The Children’s Toy and Doll Museum is seen at 206 Gilman Ave. in Marietta. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

MARIETTA — The Children’s Doll and Toy Museum in Marietta is a colorful nonprofit museum focused on preserving the history of dolls and toys from around the world.

They opened for the 2025 season on May 3.

The museum’s location was built in 1889 and boasts nine rooms filled with dolls, toys and dollhouses. Multiple areas of the museum are themed, such as the Christmas Transportation room and Circus room on the second floor. Some of the doll and dollhouse exhibits are on loan to the museum and only displayed for a limited time, but all of the others were donated by members of the community and visitors who took an interest in the museum.

The museum is run entirely by volunteers, six of whom are former educators who want to continue their teaching career through their efforts there. While the museum’s season only lasts from May to October, the volunteers begin their work in February.

Vice President Diane Pfile and board members Kathy Eckert, Teresa Spencer and Marilyn Potash create many of the museum’s displays.

A plaque at the front of the Children’s Toy and Doll Museum in Marietta lists organizations that have volunteered and donated to the museum. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

Eckert and Spencer use their backgrounds in history and research to identify the dolls, as well as their materials and the subjects they represent. Potash uses her artistic talent to help design and curate the displays, and Pfile makes the displays’ signs, takes care of the dolls’ costumes and updates the museum’s social media pages

“It’s a team effort,” said Pfile. “Without them, I would have a difficult time putting together the signage.”

President Kim Reese manages and organizes the exhibits and plans future goals and activities for the museum. Board member Mabry O’Donnell takes care of communications, informing the public about the history of the items featured and upcoming events and fundraisers.

“We’re a lovely group of people with diverse skills that can come together for one big purpose,” O’Donnell said.

Many of the exhibits were put together as ensembles of dolls representing specific historical eras and regions. For example, the second floor of the museum features a giant glass case of dolls in cultural dress from countries around the globe, as well as a presidential-themed room with dolls dressed as each of the first ladies. Downstairs, there is an exhibit showcasing fashions from members of the British royal family, along with a display of dolls wearing many different styles of wedding dresses from the past two centuries.

One of the Children’s Toy and Doll Museum’s newest displays includes dolls fashioned after the characters from “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

Some new additions to the museum this season include a display of dolls fashioned after characters from the book “Little Women” and an exhibit on World War II fighter planes, illustrated with several models. The museum also hosts dolls from famous designers such as Madame Alexander.

“You get to see examples of places in history, of people in history. Physically viewing what you’ve studied, I think that’s what a museum is all about,” O’Donnell said. “All of us on the board are very excited about what’s happening here.”

While the museum is full of donated and loaned dolls and toys, they are open to taking in more donations from the community. The museum board votes at their monthly meetings to accept items offered to the museum.

The late Sally Hille founded the museum in 1989 through the Campus Martius Museum, and it was originally housed in two railroad cars in Harmar Village, which are still visible from the left side of the museum. An avid collector of toys, dolls and dollhouses, Hille was a radio host at WBRJ-AM Marietta and WMOA-AM Marietta.

In the 1970s, Hille began a radio series through WMOA-AM that explained the processes of her “talking dollhouse,” which is still in the museum to this day. This dollhouse had electronic components that explain the purposes of each room of the house, as well as its occupants and objects inside. She eventually retired as director emeritus of the Toy and Doll Museum in 1996, and the museum was moved to Gilman Avenue the same year.

Several displays at the Children’s Toy and Doll Museum are fashioned after real buildings in the Mid-Ohio Valley, such as Wendelken and Co., a store in Marietta that has since shut down. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

In front of the museum is a sign celebrating multiple businesses and organizations in the Mid-Ohio Valley that volunteered or donated to the museum. For example, American Flags and Poles donated the flags and large bunting that decorates the front of the museum, and the Marietta College Baseball Team sent nine of their players and a coach to carry large glass display shelves into the museum.

“People have been so incredibly helpful,” O’Donnell said. “How would it be possible without them?”

The Children’s Toy and Doll Museum is seeking volunteers to help out once a month by greeting visitors and giving tours. They are also in need of financial donations, a large model plane to replace the broken one in the Christmas Transportation room and volunteers to repair the siding on the outside of the museum.

The museum is open to the public from 1-4 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday until the end of October. Private tours during the week can be scheduled by calling 740-373-5900.

Admission is $2 for children and $5 for adults or $10 for an immediate family. When visitors attend the museum at any point of the year, they can receive free Children’s Toy and Doll Museum commemorative ornaments.

Some dollhouses at the Children’s Doll and Toy Museum are fashioned after famous nursery rhymes and children’s stories. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

During visits by riverboats like the American Melody to Marietta this summer, the museum will be open to the public with admission at $2 for adults, $2 for children, and $10 for immediate family members.

The Children’s Toy and Doll Museum is located at 206 Gilman Avenue in Marietta. To learn more about the museum, you can visit their website at ToyandDoll.org and their Facebook and Instagram pages.

This exhibit features the 2024 Children’s Doll and Toy Museum board members as paper dolls. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

The Children’s Toy and Doll Museum is often visited by young children, and there is an interactive play room on the first floor for them to enjoy as they look at the displays. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

A recently added exhibit at the Children’s Toy and Doll Museum features dolls made by doll carver Maynard Arnett. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

This small Children’s Toy and Doll Museum exhibit, named “Marietta’s First Law Office,” was made by Richard Hill from Marietta. It features a lawyer’s office on the top floor and a bar on the bottom floor. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

“Cook’s Manor” is a 12-room Victorian dollhouse created by Sam and Dori Cook. (Photo by Matty Lamp)