♪♪ ♪♪ [ Gunfire ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Downes: There's no greater figure in our culture, a lasting figure, than John Wayne.

The boys wanted to be him.

The women wanted to be with him.

He was just an appealing guy.

Kohlsdorf: Born in Winterset on May 26, 1907, Marion Robert Morrison became known around the world by another name -- John Wayne.

He was one of the most famous film actors of all time, and his roots began in Iowa.

Today, the Duke's hometown remains a steward of his legacy through the John Wayne Birthplace Museum.

Downes: A great writer from The Chicago Tribune described this once as a fan's museum, and I don't disagree with that at all.

Some forward-looking members of our community realized that his birthplace home -- they identified it by talking to neighbors and going through historical records and thought this might be a great idea to establish it as John Wayne birthplace and open it for tours.

We estimate that it was built in the early 1880s.

It was no doubt a kit house that you would order from a catalog.

That particular house might have cost $1,000 brand new in 1880.

People are surprised at the size of it and that it's preserved.

Originally, it was just a house.

And that was quite moving for a lot of people.

Occasionally, some people came in crying because of their love for John Wayne, and it was love.

There's no other word for it.

They often complained that the facility was too small, that they wished there was more to see.

In 2008, we launched a campaign to build the museum that we're sitting in today.

Inside the museum, you're going to see items like John Wayne's personal automobile, a 1972 Pontiac station wagon.

Not a movie star car at all, but it's built for comfort and safety.

People are moved by that.

You'll find movie wardrobes, scripts, artwork, posters.

They're going to see artworks that reflect how he's remembered and revered so many years, decades after his passing, aside from the artifacts that they're going to see that they maybe have never seen before.

They will get a sense of him.

We don't do a lot of interpreting here.

I think we let John Wayne interpret himself.

We don't have to tell our visitors what you're supposed to think.

Just give it to them.

Since they're here, they probably already know what they think of John Wayne.

The fact that they made the effort to be here from around the world.

Kohlsdorf: Although Wayne and his family left Winterset when he was only 3 years old, the city continues to celebrate the life and legacy of this Western icon.

His modest first home, seated next to the idyllic Town Square embodies the classically American personality the Duke was known for.

Downes: You can only be born in one place, and I think it tells a great story that sometimes the most influential and memorable people can come from the smallest places in the middle of the country.

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