Davy Crockett Museum (1955–1956)

The Davy Crockett Museum (1955–1956) was a short-lived attraction in Disneyland’s Frontierland, located within the Davy Crockett Arcade. Primarily a retail space, it capitalized on the massive popularity of Disney’s Davy Crockett television miniseries (1954–1955), featuring a few exhibits tied to the show. Open for about a year after the park’s debut, it closed due to low guest interest in its static displays.

Here are 10 fun facts about the Davy Crockett Museum:

Opening Day Launch: The museum opened on July 17, 1955, as part of Disneyland’s inaugural attractions, housed in the Davy Crockett Arcade, a Frontierland hub designed to immerse guests in the Davy Crockett craze sparked by the TV series.
Retail Focus: While billed as a museum, the space was mostly a gift shop selling Davy Crockett-themed merchandise, including coonskin caps, toy rifles, clothing, and dishware, reflecting the $300 million merchandising boom from the miniseries. The museum was originally planned as a miniature museum but pivoted to Davy Crockett displays to ride the coonskin cap craze, with props like a frontier rock shop and Mexican gift items adding to the retail mix.
Alamo Exhibit: A key display featured a model of the Alamo, central to the miniseries’ “Davy Crockett at the Alamo” episode, with life-size wax figures of Fess Parker as Davy Crockett and Buddy Ebsen as George Russel.
Firearm Display: The museum showcased a collection of historical firearms provided by the National Rifle Association, highlighting frontier weaponry to tie into Crockett’s frontiersman persona.
Wax Figure Relocation: After the museum closed in October 1955, the wax figures of Crockett and Russel were moved to Fort Wilderness on Tom Sawyer Island, where they remained on display for decades.
Arcade Integration: The museum was part of the larger Davy Crockett Arcade, which combined retail with interactive elements like a shooting gallery, where guests used light-beam rifles to “hunt” animated bears.
Miniseries Inspiration: Exhibits drew directly from the five-part Davy Crockett series (“Indian Fighter,” “Goes to Congress,” “At the Alamo,” “Keelboat Race,” and “River Pirates”), emphasizing scenes like Crockett’s Creek War battles and Alamo stand.
Character Meet-and-Greets: Davy Crockett, portrayed by a cast member in a coonskin cap, occasionally appeared in the arcade for guest interactions, bringing the TV hero to life alongside the museum’s displays.
Brief Run: The museum shuttered just three months after opening, in October 1955, due to its static exhibits failing to compete with interactive attractions like the nearby Golden Horseshoe Saloon, giving way to an expanded arcade.
Fess Parker Legacy: The arcade’s hat shop, later named “Crockett & Russel Hat Co.” in 2004, honored Fess Parker, Disney’s Crockett actor, with a window crediting him as the “Coonskin Cap Supply Co.” proprietor.