Rose O'Neill and Bonniebrook Museum

Rose O'Neill and Bonniebrook Museum Welcome to Bonniebrook Museum, Gallery and home of artist Rose O'Neill.

Bonniebrook is maintained and operated by the Bonniebrook Historical Society which is a not for profit 501 (c) 3 corporation and is run entirely by volunteers. 485 Rose O'Neill Rd., We will be open from the beginning of April to the end of October, for more info visit our website, www.roseoneill.org

This vibrant bloom is the bold yet delicate Crocosmia. Putting on a crimson display right now at Bonniebrook, this love...
07/05/2021

This vibrant bloom is the bold yet delicate Crocosmia. Putting on a crimson display right now at Bonniebrook, this lovely flower opens it trumpet shaped blooms one by one from bottom to top which are highlighted by lush sword-like foliage. A member of the gladiolus family, bulbs/corms planted in spring will yield summer flowers that will return year after year. The plant name comes from the Greek words Krokos (meaning saffron) and osme (meaning scent) because when the dried blooms are put in warm water they put forth the smell of saffron. The brilliant Crocosmia symbolizes confidence, feelings of love and deepest emotions. A favorite of pollinators, hummingbirds love visiting these blooms. Come to Bonniebrook and enjoy the vivid color display of this beautiful plant and all the other blooms that grace the gardens designed and maintained by the Master Gardeners of the Ozarks. You won't be disappointed!

Nigella damascena also known as Love in a Mist --a romantic name for a delicate and beautiful flower in the buttercup fa...
06/17/2021

Nigella damascena also known as Love in a Mist --a romantic name for a delicate and beautiful flower in the buttercup family. At Bonniebrook it's blooming right now in all its filigree splendor. A hardy annual that easily reseeds, it's a lovely addition to any garden with its azure blue flower surrounded by lacy green bracts. A favorite in English cottage gardens, Love in a Mist symbolizes harmony, love and the bonds that bind people together. Certainly a sentiment that would have captured Rose O'Neill's imagination. Now is the perfect time to come to Bonniebrook and see it in all its glory, as well as all the beautiful plantings in our gardens designed and maintained by the Master Gardeners of the Ozarks. A perfect way to spend a sunny day. Information provided by: Gloria Cowper-Jen, Master Gardeners of the Ozarks.

06/11/2021

Special Thanks to all those who signed up for the Bonniebrook Basket Class! The class is now Full.

We look forward to future classes at Bonniebrook so if you missed this one, stay tuned and we will announce future basket classes!!

Michele Werther is an excellent teacher of basket weaving!!

With Huge Appreciation for the continuing interest in special events at Rose O'Neill & Bonniebrook Museum!!

Spend a lovely day at Bonniebrook and learn how to weave a beautiful basket! At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 23rd, Michel...
06/10/2021

Spend a lovely day at Bonniebrook and learn how to weave a beautiful basket! At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 23rd, Michele Werther will lead a class in making this multi colored, leather handled basket woven with rattan. Take home a lovely basket you created in a wonderful setting. The cost of the class is $50 which includes all basket materials and lunch. If you would like to attend please reply to the email address [email protected]. Just let us know how many will be attending. It's a perfect time to get crafty and enjoy the gardens and natural beauty Bonniebrook has to offer.

Quotes From Those Who Knew Rose O’NeillIn today’s time, the frequent question is, “What was Rose O’Neill really like?” ...
04/13/2021

