Anyone visiting southeastern Indiana with small children - anyone, for that matter, who has a special fascination with Christmas - will want to make a stop in the town of Santa Claus to visit the Santa Claus Museum. This museum, the brainchild of Pat Koch, contains an array of Santa Claus memorabilia, photographs, figurines, and exhibits on the history of the town of Santa Claus. Here kids can write letters to Santa, and expect them to be answered by a letter with a postmark reading "Santa Claus.'' They can see one of Santa's sleighs, as well as an exhibit on the life of Pat Koch's father, Jim Yellig, who for fifty years, and with more than 30 appearances in New York City parades, helped to create the concept of children lining up to sit on Santa's lap and tell him their deepest Christmas wishes. The U.S. Postal Service began to send Yellig any letter addressed to Santa that had no more information on it than "Santa, USA.''
The town of Santa Claus was renamed from its original Santa Fe in the mid-nineteenth century, and has traded on its unique name since 1914, when Postmaster James Martin began to answer children's letters to Kris Cringle. In 1935, following the postmaster's cue, Milton Harris and the Curtis Candy Company built the town's first attraction: Santa Claus Candy Castle. That same year another entrepreneur, Carl Barrett, created Santa Claus Park.
But it was Pat Koch's father, and her father-in-law Louis Koch, who put the town of Santa Claus on the map. They started Santa Claus Land as a free attraction for kids. After Yellig himself became the embodiment of Christmas, Bill and Pat Koch have since turned Santa Claus Land into Holiday World, which these days is a big money-maker, and one of Southern Indiana's largest tourist attractions.
Pat Koch over the years had amassed a collection of things Santa Claus, which she wanted to display. Her desire to keep alive the important role of the town in doing good for poor children, led her to found the museum in 2006. Besides history, it sees as part of its mission the spreading of Christmas cheer around the world. From the days of a kindly postmaster answering a few letters, the museum has taken over the duty of organizing an army of volunteer elves to answer the nearly 20,000 letters that arrive for Santa each year.
In the spirit of Christmas, the museum charges no admission. Its gift shop includes souvenirs in the spirit of Christmas.
Children can receive a letter from Santa by writing to:
Santa Claus
P.O. Box 1
Santa Claus, IN 47579
