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Santa Claus Museum |
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“There is nothing so universal as the spirit of Santa Claus.” |
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Outside the Santa Claus Museum |
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Home |
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Nestled within the Kringle Plaza of Santa Claus, Indiana you will find the Santa Claus Museum. We are located just two doors down from our very famous Santa Claus Post Office. Once you enter the doors of the museum you will instantly be brought back in time as you wind your way through a variety of memorabilia, photos and articles.
When the Germans settled to this area in the mid 1800’s, they had no idea what this place would one day become. Many of the early immigrants were in hopes of a new and better way of life. They weren’t attracted to this area because of the name. In fact, the area was known as Santa Fe, not Santa Claus back then.
The first Santa Claus Post Office opened its doors in 1856. The town’s name did not peak interest until 1914 when Santa Claus’ 14th postmaster, James Martin, took it upon himself to answer the children’s letters addressed to Santa Claus.
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Santa Claus Museum P.O. Box 1 41 N. Kringle Place Santa Claus, IN 47579 |
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To contact us: |
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Phone: 812-937-2687 E-mail: scmcurator@psci.net |
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After this, people flocked to the Santa Claus Post Office to get the special postmark; so much that in the early 1930’s the US Postal Department suggested changing the name of the town to avoid the Christmas season frenzy. Robert Ripley, from Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, supported the townspeople’s desire to keep their name by featuring the town in his cartoon articles.
James Martin continued answering children’s letters and eventually enlisted Jim Yellig to aid in helping write back to the children. Today the Santa Claus Museum serves as a headquarters for Santa’s Elves to answer all the children’s letters that flood the tiny post office during the holidays. They answer approximately 10,000 letters each year.
In 1935, Milton Harris, with the support of the Curtis Candy Company, built the first attraction: Santa Claus Candy Castle. One year later Harris, developed the Enchanted Forest with different toy companies that shipped their packages out with the Santa Claus, IN postmark. Just a few days later in 1935, Carl Barrett created Santa Claus Park which highlighted a 22-foot statue of Santa Claus.
Louis Koch settled the area in 1946. He started what now is considered to be Southern Indiana’s largest tourist attractions. A couple years later, Louis’ son, Bill Koch, took over the family business. Santa Claus Land started off as a free attraction for children. It has today developed into one of the nation’s best theme parks, Holiday World. The Koch family is not only responsible for developing the theme park; they are also credited for developing the town.
Come explore the history of our magical town; it’s a great place to visit with free admission! |