Quotes From Those Who Knew Rose O’Neill
In today’s time, the frequent question is, “What was Rose O’Neill really like?” From a distance, without knowledge of documented published accounts from those who knew Rose personally, some might judge her based only on some of her unusual art and incorrect information.
This uniformed judgement could also possibly be based on her unusual choice of clothing, her variety of art, her participation in the suffrage movement and women’s activism and more…..
So, it is with great importance that we share some of the published and documented quotes about our Rose Cecil O’Neill from those who personally knew her.
Emily Newell Blair – Bridging Two Eras The Autobiography of Emily Newell Blair. “In early December 1913, Emily Newell Blair along with two others, William Hamby and Alice Mary visited Rose O’Neill at Bonniebrook.” “Miles we paddled down a river, marched up hills and down dales, to make a call upon her. We meant to stay only an hour. We remained two days! And what a visit.” “All mediums of expression seemed open to her, and beaty flowed out through them, some beauty that was in herself. A free soul, she seemed to me to be, untrammeled by the trappings, physical, mental, social, in which everyone I had known was bound. Suddenly I found myself talking to her as I had to no one else, and wishes thoughts, hopes I did not know I had came speaking out of me. Just what she poured into me or drew out of me I do not know. But I was never afterward quite the conformist I had been.”
Pearl Spurlock, Branson Missouri Shepherd of the Hills, Guide. Over The Old Ozark Trails in the Shepherd of the Hills Country, 1942. “Rose is Irish through and through, and a lot of us Missourians have long been convinced there is not a Colleen sweeter anywhere from Bear Creek to the River Shannon.”
Genevieve and Miriam Lynch – Were once owners of Marvel Cave that is now located in Silver Dollar City near Branson, Missouri. The Lynch sisters were good friends with Rose and her mother Meemie who would frequently visit the Lynch Sisters. They shared a love of books, flowers etc. The Lynch sisters were interviewed by the Chicago Daily Tribune July 9, 1944 just a few months after the death of Rose O’Neill. “Fresh from the Hills Ozark Cave Women” written by Marge of Sunrise Mountain Farm includes much information about this friendship and was published by the Chicago Daily Tribune. After touring the cave, the Lynch Sisters shared a dinner with the reporter. “And then the sisters brought out the treasures they held most dear. Rare English china owned by their mother and mementoes of the late Rose O’Neill, the inventor of the Kewpie doll. Bonniebrook, the home of Rose O’Neill, is near the home of the Lynch sisters, and they were friends for many years. Postal cards and letters written in the characterful hand of Miss O’Neill, dozens of newspaper clippings, and a framed photograph of the famous artist-sculptor are kept with reverent care in a big glass case at the Lynch home. This devotion to Miss O’Neill is characteristic of the love which everyone in the hills had for the Kewpie doll lady. She was a wonderful person, generous, warm-hearted, kindly and sincere they say, and people of all classes felt a sense of personal loss at her death a few months ago.”
Laura Chandler Eiserman- Her parents, Bertha & Jesse Chandler, worked for the O’Neills and lived at Bonniebrook. Laura Chandler married Bethel Eiserman and they had a daughter named Rose Eiserman (after Rose O’Neill) who later became Rose Merritt. In later years, Rose Merritt frequently stayed at Bonniebrook as she also assisted O’Neill with the typing of an autobiography. In later years, Rose Merritt became very active in the International Rose O’Neill Club as she was very supportive of their mission of celebrating the life and works of Rose O’Neill. She also enjoyed sharing her family’s personal connection and continuing love of Rose O’Neill.
Titans and Kewpies The Life and Art of Rose O’Neill by Ralph Alan McCanse (Includes quotes from the following individuals who knew Rose O’Neill):
Leonora Speyer- (American poet and violinist) “I remember Rose as a perfume, a gay incense! -The most gifted woman I have ever known, was Rose…No one can forget her.”
Samuel Hopkins Adams – (Writer and Investigative journalist) “There was in her a quality beyond beauty. She was the most radiant personality that I have ever known. Add to that a quick and high intelligence and a lambent wit, and it all adds up to a personality unparalleled in my experience. She could be the most charming companion in the world.”
Talbot Faulkner Hamlin – (Architectural Historian, writer & educator) “I think that one thing (to) emphasize is Rose’s extraordinary kindness and the fact that she actually saved from the gutter numbers of potentially valuable artists and musicians, and writers. She fed them, she gave them her affection, she gave them a reason for living and working.”
Inez Haynes Irwin (Mrs Will Irwin) – (Born in Kansas City Missouri and attended Rockhurst College. Inez and her husband Will were friends with Rose) “She was so beautiful that she was surprising as a rainbow, a clap of thunder, a sudden bird-song in a desert.”

04/13/2021

Yes, we are open Wednesday-Saturday, 10:00a.m.-4:00p.m. If you are wanting to take the tour, the last tour for the day starts at 2:00 p.m. Looking forward to being open until October 31, 2021.

