Dorothys House and Land of Oz
Mission Statement:
The mission of the Seward County Historical Society is to provide enrichment, enjoyment, and education for residents and visitors through the preservation of regional history and the Land of Oz.
History:
The Seward County Historical Society was founded in 1961. Seward County pioneer descendants Robert W. Baughman, Fred Hill, Lewis Eyman and Oliver Brown realized the importance of preserving the history of the area and were fearful that since so many of the early settlers were gone that the time would come when the history could not be established. A twenty-one member Board of Directors was created.
The ground for the Coronado museum was donated by Mr. N.S. Lepley and the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Liberal donated the Larrabee home. This charming home was built in 1918 and was moved from its original location at 510 N. Lincoln to the present site in 1961. It still retains the warmth and charm which it held as a family home. The solid light oak paneling banisters and flooring would be difficult to duplicate today. The museum houses the priceless antiques, heirlooms and pictures of early day Seward County. One large room has an early day kitchen, complete with wood stove, cabinet, churn, pump vacuum and etc. Also one end of the room is furnished in old bedroom furnishing with the center of the room furnished in living room articles, complete with an ornate pump organ. On display are beautiful china and handmade bed linens.
On the museum grounds are found native tamarack, sand hill plums, cottonwood trees and wild roses.
Dorothy's House
Dorothy's House was built in 1907 and donated to the Seward County Historical Society. Volunteers moved the house to its present location on the grounds. It has been carefully restored and furnished to replicate the house shown in the movie "The Wizard of Oz", reproducing the warmth of the farmhouse where Dorothy realized that, "There's no place like home." Former governor John Carlin recognized the house as the official home of Dorothy Gale in 1981.
Land of Oz
The Land of OZ consist of 5,000 square feet of animated entertainment - good and bad witches, the Munchkins, talking trees, winged monkeys, and of course, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and Toto, too. The original model of Dorothy's house used in the 1939 filming of the movie "The Wizard of Oz" is seen in one display.
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