In Elkhart, Indiana, just off of I 80/90, you will find The RV and Manufactured Home Hall of Fame. Oh, you didn’t know there was one? But, of course! According to Barry Cole, Chairman of the RV Hall of Fame, “The Recreational Vehicle and Manufactured Housing Industries started with a common thread. That thread was “affordable housing” Although the industries took divergent paths in our current products, our roots are still there and together we share a state-of-the-art museum, library and Hall of Fame celebrating our heritage. We invite you to join us in a fascinating trip through the history of these two industries.”
The RV Founders Hall displays trailers, photos, and memorabilia reaching back to the 1920’s and 1930’s and is open to the public. The museum presents chronological and technological advancements in the industry from before WW I to the present.
You can see wonderful memorbilia, such as Mae West’s 1931 Chevrolet Housecar that was presented to her when she left vaudeville to make movies for Paramount, or follow “The Road Back In Time” throught the history of the recreational vehicle industry.
The Library archives houses thousands of volumes of periodicals, records, and photos and is frequently used for research by industry writers and university historians as well as by owners of historic units searching out the background of their unit. This is the only library dedicated entirely to the archives of the recreational vehicle and manufactured housing industries.
Another interesting thing you’ll find at the Hall of Fame is the “Wheel People” exhibit. This exhibit was created in 1998-99 by photojournalist Frimmell Smith with the cooperation of the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum and many state manufactured housing associations. She identified people throughout the country to interview and photograph, and traveled for over one year assembling their stories into this exhibition.
After displaying the exhibit at locations around the country, Smith donated the entire exhibit to the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum in Elkhart, Indiana. Darryl Searer, president of the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum, said, “The ‘Wheel People’ exhibit is an excellent addition to our manufactured housing collection. It not only traces the evolution of manufactured housing from trailers to mobile homes and finally to manufactured homes, it also shows the diversity of those who choose to live in homes on wheels. From Maine to California, occupants include people of all ages and incomes, from college students to senior citizens; America’s wealthy and her poor as well as white and blue collar workers, artists, entrepreneurs, farmers, and health care professionals. Visitors to the museum will be able to tour historic examples of homes on wheels, experience the ‘Wheel People’ exhibit and then step outside to visit a modern manufactured home currently being constructed east of the museum facility-we expect the home, loaned and erected by Fairmont Homes, to be completed and opened to the public in early November. The RV and manufactured housing industries sprang from the same root, but evolved into two separate industries – recreational travel and affordable housing. It’s impossible to tell the story of one industry without including the other”.
So if you’re a HUGE RV buff, or you’re just looking for interesting destinations to hit along your travels, the RV/MH Hall of Fame is one of those things you just better go ahead and do if you have the opportunity. It will not disappoint! Have you been there before? We’d love to hear about it! You can comment here, or post on our Facebook page!