John Wayne's Birthplace in Iowa
Winterset Iowa Museum Celebrates Marion Morrison's Birth
Jul 2, 2009
His real name —Marion Morrison — often elicits no response, but few around the world do not recognize the 6 foot 4 inch tall, 225-pound figure and Hollywood legend known as John Wayne.
Marion Morrison only lived for about three-and a half years in Winterset. His father, Clyde, was a pharmacist at the Smith Drug Store, now the Village Bootery Shoe Store, at 66 Court Avenue on the town square.
Where John Wayne Was Born
John Wayne was born May 26, 1907 at home. The birthplace is a modest four-room home at 224 South Second Street. At just 576 square feet and with an unusual angular door, the home has been restored to how it appeared when the Morrison family lived there.
It is decorated to period and contains a small, but intriguing collection of John Wayne memorabilia, including Rooster Cogburn’s eye patch from 1969’s True Grit, Colonel Cord McNally’s hat from the 1970 release Rio Lobo, and a prop suitcase used in the 1939 film Stagecoach. Letters, autographs, and photos from his many co-stars and friends in Hollywood fill the little house to overflowing.
The Birthplace of John Wayne is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except major holidays.
An 8,500 square foot facility is planned on property across adjacent to the little house that will eventually host programs on character and patriotism for school aged children. It will also include a health education component linked to the John Wayne Cancer Foundation.
John Wayne's Career
For many fans, John Wayne is still alive. The January 19, 2007 issue of Time Magazine released a Harris poll on America’s favorite actors. There in third place, between Tom Hanks and Clint Eastwood, was John Wayne. His last film, The Shootist, was released in 1976. John Wayne died June 11, 1979 of lung and stomach cancer.
In all he starred in more than 150 feature films, and appeared in at least another 50 movies, starting with an on-camera appearance in 1926, at the age of 19, in Bardelys the Magnificent.
Bridges of Madison County
Visitors to the John Wayne Birthplace in Winterset often take time to visit a couple of the famous covered bridges in the area. The novel by Robert James Waller and a later movie starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep increased interest in the region. The most famous of the bridges is the Roseman Bridge, which was the focal point of the movie. The community has five covered bridges dating to the 1880s. A festival the second full weekend of October each year celebrates that aspect of the community's heritage.
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