dumont museum

We stopped by to see Lyle's Oilver tractor display, but were captivated by his skill at putting together miniature train displays. They are lit up and he is not finished with them yet. It is amazing and you will stand there with your mouth open and your eyes opened wide as you try to see everything in the displays. A MUST see if you are in the area! Lyle and his wife Helen are super nice. You must call for an appointment during off season.

I had heard that this museum had a beautiful collection of restored Oliver Tractors, but I had no idea all of the other neat collections this museum had. When we walked in the door, we immediately saw this impressive (and huge, working) Lionel Tractor display. It was so intricate! You could walk completely around the display and see the individual working pieces (like a hunter trying to shoot a fox that scurries back into a cave & a couple of guys sawing a huge log.) Once we were done looking in the lobby, we paid a small entrance fee to get in to the main part of the museum. There were a couple of different wings of the museum, one housing a large Oliver tractor collection, and along the walls on shelves were more types of pedal tractors and cars than you can imagine. There were all different kinds of antique items hanging from the ceilings as well as a bike collection, Another wing of the museum housed a huge collection of Roy Rogers memorabilia, especially toys. In this wing was also a huge collection of Barbie Dolls and many other dolls. Almost everything we saw in the cases was mint in box condition. Another wing of the museum had more working Lionel displays. One with a working carnival and Ringling Bros. circus. You could easily spend a couple of hours looking at all of the neat toys and displays. My husband and I talked with the owners of the museum about their collections. They were super nice people! There is a sign in the museum stating that the museum is non-profit and all of the admission fees and donations go right back into the museum. This museum was off the beaten path, but definitely worth the drive through the country.