Rancho Obi-Wan

History

The museum had its roots in Steve Sansweet's personal collection, amassed since before the original Star Wars movie was released. It got started in earnest when Sansweet pulled a Star Wars promotional mailer out of his boss's wastebasket while working at The New York Times. The museum itself was built out of an old chicken ranch in Petaluma, California, purchased by Sansweet in 1998; the property still houses several chickens with coops near the entrance.

In fall 2011, Sansweet filed for nonprofit status to launch Rancho Obi-Wan as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and opened the museum officially, though it had existed in previous years. In 2014, the Guinness Book of World Records officially certified Rancho Obi-Wan as the largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia. Throughout 2015 and 2016, Carl Edward Cunningham, a longtime friend of Sansweet, stole over 120 collectibles valued at over $200,000, primarily vintage Kenner Star Wars action figures; Cunningham pled guilty to grand theft in 2017 in a Sonoma County, California court.

At Star Wars Celebration 2019 in Chicago, Rancho Obi-Wan showcased its collection in the exhibition hall, including displays about Star Wars Celebration and women in Star Wars. Sansweet and Rancho Obi-Wan were also present at Star Wars Celebration 2022 in Anaheim, hosting a Mandalorian themed exhibition. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rancho Obi-Wan halted all tours and closed the museum, starting an online version that documented the collection over a series of photos and videos.

In 2021, USA Today hosted a poll for top ten pop culture museums in the United States, with Rancho Obi-Wan in third place after the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and the Patsy Cline museum; subsequent polls placed the museum eighth in 2022 and 2024, and seventh in 2023.

Gala

Starting in 2013, Rancho Obi-Wan hosts a fundraising event dubbed the Rancho Obi-Wan Gala. The event centers around a live auction that raises money for the museum. During the coronavirus pandemic, the Gala was held online.

Inventory count

As of May 4, 2015, Rancho Obi-Wan officially had 93,260 pieces of Star Wars memorabilia; however, that is just the number audited and catalogued for the Guinness World Record. Over the years the collection's size estimates have increased from 350,000, to 400,000, to more than 500,000.