Western History Association 62nd Annual Conference

“Palace of Wonders:” Dime Museums in the American Midwest, 1880-1920

• In Event: Entertainment in the Midwest, 1880-1920

Abstract

Charles E. Kohl and George Middleton began a dime museum circuit in 1880 that was
popular through the early twentieth century. This paper will explore the rise of Kohl and
Middleton’s Dime Museum circuit in the American Midwest. Kohl and Middleton had previous
experience in showbusiness before embarking on their successful ventures.
Located in urban spaces, dime museums often attracted crowds who desired to see acts
from across the West and across the world. Dime Museum entry fees was often ten cents, so a
wide audience from working-class to upper-class patrons had access to entertainment.
This paper will be looking at the Kohl and Middleton dime museum circuit; there were
other circuits operating across the Midwest, but they are outside the scope of this presentation.
This presentation will build on the work of Andrea Stulman Dennett’s Weird and Wonderful:
The Dime Museum in America (1997) about dime museums.

Author

• Kaitlyn Weldon, Independent Scholar & Adjunct Professor