Roy Rogers’ Museum Was Inspired By Another Western Icon — Here’s Why It Disappeared

Roy Rogers was rightfully crowned “King of the Cowboys,” and rarely has a bestowed title been more fitting. His storied career included hosting his own radio show for several years, his own television show that ran for more than 100 episodes, a restaurant chain, hit songs, and appearances in nearly 100 films, most of which featured him as a leading man.

Perhaps his proudest milestone was meeting and marrying frequent costar Dale Evans, whom he wed in 1947 after proposing to her during a rodeo in Chicago. The duo was unstoppable both onscreen and off, building a family, running a 168-acre ranch in Chatsworth, California, and eventually opening the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum nearby in Apple Valley, California, in 1967.

The idea for offering fans the chance to get up close with screen-used props, memorabilia, and personal keepsakes was born out of a trip Rogers took to fellow Western icon Will Rogers‘ museum in Oklahoma in 1938. Roy started accumulating and cataloging a wide range of items, including his first Aida guitar, sunglasses, boots, director’s chairs, costumes, saddles, vehicles, and even his famous horse Trigger, who was preserved via taxidermy after passing in 1965 and exhibited at the attraction.

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Evans, meanwhile, who brought costumes, artwork, family photos, a colorful array of her signature silk scarves and personal items, like an engraved heart-shaped flask Roy gifted her, into the archive. The combined lineup of personal and professional items offered rare insight into the lives of two of the big and small screen’s biggest stars.

At its peak, the museum was seeing more than 200,000 visitors annually, each paying admission to wander the corridors packed with mementos. Roy was a regular at the attraction, which he ran when not on the road making appearances at rodeos, fairs, and tending to his eateries. Dale chose to stick closer to home on their ranch but would occasionally sneak into the museum to delight patrons with autographs and photos.

Everett Collection

In 1976, the museum relocated to Victorville, California, where it remained for 27 years in the San Bernardino County high desert. After Roy passed in 1998 and Dale in 2001, the facility and its incredible menagerie of materials fell into the hands of family, who made the ill-fated decision to move the entirety of the affair to Branson, Missouri, in 2003. While a transition to the “Hillbilly Riviera” might seem a natural fit, the museum was lost in the shuffle among the town’s endless gimmicky tourist offerings, and debt started accumulating almost immediately.

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As visitors dwindled, the family started considering relocating again, but in the end, the bills were stacked too high, and the museum closed for good on Dec. 12, 2009. In an effort to settle with creditors, the family made the shocking move to sell nearly every item in the attraction at auction via Christie’s, which shuffled more than 300 keepsakes into fans’ hands, raising almost $3 million.

While the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum’s final tune was a rather sad one, its successful years offered a rare glimpse inside the world of two of the most celebrated entertainers in history, and attained roadside immortality, just like its namesakes.

Justin Beahm writes a regular column for ReMIND magazine titled “Roadside Memories,” where he shares fascinating and bizarre stories of the past that cover circus attractions, amusement parks, enchanted forests, houses of horror, strange motels and so much more. He recently expanded on these stories in the new book Roadside Memories: Beloved and Bizarre Attractions from North America’s Past, Volume 1. To get a signed copy, go to Justin’s website now or order through Amazon. You can also follow him on Instagram.

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