On July 13, 1865, the world famous museum owned by adventurous entrepreneur P. T. Barnum burned to the ground ending America’s first and last museum come sideshow in downtown New York. The Barnum legacy remains in the circus circuit today and his involvement in the shape of the modern American museum.

From humble beginnings in Connecticut where Phineas Taylor Barnum was born in July 1810 to a grocery store owner and his wife. He moved to New York in the 1820s and spent time working in Pennsylvania in the 1830s. Barnum was a faithful convert to the Universalism religion and spent much time in prayer and study often acting as a lay preacher at his church.

The museum was not Barnum’s only endeavor and in fact came along quite late in his working life. Early jobs included grocery store clerk and newspaper editor but it wasn’t long before Barnum changed tracks and entered the world of entertainment. Two and three ring circuses were the order of the day with giant elephants, tiny people, bearded ladies being part and parcel of the “greatest show on earth.” Barnum was known for his ability to give audiences more than they ever expected.

The American Museum was the first of its kind, combining thrilling entertainment with natural history education. Created in 1841, the original museum lasted until 1865 when the fire caused Barnum to rebuild a few blocks away. The first museum was located on the corner of Broadway and Anne in downtown Manhattan and gathered for the first time a number of different sources of cultural entertainment.

Over its lifetime the museum housed numerous exhibits from natural history to side show characters. There was a picture gallery, a theatre, a wax room, a lecture room and cases of American collectibles. There were singers and actors, several lecture series, Shakespearean plays as well as every conceivable animal exhibit were available to visitors.

And the museum, in the tradition of all good museums, was a great social leveler. The nominal entrance fee meant that the vast majority of New Yorkers and tourists could visit bringing a range of social classes together. Men and women, children, rich and poor all attended the museum. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until 1861 and the onset of the Civil War that African Americans were given entrance to the museum.

Barnum is an example of American capitalism often under recognized in the history of American entrepreneurs. Selling his unique brand of American entertainment at the reasonable price of 25 cents a visit made Barnum’s show affordable and repeatable. Over the course of the museum’s life over 37 million visitors graced the exhibit floors.

“There’s a sucker born every minute.” That is the famous phrase of P. T. Barnum but it does little to explain the religious man who performed profitable public services and taught a nation how to relax. Barnum’s American Museum was just that, a testament to the capability and ingenuity of a diverse people with infinite needs and a foundation stone in the history of America’s public institutions.

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