Bonniebrook Home & Museum

The O’Neill family established their homestead in 1893 and their daughter, Rose, quickly fell in love with the property. She named it Bonniebrook as it shared the name of a stream that ran by the original cabin that the family lived in years prior. Rose spent many years at this place drawing art, writing poetry and novels, and she enjoyed tremendous success in selling them to leading magazines and book publishers. Rose created her Kewpie character in 1909 and became a cartoonist writing many stories involving the character. She later acquired an apartment in New York City, a home for herself in Connecticut, and another home in Italy, but said that Bonniebrook will always be her true home.

The original homestead burned down in 1947 and the Bonniebrook Historical Society began efforts to build a reconstruction of that home in 1975. The project was not completed until 1993. The home that now holds the museum is an exact replica of the 14-room building and appears much as it would when the O’Neill family moved into the house. Inside the reconstructed home, visitors can find many pieces of art made by Rose O’Neill that were once exhibited in France in the Bonniebrook Art Gallery. Many antique dolls of Rose’s Kewpie cartoon character can also be bought at the gift shop. The museum also offers a small research library with items related to the history of the home and Rose O’Neill's career. Rose was buried on the property after her death in 1944.

“Rose O’Neill and the Museum at Bonniebrook”, The Official Site of Rose O’Neill and Bonniebrook. Accessed May 11th 2021. http://roseoneill.org/mobile/mainpage_copy.html.

“Bonniebrook Historical Society-Rose O’Neill’s Fine Art Gallery, Museum, and Homestead”, Explore Branson. Accessed May 11th 2021. https://www.explorebranson.com/profile/bonniebrook-historical-society-rose-oneills-fine-art-gallery-museum-homestead/120.