Cheshire Museum is a Unique Pop Culture Roadside Attraction

I have always collected things for as long as I can remember. From baseball cards and comic books to Star Wars toys and Batman action figures, my collections ran the gamut of pop culture-type items through the years. Recently, in my search for interesting places, I found a very unique personal collection of nearly 80,000 items in a museum located in Cheshire, CT.

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It's the Barker Character, Comic & Cartoon Museum, and just as the name says, it has all those things and more. It was like strolling down memory lane when I saw the pictures of some of the items that are a part of this massive personal collection. According to their website, the collection belongs to Gloria and Herbert Barker and it opened to the public in September of 1997, next month will mark their 25th Anniversary. The Barker collection includes items from as far back as 1873 to the present day.

Their website goes on to say:

"The Barkers were in a select group of people, back in the 1960s, who felt that the everyday items of childhood had a value for future generations, bringing back memories, or expressing a child’s life through the ordinary toys, lunchboxes, games and tools of common usage."

I completely agree with that sentiment, and I wish I still had all those such Items I had growing up. I have to say, I had some pretty cool toys as a kid looking back on them all. Ninety-nine percent of them did not survive my play time and would not be "museum" worthy.

The Barker Character, Comic & Cartoon Museum is located at 27 Realty Drive in Cheshire, Connecticut and they are participating in the CT at the Museum Program so kids can get in for free. Check out the website for hours and how much it will cost. Check out the pics I found as you plan your trip to visit this place in person, I know I am. I couldn't believe all of the toys and other items I saw in the pics that I actually had myself.