Gone With the Wind, Found in East Texas
Inside Scarlett O’Hardy’s, where Bobbie Hardy gathered nearly a century of books, costumes, autographs, original-release ephemera, and the worldwide love of an American epic.
T-Bone and I spend a little bit of our time in Jefferson, Texas. It is close to his father’s home, and now that his dad has entered his nonagenarian chapter of life, he enjoys meeting us for dinner occasionally. Jefferson is often his choice.
We have driven by and spotted Scarlett O’Hardy’s Gone With the Wind Museum MANY times in the last decade of our life together, but sadly, we haven’t had the time to stop.
Recently, we decided to TAKE the time, and we are so glad that we did… while at the same time wishing we had done it sooner. I did very little research beforehand, as I wanted to EXPERIENCE the museum firsthand, rather than read so much about it that it removed the wonder of it.
I am so happy that I approached it that way. SO, if you prefer to experience places in the same manner… STOP reading here! Go to the Scarlett O’Hardy’s Gone With the Wind Museum website for more information, and contact Bobbie Hardy to schedule your visit. If you would rather come along with me and read about my phenomenal experience, let’s continue… shall we?
I walked into Scarlett O’Hardy’s Gone With the Wind Museum in Jefferson, Texas, expecting to see an impressive collection of memorabilia.
I was not prepared for what Bobbie Hardy had gathered inside.
There were autographs, original-release ephemera, surviving first-run theater tickets, movie posters, immaculate costume reproductions and pieces connected to Margaret Mitchell, David O. Selznick and the cast. At one point, I stood staring at Scarlett O’Hara’s infamous red Shame Dress absolutely convinced I was looking at the original.
I should probably explain that I am not a casual Gone With the Wind fan.
I first read Margaret Mitchell’s novel when I was eight or nine years old. For more than forty years, Gone With the Wind was something my Momma and I shared. Watching the film became an annual tradition between us, and even when we lived apart, we still managed to watch it “together,” calling each other 🤭🫶 during the interlude and afterward to talk about it.
So, I know the dresses. I know the characters. I know the scenes. I know this story.
Which is why I think it says something about the quality of Bobbie’s exhibits that I stood in front of that red dress absolutely convinced, for at least a moment, that I was looking at Scarlett O’Hara’s original.
Before There Was a Museum
Bobbie Hardy’s collection did not begin with a museum. It began in Atlanta in April 1980, when an encounter with noted Gone With the Wind collector Herb Bridges transformed a longtime affection for Margaret Mitchell’s novel and the film into something considerably larger. What began with a single 1964 Book Club edition of the novel grew over the next 46 years into one of the world’s largest private collections of Gone With the Wind memorabilia.
After more than 30 years in Houston, Bobbie moved to Jefferson in 1997, bringing that growing collection with her. Scarlett O’Hardy’s Gone With the Wind Museum opened November 27, 1998. Nearly 28 years later, the collection has continued to grow through Bobbie’s own acquisitions as well as extraordinary gifts from fellow collectors and visitors from around the world.
As for Bobbie, she did more than blow into Jefferson with a lot of memorabilia. She had a heart for preserving history and telling that tale well.
She became involved with Jefferson’s historic traditions soon after making East Texas her home. Bobbie is a longtime member and past president of the Excelsior Foundation. Jefferson's Excelsior Foundation is the nonprofit organization charged with helping preserve some of the city's most important historic properties, including the Excelsior House Hotel, the Jay Gould railroad car, the Jefferson Playhouse, and the Ruth Lester Memorial House. She has been the director of the Diamond Bessie Murder Trial, one of the Pilgrimage’s signature events for many years. In fact, the upcoming 2027 season marks her 19th year as their director.
Bobbie has made Jefferson her home, and it seems Jefferson has embraced Bobbie and her museum right back.
The Great American Epic, 90 Years Later
2026 marks 90 years since Margaret Mitchell published her great American epic, set against the sweeping upheaval of the Civil War and Reconstruction-era South. The novel, the subsequent film, later adaptations and decades of re-releases have always had their share of critics, alongside generations of folks singing their praises.
Within the walls of the Scarlett O’Hardy Museum, you can witness with your own eyes just how widespread the fandom surrounding both the novel and the movie became, and remains today. Bobbie’s collection includes surviving theater tickets from Gone With the Wind’s original 1939–1940 theatrical release, including tickets from early first-run engagements around the country.
There are autographs from cast members such as Butterfly McQueen and a remarkable letter from Hattie McDaniel herself. There are many other signatures and pieces tucked throughout the collection, including a few that will absolutely delight the most avid collectors. I am not saying another word about those… 🤐 You really MUST go see for yourself!
And then there is the extraordinary collection of Gone With the Wind editions Bobbie has gathered over the years, some through her own determined collecting, some through beloved friends’ collections that later became part of hers, and some hand-carried to Jefferson by visitors from around the world who wanted their own country represented on her shelves.
Bobbie has accumulated hundreds of volumes of Gone With the Wind and related works, including more than a hundred foreign editions. Standing in that room, I suddenly realized that people all over the world had been reading and loving the same story my Momma and I had shared for more than forty years.
Different countries. Different languages. Different cultures. Even nations that have found themselves on opposite sides of history.
And yet, there we all were, connected by the same story.
We really are not so different. We are moved by love and loss and passion and the strength to carry on when times get tough… Times haven’t changed all that much, have they?
And standing there among all those stories, all those countries and all those years of collecting, I realized Scarlett O’Hardy’s is more than a museum. It is one of those rare places where the collection and the person who built it are equally worth discovering.
An East Texas Gem in Every Sense
Once you step through the doors of the Gone With the Wind Museum, you will be swept away by the sheer volume of ephemera and collectibles. There is so much packed into those 1,700 square feet that I suspect you will be every bit as astonished as I was. Bobbie has set up the entire museum as a self-guided experience that you can take your time to slowly stroll through and mine every diamond from this beautifully curated collection, but she is available to answer questions.
Bobbie was truly the Gem of the Day when we visited! She had all the nitty-gritty information on the next year’s Pilgrimage dates, other fine museums that we had yet to visit in the area, answers to some burning questions I had about local history, and plenty of other wonderful information.
She can also tell you all about next year’s 73rd Annual Diamond Bessie Murder Trial… she is the director and all. 🤭
It was just a real privilege to make her acquaintance.
Don’t sleep on this one. It is worth your time!
And if you happen to wonder about that famous green Curtain Dress…
Ask Bobbie.💚🤐
