Martin also worked with Stacey and Greg Griffith and Quail Ridge Press of Brandon to publish “ Carousels Abound : The Carousel Horses of Meridian , Mississippi : A Project Benefitting Hope Village for Children .” The book raised another $ 21,000 in donations to Hope Village , according to Hope Village records .
While 66 horses are listed in the official Visit Meridian bro-
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