Bonniebrook Homestead – Walnut Shade, Missouri - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The Bonniebrook Homestead is significant as the one site chiefly commemorative of the life and work of Rose O'Neill, the world-famed author, artist, sculptor, illustrator, and creator of the Kewpie doll. Bonniebrook is significant also as a pioneer homestead of the O'Neills, the first family to enter the land from the public domain. Rose O'Neill always considered the Bonniebrook Homestead to be "home". The majority of her years were lived there; at no time was she long absent; and she chose it as her burial site in the O'Neill family cemetery. No buildings are extant upon the site, although subsidiary structures survive.

The Bonniebrook Homestead was the Ozark home of Rose O'Neill. Here she created the illustrations and artworks that made her famous and the highest paid female illustrator in the world. Rose O'Neill, her mother, sisters Callista and Lee, and her brothers James and John Hugh are buried in the family cemetery on the property. Bonniebrook is also a memorial to the homestead spirit of hearty pioneers like Rose's father, who moved his family from Nebraska in 1893 and settled on the site, which they named the "tangle" because of the dense forests that surrounded their tiny clearing. With a spring for water and a two-room "dog-trot" log house for shelter, they began a residence in the Ozarks that lasted for the rest of their lives. Daughter Rose had been sent to New York to study in a convent, but was taken by the natural beauty of the area when she first saw Bonniebrook in 1984, and she desired to remain and work there. From Bonniebrook, she launched her career as an illustrator, sending her drawings to New York publishers wrapped around smoothed sticks of wood carved by her brother John Hugh. As she grew wealthy, she financed the building of the 14-room mansion which became her Ozarks home. In 1909 the Kewpie dolls were created at Bonniebrook, coming to Rose O'Neill in a dream; and in 1914 were the best-selling toys in America, making Rose O'Neil a millionaire. She had a villa on the Isle of Capri, a townhouse studio on Washington Square in New York City (she was the original ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE of Ziegfield Follies fame), and a stucco castle in Westport, Connecticut, but she loved her home at Bonniebrook the best. She made many improvements, so Bonniebrook had the first indoor bathroom in Taney County; and later had steam heat, electricity, and a telephone. In 1936, Rose O'Neill moved back to Bonniebrook for good, and suffered hard financial times. With Rose O'Neill's death in 1944, and her sister Callista's death in 1946, her brother Clarance was left alone to care for the house. It burned down in January, 1947.

– National Register Nomination

The site is now managed by the Bonniebrook Historical Society. The mansion has been reconstructed the site. There is also a gift shop, museum and many trails around the old homestead. The grave of Rose O'Neill is located not far from the mansion. Admission is charged to the home and grounds.

Street address: 485 Rose O'Neill Rd. Walnut Shade, Missouri County / Borough / Parish: Taney Year listed: 1997 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Person Periods of significance: 1875-1899; 1900-1924; 1925-1949 Historic function: Domestic, Funerary Current function: Funerary, Landscape, recreation and culture Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.