LANETT, ALABAMA

Inside this small brick bungalow is a collection of toys intended for the afterlife. 

Nadine Earles was not yet four years old when she died in 1933. It was December, and all she wanted for Christmas was a doll house, a wish her father was busy building for her. She died on the 18th, one week before the day. Her parents still made sure that her wish was granted, even if it was to be in the afterlife.

At the Oakwood Cemetery in Lanett, Alabama, that doll house still stands among the gravestones, completed and moved to the family plot to keep “Little Nadine” company. The small brick bungalow has all the makings of a real house, with a front porch, striped awnings, a mailbox, flower boxes in the summer, and an evergreen wreath and Christmas lights in winter.

After the house was installed, parents Julian and Alma filled it with a collection of dolls, toys, a baby buggy, high chair, and even a little bed, all to be kept need and tidy for Nadine.

For years after her death, Julian and Alma handled the upkeep and stocking of toys. Eventually they passed away too, buried in the same plot alongside the little house, and the city took it over. To this day it’s manicured, cleaned, and tended, and the array of dolls and toys keeps changing.

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