Marker Erected by: Walt Disney Heritage Museum.
Location of Marker: Broadway St. & Missouri Ave. (MO-5), Marceline.
Marker Text:
Disney Home
A Private Residence
The Disney family moved into this home in 1906.
"I went with my family to live in Marceline when I was four years old...I clearly remember the day we arrived there on the train. A Mr. Coffman met us in his wagon and we rode out to our house in the country just outside the city limits. I believe it was called the Crane Farm. My first impression of it was that it had a beautiful front yard."
Walt Disney
It was on the side of this house that Walt Disney painted with black pitch talking his sister into adding big zigzags by promising it would come right off. Walt remembered, "I wasn't thanked by the family for my efforts."
Some History of the place:
In 1906 the Disney family moved from Chicago to a 45 acre farm outside of Marceline. While helping his father with farming chores, 5 year old Walt discovered the outdoors, to be a tremendous source of adventure. One pig allowed the youngster to ride it like a horse, a trick that both father and son enjoyed showing others.
Walt lived in Marceline for only 4 years, but the town left a permanent mark on the artist and his creative empire. He spoke fondly of Marceline and the state. "I feel that my roots are in the great state of Missouri and that I am a Missourian in every sense of the word....The days I spent on the farm in Marceline inculcated in me the true spirit of Missouri, which means a mixture of 'mule-ishness', tolerance, independence." The town likewise adored Disney and, during his lifetime, named a school and the city park in his honor.
"My father remembered nothing of Chicago and forgot nothing of Marceline," recalled daughter Diane Disney Miller. Childhood tales told by her father could vividly reconstruct the 2-story brick house and storefronts lining Kansas Avenue in Marceline that later served as the model for Main Street in Disneyland. He also told her about his fascination with wild animals who appeared to have human personality traits.
Moving to Kansas City in 1910, Disney spent the next 13 years working subsistence jobs and drawing. In 1923, shortly before he left for California with $40 in his pocket, he developed the initial sketches of the character that would spread his name worldwide. Several mice infested Disney's one-room studio in Kansas City. He drew their expressions and postures as they begged for food and scampered around the room. By 1928, Mickey Mouse had emerged from those sketches.
Disney revisited Marceline twice as an adult: in 1956, when Walt Disney Municipal Park was dedicated, and 4 years later to celebrate the dedication of Walt Disney Elementary School. Also in 1956, the former Missourian arranged for The Great Locomotive Chase to premiere in Marceline. Following his death, the U.S. Postal Service commemorated Disney's life with a 6cent stamp featuring his likeness. Marceline naturally celebrated the 1968 event, and his widow, brother, and two daughters attended the festivities in the place where personalities of animals first enchanted Walt Disney.
This history provided by Ann Rogers.