A unique museum dedicated to Victorian-era hair art has permanently closed its doors following the death of its founder, with its remarkable collection of over 3,000 pieces now being distributed to prestigious institutions across the United States. Leila's Hair Museum in Independence, Missouri, housed century-old wreaths, jewelry, and decorative items crafted from human hair, including locks purportedly from presidents, Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe, and even Jesus Christ.
The museum's founder, Leila Cohoon, passed away in November 2024 at age 92, ending a nearly 30-year run that attracted curious visitors from around the world, including heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne. Her granddaughter, Lindsay Evans, is now overseeing the careful redistribution of the collection to major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.
"Every time I come here, I feel her here," Evans said during a recent tour with representatives from the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston, who departed with approximately 30 pieces. "This place is her. And so I feel like this process of rehoming her collection has helped me grieve her in a way that I didn't even realize I really needed."
Cohoon's passion for hair art began unexpectedly in 1956 when she was shopping for Easter shoes. As a professional hairdresser, she discovered a gold frame filled with hair strands twisted into flower shapes at an antique store. "She said forget the Easter shoes," Evans recalled. "My granddad always said that this was the most expensive piece of the museum because look at what it started." Evans plans to keep that original piece for herself.
This distinctive art form reached its peak popularity during the mid-1800s, when women would coil hair from deceased loved ones into jewelry or create family histories by intertwining curls into elaborate wreaths. However, hair art fell out of favor by the 1940s as photography became the preferred method for preserving memories. Evans noted that the artwork was also undervalued because it was primarily created by women, resulting in minimal representation in major museums.
Cohoon became a champion for preserving this forgotten art form, rescuing pieces from being discarded, writing books about the craft, and teaching classes to train a new generation of artists. When she haggled with antique dealers for ornate frames, they often offered to remove the hair contents, but she would insist on keeping everything intact. She distributed her business cards widely, asking dealers to watch for hair art pieces, and soon received calls from across the country.
"If it had hair, she got it," Evans explained, recounting how she sometimes accompanied her grandmother on hunting expeditions for new additions. The collection grew to include extraordinary pieces such as a wreath containing hair from every woman in the League of Women Voters from Vermont in 1865, and crescent-shaped wreaths made from the hair of two sisters whose heads were shaved upon entering a convent. Some pieces even featured taxidermy elements.
As the collection expanded, it quickly outgrew Cohoon's home and the beauty school she operated with her husband. Frames filled every wall, and pieces were stored under beds and in closets. Eventually, the couple purchased a former car dealership nestled between a fast-food restaurant and car wash to house their growing museum.
The unusual attraction caught the attention of celebrities over the years. Actress and comedian Phyllis Diller donated a family heirloom hair wreath that had been passed down for generations. Television personality Mike Rowe filmed an episode of "Somebody's Gotta Do It" at the museum. When Ozzy Osbourne visited, Cohoon even snipped a lock of his hair, though Evans has yet to locate it among the vast collection.
While Cohoon remained secretive about her total investment over the decades, Evans estimates the collection's worth may exceed $1 million. Genevieve Keeney, head of the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston, was particularly interested in jewelry that memorialized the dead, including a small pin containing locks from a 7-year-old girl who died in 1811.
"I always felt it was important to educate people about death," said Keeney, who is also a licensed mortician. "Our society does such an injustice on getting people to understand what the true emotions are going to feel like when death happens."
As Evans continues the emotional process of redistributing her grandmother's life work, she experiences mixed feelings about the museum's closure. "I want people to see all of this because that's what she wanted," Evans reflected. "But when this is empty it'll break my heart a little bit." The distribution ensures that Cohoon's dedication to preserving this unique art form will continue to educate and fascinate visitors at museums across the nation.
