Mary Morgan has been collecting the dolls since she was a child. The small building located at 909 E. Broadway has more than 3,200 dolls. The collection consists of dolls made by Dream World, Gund, Steiff, Effanbee, Madame Alexander and Ideal. She says the menagerie represents 40 years of collecting.
"I've got dolls from all over the country. From France, United States, Germany, Puerto Rico, Brazil," she said. "I have sections of dolls in their country's native dress."
She transformed a house owned by her mother-in-law into the museum. She said that it was their dream to open the house together, however Mary's mother-in-law died before she could see the dream become a reality.
Mary's husband Don helped build all the shelves and even some of the cases that the dolls are housed in.
"My mother-in-law was bedridden for 15 years," she said. "We were going to do this together. She started the collection, and then she got sick. I kept it going by buying more dolls."
Morgan's collection consists of the first Barbie dolls created and the ever-popular Cabbage Patch Kids. She has a section of Mattel dolls, Chatty Cathy's, Baby Giggle's, Tiny Tears, Dennis the Menace characters, Flintstone characters, Campbell Kids, Snoopy characters, Shirley Temple's, and multicultural dolls, among others. There is a collection of president's wives ranging from Martha Washington to Jacqueline Kennedy, dressed in the gowns they wore to their husband's inaugural ball.
She even has a collection of dolls created by Ann Capshaw, who was a local Altus resident.
All of the dolls were previously in storage. Morgan has replaced doll clothing, by creating outfits made from her own vision. The collection of dolls was bought from all over the world. Some even came from unsuspecting garage sellers, who did not know what treasures they were giving away for 50 cents or a dollar.
"I bought a Humble doll at a garage sale 40 years ago for about 50 cents," Morgan said. "It was probably worth about 40 or 50 dollars back then, but now it's worth 10 times that."
In the middle of two separate rooms are doll houses. One is of Cape Cod and the other of Tara from the movie "Gone With the Wind." Of course she has Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara placed strategically on the shelf in the room with Tara. In the dollhouse she has placed antique doll furniture and curtains.
"All the furniture in the house are museum pieces," Morgan said. "I made the curtains and hemmed them and everything. "
The Morgan Doll Museum is to be a place where a child's imagination can grow. Due to the fragile condition of the dolls, only children 6 and older will be allowed to roam the house freely because she says that she feels that they can "appreciate the dolls more." Children under 6 may visit the museum, but she wants parents to make sure they watch them because of the rare dolls.
"I want children that understand the dolls," Morgan said. "A little girl 6 or 7 will understand (the significance of the dolls), but anybody below that may not understand."
The Morgan Doll Museum will be open to the public. She has made the building handicapped accessible. She wants to find a place on the Oklahoma tourism map.
Morgan says she will be accepting monetary donations from people who want to view the museum. The donations will go to the upkeep of the museum and help to pay costs on the building. Those interested in viewing the museum, contact Mary Morgan at 482-2387.
But with more than 3,000 dolls, there is one more she would love to add.
"I want a Christopher Robin," she said. "I've got one but I want him in his original clothing,"
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