Walt Disney Hometown Museum

Marceline, MO
The Walt Disney Hometown Museum, located in the former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway depot.
General information
Location120 East Santa Fe Avenue, Marceline, Missouri 64658
History
ClosedMay 11, 1997[1]
Rebuilt1913[2]
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Carrollton
toward Dallas or Houston
 Lone Star La Plata
toward Chicago
Kansas City
toward Los Angeles
 Southwest Chief
Preceding station Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Following station
Rothville
toward Los Angeles
 Main Line Bucklin
toward Chicago
Walt Disney Hometown Museum
Walt Disney Hometown Museum is located in Missouri
Walt Disney Hometown Museum
Location within Missouri
Walt Disney Hometown Museum is located in the United States
Walt Disney Hometown Museum
Walt Disney Hometown Museum (the United States)
Established2001 (2001)
Location120 E. Santa Fe Avenue, Marceline, Missouri
Coordinates39°42′57″N 92°56′51″W / 39.7159°N 92.9476°W / 39.7159; -92.9476
TypeHall of Memory
Key holdingsWalt Disney family memorabilia
Websitewaltdisneymuseum.org

The Walt Disney Hometown Museum is located in the restored Santa Fe Railway Depot in Marceline, Missouri. Opened in 2001, the museum houses a collection of memorabilia from the Disney family's farm where they lived from 1905 to 1909 along with Walt Disney's return to the town in 1946.[3]

Many of the items were donated by the family of Ruth Flora Disney Beecher, Walt's sister. Artifacts include personal family letters and photos, Disney's wooden school desk and a recording of him asking his parents about their life.[4] The museum houses the only remaining components of a Disneyland ride to be operated outside of Disneyland, the Midget Autopia.[5] The museum also houses artifacts from the town's railroad history, including ATSF 5008, an EMD SD40 built in 1966.[6]

In 2015, the museum launched a project to recreate the Midget Autopia attraction that had operated in the Walt Disney Municipal Park south of town. The miniature car ride was donated by Disney when the attraction was dismantled at Disneyland. The town operated the ride from 1966 until rising insurance costs and a lack of replacement parts forced its closure in 1977. A single restored car is on display at the museum and was the centerpiece of a Kickstarter project to finance a $500,000 reconstruction of the ride, launched in July 2015.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 134. ISBN 9780253027931.
  2. ^ "Marceline Proud of Its New Station". The Catholic Tribune. St. Joseph, Missouri. April 26, 1913. p. 4. Retrieved January 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ Winnerman, Jim (July 22, 2012). "Marceline, Mo.: The original 'Main Street' USA". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  4. ^ Weiss, Werner (March 28, 2014). "Walt Disney Hometown Museum". Yesterland. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Five places to see in nearby Linn County". Chillicothe News. Archived from the original on 2015-11-16. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
  6. ^ "Railroad Collection". Walt Disney Hometown Museum. Archived from the original on 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
  7. ^ "Bring Back Autopia". Archived from the original on 2015-10-06. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
  8. ^ Reynolds, Christopher (July 31, 2015). "Disneyland's long-lost Midget Autopia may roll again—in Missouri". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ "Autopia". Yesterland.