During this time of year, Santa Claus is virtually everywhere. From malls, to parades and of course, the North Pole, there are no shortage of sightings of the big man. One museum in Indiana makes sure you can see Santa Claus year round. Located in Santa Claus (yes that’s a real town) Indiana, the Santa Claus Museum is devoted to almost everything having to do with this iconic figure and the town it’s named after.
Founder
The museum was founded by Patricia Koch. Her love of Santa began as a child. Her father was known as “Santa Jim” and he was famous for playing Santa Claus each year. Eventually Patricia would marry Bill Koch, whose family owned Holiday World (formerly known as Santa Claus Land). She wanted to expand even further and opened the Santa Claus Museum in 2006. Holiday World has since closed, but through the Santa Claus museum, it’s history remains alive with the countless artifacts and pictures found in the museum.
Exhibits
The museum focuses on the history of the town as well as Santa Claus. In fact, there is a whole room devoted to him. There is a sleigh that visitors can sit in to get a photo and a huge display of various Santa’s as well as antique toy. Visitors can also look at decades’ worth of letters that children have written to Santa Claus. A favorite at the museum is a typewriter that Santa Jim used to reply to children that wrote him a letter. The museum also displays some of the town’s historical documents and artifacts. A favorite among children is the Original Santa Claus Post Office where they can write a letter to Santa. If they include their full address, Santa or his elves will write them back. It takes hundreds of volunteer elves to respond to all the letters they receive. It’s also the only post office in the world that has the name “Santa Claus”. The 1880 Santa Claus Church is worth stopping at as well as it has a 22-feet tall Santa Claus statue that dates back to 1935.
The goal of the museum is to teach visitors about the town’s history and the world’s first theme park, Santa Claus Land. Each year the Santa Claus post office receives around 10,000 letters from children and thousands more visitors. It is open each day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and it is free to get in.
