Santa's Candy Castle, located in Santa Claus, Indiana, is a

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

that uses the traditions and decorations from

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

as its theme. Dedicated on December 22, 1935, the castle was originally sponsored by the Curtiss Candy Company of Chicago, creators of the Baby Ruth and

Butterfinger Butterfinger is a chocolate bar, candy bar manufactured by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero SpA, Ferrero. It is manufactured internationally by Nestlé. It consists of a layered crisp peanut butter core covered in a "chocolate ...

candy bars. Designed by artist Emil Straus, the red-brick building has all the elements of a castle including a crenellated tower, a turret, and a rotunda. Santa Claus Town was the vision of Vincennes entrepreneur Milton Harris, who saw the potential of

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

, Indiana’s unique name after its post office had been featured in

Robert Ripley LeRoy Robert Ripley (February 22, 1890 – May 27, 1949) was an American cartoonist, entrepreneur, and amateur anthropologist, who is known for creating the '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' newspaper panel series, television show, and radio sho ...

’s famous '' Believe It or Not'' cartoon. Harris leased almost all of the land in and around the town and secured sponsorships from leading national toy manufacturers. Santa Claus Town was officially launched with the dedication of Santa’s Candy Castle in 1935. The Toy Village, added in 1936, featured over a half dozen miniature fairytale buildings, each uniquely designed and sponsored by a prominent national toy manufacturer. Inside, children could play with the popular toys of the day. Santa's Workshop, which was also added in 1936, housed an actual wood shop where someone playing Santa Claus could be seen making wooden toys by hand. A wooden sleigh complete with Santa and reindeers was among the popular wooden toys originally produced in the workshop. Santa Claus Town established agreements with retailers to sell the manufacturers’ toys through a special mail order service. Retail giant

Marshall Field's Marshall Field & Company (colloquially Marshall Field's) was an American department store chain founded in 1852 by Potter Palmer. It was based in Chicago, Illinois and founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, ...

, among others, would arrange for toys purchased at their Chicago store to be shipped from Santa Claus Town, emblazoned with a Santa Claus Seal of Approval and postmarked at the town’s famous post office. Santa Claus Town directly led to the creation of the town’s Chamber of Commerce as well as the town's first newspaper. Santa Claus Town also caught the attention of rival entrepreneur Carl Barrett, leading him to build the town's famous Santa Claus statue, which still stands today. Santa Claus Town would serve as a strong influence for other Santa Claus-themed attractions throughout the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Restoration of Santa's Candy Castle was completed in 2006, and it was officially re-dedicated and re-opened to the public on July 26, 2006. Santa's Workshop is in the process of restoration. In December of 2017, Santa's Candy Castle was featured on an episode of the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...

's '' Man v. Food'', hosted by Casey Webb.

References

External links

Official Site
- Contains a history of the attraction, information about events, and their online store. {{Christmas Buildings and structures in Spencer County, Indiana Indiana culture Tourist attractions based on Santa Claus Tourist attractions in Spencer County, Indiana 1935 establishments in Indiana