The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Lyman Frank Baum was born May 15, 1856, in Chittenango, New York. He held a variety of jobs from actor to newspaper man to traveling salesman before settling in Aberdeen with his family n 1888.

Baum first opened a variety store called Baum's Bazaar in October, 1888. Under capitalized from the start, hard times brought on by the drought caused the bazaar to fail in January 1890. Baum then leased a newspaper, the "Dakota Pioneer" and renamed it the "Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer". Baum published his first issue on January 25, 1890. The "Saturday Pioneer" was best remembered for its humorous column, "Our Landlady", which took a satirical look at the human condition in general and local life specifically through the eyes of Mrs. Sairy Ann Bilkins, landlady of a fictitous Aberdeen boarding house.

As the drought deepened and subscriptions to his paper fell off, Baum gave up the "Saturday Pioneer" in April 1891 and moved his family to Chicago. Baum's experiences living in Aberdeen are believed to have provided the inspiration for many of the characters and stories in the OZ books.

Sponsored by
Sarah, John, Max, Sam, Gerianne and Steve Pfeiffer

Sculptor Tom Bunkers

Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.

Show me all markers in:  Aberdeen, SD  |  Brown County  |  57401  |  South Dakota  |  United States of America

Leo J. Weber
Aberdeen, South Dakota Veterans Memorial, a War Memorial
Dacotah Prairie Museum
The Great Northern Railroad Depot
Brown County (South Dakota) Courthouse
GROW! Aberdeen, SD - Absolutely! Aberdeen
First United Methodist Church
Baird Park
South Dakota Boy's State
Aberdeen, South Dakota Vietnam Veterans Memorial

• GPX
• KML
• LOC

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.