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Margaret Woodbury Strong

The Strong National Museum of Play
“I will take anything

I don’t have to feed.”

– Margaret Woodbury Strong

very year since 1998, The Strong launched herself wholly into the pursuit of adding to her existing
National Museum of Play in collections and by 1969 had amassed more than 27,000 dolls (up from
Margaret Woodbury Strong (1897-1969) ERochester, NY inducts beloved 600 in 1960), 500 dollhouses, and a seemingly endless number of
photograph from December, 1919. toys from our past into its Toy Hall of middle-class American household objects spread over more than 50
Fame. Like other Hall of Fame categories. The vast majority of her collections, however, related in
museums, making the list is the pinnacle of success for our childhood some way to play, and she earned a particular reputation for her
favorites. In 2023, that included Baseball Cards, Cabbage Patch Kids, outstanding collection of dolls and toys.
Nerf Toys, and the Fisher-Price Corn Popper. Margaret started sharing her doll and dollhouse collections in the
The Strong Museum of Play is the vision and legacy of Margaret late 1950s. In December 1957, the Rochester Times-Union reported
Woodbury Strong (1897-1969). Born on March 20, 1897, Margaret noted, “These are only a few of the highlights of this stupendous
grew up in Rochester, NY, an only child in a wealthy family of collection which will soon be open to the children of Rochester and the
collectors. Her father, John Charles Woodbury (1859–1937), who was general public.” A year later, the Rochester Historical Society sponsored
in the buggy business, collected coins and recorded life events in the first public showing of the dollhouses, with 100 on view. Two
scrapbooks. Her mother, Alice Motley Woodbury (1859–1933), months later, Hobbies—The Magazine for Collectors, publicized the
collected 19th-century Japanese objects d’art. event nationally.
And an admired aunt collected bookplates. As her collections grew, Margaret began to
When John C. Woodbury, Margaret’s father, think of them as a museum. To house her
died in October 1937, he left her $1.5 million, acquisitions, she added two gallery-like wings to
and she inherited the collections both parents her 30-room suburban Rochester residence.
had acquired over their lifetimes – coins, When people came to visit, she asked them to
medals, and stamps from her father, and book- sign a guest book and record their impressions.
plates, Japanese artwork, and inkwells from her In 1968 Margaret obtained a provisional
mother. She meticulously maintained their charter from the New York State Board of
collections long after they were gone. Regents for the “Margaret Woodbury Strong
As early investors in the Eastman Kodak Museum of Fascination,” a name she took from
Company, the Woodbury’s fortunes grew along- The 20,000-square-foot residence was the home of the way guests often described her collections.
side George Eastman’s, and their wealth afford- distant relative Homer Strong and his wife, noted She planned to add another wing and a lecture
ed Margaret many unique opportunities to collector Margaret Woodbury Strong. Naming the hall to her home, but she never built them. On
indulge her passions, including building a collec- 48-acre property “Tuckaway Farm,” the prominent July 17, 1969, she died in her sleep at age 72.
tion of dolls from her travels around the world. couple lived at the limestone manor with eight ser- In her will, Margaret left her collections and
vants, three cooks, and the 500,000 pieces in
Thanks to her parents’ passion for traveling, Margaret’s collection of curiosities. most of her financial resources for the creation
Margaret saw more of the world by age 11 than of a museum; however, organizing, indexing,
most people do in a lifetime. As an adult reflecting on her travels, she and presenting the collections to the public was not an easy job given
noted, “I was allowed to carry a small bag to put my dolls and toys in the size and scope of what she had amassed. It was estimated that
and to add anything I acquired on the trips. Consequently, my fond- Margaret left behind several hundred different types of collections that
ness for small objects grew.” The Woodburys also spent considerable collectively included several hundreds of thousands of individual items.
time visiting museums and attending the theater. In short, they made According to published reports, “virtually every nook and cranny of her
Margaret’s world into both a classroom and a playground. home was filled. Even bathrooms, bathtubs, and the walls of every
Surrounded by grown-ups and objects—but rarely children her own room, and her living room looked like a used furniture store.” Thirteen
age—Margaret turned to her dolls and miniatures to keep her years later, in 1982, the Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum, known
company. She also engaged in competitive solo sports, excelling at golf as The Strong, opened to the public.
(Margaret trained under golf professional Walter Hagen, won multiple Today, The Strong welcomes more than 500,000 visitors a year to
titles, and set women’s records at Oak Hill and other local country its downtown Rochester facility to experience the dynamic, interactive
clubs), archery, and horseback riding. exhibits of the world’s only collections-based museum devoted solely to
Margaret’s collecting interests waned during the history and exploration of
her 38-year marriage to Homer Strong, with the play. The Strong complex also
couple turning to their mutual interests in houses the National Toy Hall of
gardening, flower arranging, and raising their Fame, the World Video Game
only child, Barbara. Hall of Fame, the Brian Sutton-
In 1953, Margaret fell down the stairs at her Smith Library and Archives of
Maine cottage, breaking multiple bones, including Play, the Woodbury School,
several vertebrae. It was during her recovery that and the American Journal of Play.
she “started in collecting dollhouses in a big way,” For more information, see
according to her 1960 draft, “My Doll Houses.” also New York Heritage Digital
“Because I could not bend I had tables built to Collections, which features The
hold the doll houses and I could easily furnish Strong’s Margaret Woodbury
them standing up.” Strong Papers, 1897–1969 and
Margaret Woodbury The world’s only museum devoted solely to play
photographed holding a With Homer’s death nearly 70 images that document opened its expanded facility on June 30, 2023.
favorite doll. in 1958, Margaret Margaret’s life and legacy.

22 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles The Strong National Museum of Play is located at One Manhattan
Square, Rochester, New York. For hours, directions, and more information
on this museum and its exhibitions, visit www.museumofplay.org.