Marion

Wyandot Popcorn Museum

Browse a collection of restored antique popcorn poppers in this city with long ties to the timeless snack food. The smell of fresh popcorn greets visitors as they step under the Wyandot Popcorn Museum’s red, white and blue circus tent. A free box of it waits at the end of your visit, but that comes after a trip through the history of antique popcorn poppers, from the late 1800s through the 20th century. Housed within the Marion County Historical Society’s Heritage Hall, the Wyandot Popcorn Museum highlights the city’s long ties to the classic snack. George Brown, whose father founded Wyandot Popcorn (now known as Wyandot Snacks) in 1936, began acquiring popcorn-related antiques and displaying them for the public in 1981. His initial acquisition was an 1899 Cretors No. 1 popcorn and peanut wagon. Today, it is one 34 beautifully restored large antique popcorn poppers on display at Heritage Hall, which is housed in Marion’s historic U.S. Post Office building.

“[Brown] wanted it to be shared,” says Brandi Wilson, executive director of the Marion County Historical Society. “Popcorn was in his blood. … This was the legacy he left.”

Popcorn wagons like the ones at the Wyandot Popcorn Museum were historically used by street vendors and helped popcorn gain popularity, especially when set up outside of theaters to entice moviegoers with the snack’s buttery scent. The museum also showcases other types of popcorn machines, a collection of Cracker Jack prizes stretching back to 1912 and lots of popcorn-related history.

Other notable pieces on display include three Holcomb and Hoke “Butterkist” machines that separate the popped and unpopped kernels before individually “kissing” each with butter. (The machines can still be operated to show visitors how they work.) Wilson’s favorite piece in the museum is a 1911 Dunbar-brand wagon that actor and Newman’s Own founder Paul Newman used to promote his line of popcorn during the 1980s.

For those who just can’t get enough popcorn, the city of Marion hosts a three-day festival each year during the second week of September that celebrates Wyandot Snacks’ long presence in the city.

“During World War II, when the soldiers would pass through our train depot, we had a canteen and one of the things they would give out was popcorn balls,” Wilson says. “Sugar was rationed at the time, so there were a lot of folks giving up their sugar so that they could make these popcorn balls.” — ES

169 E. Church St., Marion 43302, 740/387/4255, wyandotpopcornmus.com