Our Founders

Blanche Baldridge, Gladys Keneally, and Mary Wilder

The Wilder Memorial Museum was built in 1970 as part of a community effort to save a collection of over 500 heirloom dolls belonging to two local sisters. These sisters, Blanche Baldridge and Gladys Keneally, originally intended to donate their collection to the Iowa State Historical Society. When the community realized that they were about to lose this important local collection, money was donated by the Mary Wilder estate, the city of Strawberry Point purchased the ground, and the first room of the museum was erected. The original building now houses a Victorian parlor, Victorian child's room, prairie kitchen, geological display, and 800 heirloom dolls. Also included in the exhibits is a military display with items dating back to the Revolutionary War as well as railroad memorabilia.

Marcey Alderson

Since 1970, two additional wings have been built. The Marcey Alderson addition was added in the 1980's to house an astounding collection of Victorian furniture and art glass as well as an impressive display of Meissen and Dresden porcelain.

What is truly astounding is the fact that Marcey Alderson kept all of the artifacts now displayed in the museum within his home and virtually no one knew he had them. Marcey Alderson taught piano in Strawberry Point, Iowa for over fifty years. He was considered an outstanding pianist and organist and many of his students became accomplished musicians. His love of music was very evident, from the stories of dozens of canaries that resided in his home to the recently acquired funeral music that Marcey played and recorded for his own funeral.

Marcey is sometimes described described as an eccentric individual although what cannot be denied is his exquisite taste in glass, furniture, and porcelain. Several rooms of Victorian furniture showcase Marcey's love of that era. Interestingly, Marcey was skilled in needlepoint and petit point, as he was taught by his mother. Many of the chairs and framed samplers were completed by either Marcey or his mother.

Duane Munter and Harold and Leonore Knight

The museum continued to grow in the 1990's as the Munter-Knight Wing was added. Local residents, Duane Munter and Harold and Leonore Knight donated the money and land to have this wonderful addition built which showcases a textile display including quilts, spinning wheels, and a handmade loom from 1847. Our prairie farm exhibit highlights items such as covered wagon hoops and a goat treadmill. The doctor s exhibit, dating to the mid 1800's, includes a mid-nineteenth century doctors chair as well as doctors bags with original medicine bottles. Also on display in this wing is a wonderful collection of Impressionist paintings by local artist Myrwyn Eaton.