The homestead shares the story of an early icon
BRANSON, MO. – Nine miles north of Branson, Mo., is “one of the best-hidden gems in the Ozarks,” said Connie Pritchard, president of the Bonniebrook Historical Society.
The historic Bonniebrook Homestead includes a museum, a fine art gallery, a Kewpie museum, a gift shop, a reconstructed home and gardens, the family cemetery, and walking trails.
Bonniebrook was home to Rose O’Neill, the creator of the Kewpie doll. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., Rose moved to Nebraska when she was 4. As a young girl, her family was impoverished and were evicted time and time again. Rose went to New York City in 1893 from Omaha, Neb.
“The family was about to be evicted again in Nebraska. They had read where Missouri was giving away 160 acres to homestead. So, they ended up on 160 acres and there was an old abandoned log cabin. It took Rose about a year to get here. When she came, Rose fell in love with the layout of the land, which includes a spring-fed little brook. She is the one who named it Bonniebrook. They were of Irish descent.”
Rose began drawing at an early age. Her mother was a schoolteacher and taught piano. Her father was a Civil War veteran and loved books. He tried to sell books but was not successful.
“His love for books subjected Rose to Shakespeare at a very young age, and also Greek mythology,” Connie explained. “You can see some of the Greek mythology coming out in some of her paintings. They are completely opposite of the sweet little Kewpies.”
At age 12, Rose won a prize for a children’s contest.
“When she went to get the prize, she walked in and they said, ‘We don’t think you really drew this. We think you traced it and we’ve been trying to figure out what book you were looking at.’ She actually had to sketch something in front of them before they would give her the $5 gold piece for the winner,” Connie said.
Her first cartoon strip hit in 1896, and she won an award, but it was not about Kewpie.
“It was a man’s world, and she was the first woman illustrator hired at Puck in 1897, I believe,” Connie stated. “She could only sign ‘O’Neill.’ She couldn’t sign ‘R’ or anything. She had to hide her identity. She never used any name but O’Neill.”
Rose is probably most famous for her creation of the Kewpie doll.
“She did a lot of things in her life, but I believe the Kewpie doll stands out. When you mention a Kewpie doll, it is recognized by a lot of people,” Connie said.
Connie explained the way the story goes, Rose had lost a younger brother when he was around 2 years old. She was just a young teen, and the death greatly affected her.
“She had bad dreams about that. Rose was visiting Bonniebrook in 1909, and had one of those dreams. In that dream these little characters come to her to cheer her up. When she woke up she started sketching and that’s the first time Kewpies were sketched.”
Kewpies soon started appearing in Woman’s Home Companion magazine and Rose was writing little stories about them.
“Those stories were almost like a soap opera. She would leave a cliffhanger and women couldn’t wait to get their next month’s magazine to find out what had happened to the Kewpies. It was instantly successful,” Connie explained.
Kewpies first appeared in print in 1910. In 1912, Rose chose a German doll manufacturer to mass-produce Kewpie dolls. The dolls were in all sizes, made of fine bisque porcelain. The very first ones were naked. More 50 million Kewpies have been sold world-wide.
At Bonniebrook, visitors can see a vast array of Kewpies through the generations, from original up to vintage, but there was more to Rose O’Neill than just Kewpie. On display at Bonniebrook is her original art. The advertising side of Rose is also on display with her commercial illustrations for Jell-O, Rock Isle Railroad, ice creams and Oxydol washing powders.
“If there was something for sale in 1905, she probably drew an illustration for that for an ad in either a newspaper or magazine,” Connie said.
In 1944, Rose had Kewpie related comic strips. She also wrote five novels about the lovable Kewpies.
Bonniebrook attracts several visitors each year.
“We’ve seen a resurgence with younger people, which we are excited about because the generation that knew and loved the Kewpies are passing away,” Connie said.
She believes the resurgence is due to Rose being inducted into Wil Eisner’s Comic Con Hall of Fame in 2022 for being the first female cartoonist.
Comic Con was held in Springfield, Mo., in February.
“I contacted the promoter, since Rose was inducted, and we were blessed with a table there. A lot of people knew about the Kewpie doll, but not about Rose,” Connie said.
In 2019, Rose was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, and in 2023, she was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
“She is in the Hall of Fame for creating the Kewpie, but the Kewpie isn’t,” Connie mused.
Rose had a homes in West Port, Conn., a villa on the Isle of Capri and on Washington Square. Then she had Bonniebrook. Rose loved Bonniebrook and sent money so her family could build a suitable home, instead of the abandoned log cabin.
“Rose stated that she had done some of her best work while she was here,” Connie said.
During the Women’s Suffrage movement Rose talked about how she hated corsets and such. In the Ozarks she was free to be herself and dress the way she wanted. Rose painted her toenails and smoked Chesterfield cigarettes.
“People heard about these wild parties out here on the creek. So she was kind of shunned by some of the Branson people, but the hill people thought she was great and she treated them just like family,” Connie said. “In the 1920s, Rose O’Neill was the highest paid illustrator world-wide. When she retired to Bonniebrook, she was penniless in 1937.”
Rose spent her remaining years at Bonniebrook and passed away in Springfield, Mo., in April 1944. She is buried in the cemetery at Bonniebrook. Her nephew moved almost all of her original artwork to Springfield. That very fortunate, because in January 1947, the house at Bonniebrook burned; nothing was saved.
The Historical Society re-built the house and opened the doors in 1994. Family has donated some original pieces that were in the old house.
Bonniebrook is open from April to October: Wednesday through Saturday. It will close for the season on the last Saturday of October, with plans to reopen in 2025.