Celebrating Rose O'Neill During Women's History Month!! Rose O'Neill provided her art for suffrage posters (see attached...
03/05/2021

Celebrating Rose O'Neill During Women's History Month!!

Rose O'Neill provided her art for suffrage posters (see attached) photo, for postcards, and newspaper articles about the suffrage movement. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 24, 1915, published this O'Neill suffrage poster with the editor's comments below the photo. 'Rose O'Neill whose national fame as as an artist reflects credit upon Missouri."
Our Bonniebrook Fine Art Gallery has an O'Neill suffrage exhibit that features this poster along with many others. A new addition to this exhibit is a large poster of Rose O'Neill marching in the 1917 New York City parade. Rose was selected by the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) to represent women artists and illustrators in this parade. This poster was exhibited at the Brandywine Museum in Pennsylvania and donated to Bonniebrook by David O'Neill (Rose O'Neill's nephew.) We open for the season on April 1st. Hours are Wednesday-Saturday 10:00am-4:00p.m.

The gardens are looking beautiful at Bonniebrook Homestead! Special thanks to all the Master Gardeners who have donated...
10/13/2020

The gardens are looking beautiful at Bonniebrook Homestead! Special thanks to all the Master Gardeners who have donated plants and volunteered to regularly make improvements to
our gardens! Now is the perfect time to visit as the leaves are turning golden and the gardens are thriving!! We close for the season on October 31. Days and hours open are Wed-Sat 10:00a.m.-4:00pm.

Saturday, September 12, 2020 – 2:00 pmRose O’Neill: From Poverty to World-Renowned Artist, Suffragist & Activist by Susa...
08/28/2020

Saturday, September 12, 2020 – 2:00 pm
Rose O’Neill: From Poverty to World-Renowned Artist, Suffragist & Activist by Susan Scott, President of Bonniebrook Historical Society

You can join us in person at the Historic Fox Theatre or virtually as Susan Scott shares Rose O’Neill’s courageous fight for women’s rights and suffrage. This presentation will be through Zoom if you choose virtual. Free to members, $10.00 for non-members. Reserve your ticket here. This event is coordinated by the Springfield, Missouri History Museum on the Square. If planning on attending the Zoom presentation or reserving tickets to attend at the Fox Theatre, you can log onto historymuseumonthesquare.org to sign up.

We look forward to presenting some of the little known historically documented challenges and success of Rose O'Neill's participation, as an activist, in the women's movements that included suffrage and More! The Historic Fox Theatre is very nice and large that will accommodate social distancing!

Making History at BonniebrookAnnouncing an exciting new chapter in the history of Bonniebrook! On June 19, 2020, the Bon...
07/14/2020

Making History at Bonniebrook
Announcing an exciting new chapter in the history of Bonniebrook!
On June 19, 2020, the Bonniebrook Historical Society purchased from Bonniebrook, L.L.C. (which is owned by the family of Clay and Jean Cantwell) a tract of land that will open up new, exciting opportunities for BHS. The 15.7 acres of land includes the tour home, visitor center, cemetery area including it’s access bridge and walking trails, root cellar, spring, parking lot, garage, gardens, two walking bridges over the spring (in the same location as the O’Neill’s original bridges) and several hiking trails on the east side of the spring. The purchase agreement was made with favorable terms and conditions for BHS, including a low annual interest payment and deferred principal payment in 15 years. The surrounding 168 acres remain under ownership of Bonniebrook, L.L.C.

In 1894, Rose O’Neill was nineteen when she first visited this homestead. She said, “My extravagant heart was tangled in it for good.” Bonniebrook is a special place that shares an important history of her accomplishments made while living at Bonniebrook. Important O’Neill art, writing, and creation of her Kewpie character all happened at Bonniebrook!! BHS is honored to now own this tract of historic Bonniebrook land.

Special thanks to our Master Gardeners of the Ozarks volunteers who have diligently sculpted our Bonniebrook Gardens. They studied Rose O'Neill's journals and have re-created the gardens to reflect the same location of Meemie's Rose Garden (Rose's mother's name was Meemie) and other shrubs and flowering plants that Rose mentions in her journals. Enjoy these photos of our Bonniebrook Gardens.

