Hidden in plain sight on Lee Drive sits a magical place. The Enchanted Mansion is an unconventional museum that has dedicated itself to showing children and adults the many ways dolls can be an educational art form. Opened in 1994, the museum aims to explain the cultural role of dolls to its patrons.
The building itself looks like a massive dollhouse. The front of the Mansion looks like an old south plantation, but the elaborate staircase is just a façade. The real entrance lies behind the false front. The museum’s dedication to detail comes from its passion for dolls.
“We want people to enjoy dolls like we enjoy dolls,” said Cheylon Woods, one of the Mansion’s employees. “We show dolls not just as play things, but as works of art.”
The museum has a variety of dolls, including Mark Twain, Henry VIII and his wives, several queens from The Lord of the Rings and even a doll-maker.
One of the museum’s more notable dolls is St. Michael the Archangel, which was created in 1750 to be used as an altar figure. The doll was somehow mistaken for a play thing and put in a dress. It spent hundreds of years being played with by several generations of children before finding its way into the mansion.
The mansion has always strived to display a wide array of dolls. The Thomas D. Sedberry Memorial Foundation, which runs the museum, was created to provide aid to handicapped people internationally through the Red Cross. The collection includes dolls of children with Down syndrome and Williams syndrome, and even paraplegic dolls.
“Any child should come in and see a doll that is a representation of themselves,” Woods said.
With more than 3,000 dolls in the collection, the museum is constantly evolving in the kinds of dolls it shows.
The museum regularly features exhibits on various groups of dolls, including a series of angel dolls, a feature on the evolution of German doll making and a display on Black History Month opening in February.
The mansion also hosts many rare dolls, like the world’s first speaking doll and several dolls with human teeth.
“I do not think that anyone can walk through the museum and not find a doll that they like,” Woods said. 
Woods believes The Enchanted Mansion illustrates an important aspect of our society. She said because dolls are used to show children how to interact with others, they show us the history of human interaction.
“A museum is a place where you can go and you learn about yourself and other people,” Woods said. “You learn how to interact. Regardless of what type of museum it is, you learn to appreciate your fellow man.”
“I do not think that anyone can walk through the museum and not find a doll that they like.”

Gallery • 23 Photos

Angela Major

Porcelain dolls made by Ashton Drake in 1995 that are modeled after "Little Women" are displayed Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014 at The Enchanted Mansion, a doll museum in Baton Rouge.