When we started planning this trip, one of the things I wanted to do was see some roadside attractions. Our brief crossing with Route 66 in Oklahoma let us see a few things at the museum but not in their natural habitat. So I've been keeping my eye out for unusual things to see.
While we were in St. Joseph, Missouri, we toured the Pony Express Museum. But up the hill was another museum, the Patee House, which turned out to be an absolute gem. Or maybe more of a place where things from attics have come to live.
The Patee House was opened as a hotel in the late 1850s and is now a National Historic Landmark for its role as headquarters for the Pony Express. The building was owned by Mr. John Patee and has been a hotel, a college, and even a shirt factory.
There is quite a bit of Pony Express history presented in the Patee House as it served as the headquarters in St. Joseph.
The Patee House has three levels of items from St. Joseph's history as well as other things that have been collected. There's a Streets of St. Joseph area where you can walk through a reproduction set of the town. We learned from this area that famed newscaster Walter Cronkite's father was a dentist in St. Joseph.
There's a locomotive and interesting cars. And a carousel.
There's a collection of Thomas Edison's inventions.
There's a picture of the world's tallest man (to scale). I came up to where his hands are crossed. DH is as tall as his elbow.
There's a model railroad.
Aunt Jemima Pancake mix got its start in St. Joseph.
And much to my surprise, there's the Giant Ball of Twine! Weighing in at 1,050 lbs, I would have missed it if DH hadn't seen it and pointed it out to me!
What's the most unusual thing you've seen in a museum or as a roadside attraction?
~ Cindy D.
The world's largest wooden nickel was pretty bizarre.
ReplyDeleteWe were going to pass through Dubuque on our way to Le Claire just a few days ago, but the severe weather forecasted for the area had us go through Illinois on our way to Missouri instead.
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