Our volunteers also repaired and painted the front porch of the Bonniebrook Tour Home! See photo!

Happy Birthday to Rose O'Neill. She was born 6/25/1874 and we continue to celebrate her lifetime of achievements that i...
06/25/2020

Happy Birthday to Rose O'Neill. She was born 6/25/1874 and we continue to celebrate her lifetime of achievements that included contributions of art, writings, poetry, activism for women including participating in the suffrage movements, and creating her loving character, Kewpie, that continues to warm the hearts of many..... !!

During this National Nurses Month, we recognize the many contributions and sacrifices of nurses during wars and pandemic...
05/12/2020

During this National Nurses Month, we recognize the many contributions and sacrifices of nurses during wars and pandemics such as the COVID-19 virus.
“In the early years of World War I, there was a great need for medical support for wounded Allied soldiers. Although America was not yet directly involved in the conflict, American Red Cross nurses volunteered to go overseas to treat wounded soldiers and provide person-to-person proof of America’ willingness to support its allies.”
By spring 1918, the U.S. Army had stationed nearly one million men in France. Each day, 10,000 more arrived. With them came an Army medical corps to care for them. With only 403 nurses in the Army Nurse Corps when the war began, the Surgeon General called for volunteers.
In addition, during the latter part of World War I, the American Red Cross provided medical services for military personnel. 23,800 nurses volunteered for service.
The American Red Cross sent out an urgent request for knitted goods such as socks, sweaters, etc. for American soldiers. By mid-1918, the need for socks was desperate, and each Red Cross chapter in the U.S. was expected to produce 55,000 socks every three months. The Red Cross posters included “Our Boys Need Sox – Knit Your Bit.” The soldiers were exposed to wet and cold conditions in the trenches. Their boots were apparently minimally water repellant!
The October,1918 issue of Good Housekeeping included “The Kewpies Prepare for Winter.” In this story, Rose O’Neill enlisted the assistance of her Kewpies to knit socks and sweaters for the soldiers. The last frame of the story has the Kewpies delivering their wagon load of socks and sweaters to the Red Cross nurse.
In late 1918, an influenza pandemic hit the United States and most of the rest of the world. It claimed an estimated 22 million lives worldwide and U.S. deaths were believed to reach 500,000. The Red Cross worked as an active auxiliary of the U.S. Public Health Service providing nurses and motor corps members to assist the sick and dying until the pandemic died out in 1919.
(Information taken from the American Red Cross article “World War I and the American Red Cross.” And “From the Archives – Red Cross Nurses in World War I.”)
THANK YOU NURSES!!

Address

485 Rose ONeil Road
Walnut Shade, MO
65771

Opening Hours

Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+14175611509

Website

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Bonniebrook Historical Society

Bonniebrook Homestead is located in the beautiful Missouri Ozarks. In 1893, the O’Neill family homesteaded 40 acres. In 1894, Rose O’Neill arrived from New York where she had been selling her illustrations. Rose named the homestead Bonniebrook and frequently proclaimed, “Bonniebrook is my favorite place on earth. Here I have done my best work.

Bonniebrook Historical Society was formed in 1975. Immediate plans began to re-build the family mansion that had totally burned in 1947. The mansion has now been re-built and tours reveal the definite inspiration that surrounded Rose O’Neill as she wrote poetry, short stories, novels, and produced thousands of illustrations from her art studio at the top of the trees. She garnered many accomplishments at Bonniebrook but the most long-lasting and globally celebrated is the Kewpie character that she created to send a message of goodwill.

The Bonniebrook site also includes a Visitor Center that contains a gift shop, museum, fine art gallery, research library, and multi-purpose room for special events and tour groups. Tour groups, with reservations, are welcomed.

Bonniebrook is operated with an all volunteer staff. There are no paid employees. Our volunteers are devoted to the importance of sharing Rose O’Neill’s story that is important for students, professors, women’s history researchers, gardeners (the O’Neill’s loved gardens and the Master Gardener’s of the Ozarks volunteers have re-created and enhanced the Bonniebrook gardens and landscape), tourists, and MORE! There is something of interest at Bonniebrook for all ages.