In 1979, Grace McGuire purchased a Lockheed 10-E from the Wings and Wheels Museum in Orlando, Florida.

[1][note 1] She intended to restore it to flight and use it to recreate Amelia Earhart's attempted circumnavigation.

[3][4] Laidacker M. "Ladd" Seaberg, an Atchison economic development promoter, and his wife Karen made contact with McGuire in the early 1990s.

[10] In the meantime, the foundation had funded the creation and placement of a bronze statue of Amelia Earhart in the National Statuary Hall Collection.

[11] The museum is centered around the restored Muriel -- a Lockheed Model 10-E Electra (identical to the plane Earhart flew on her final flight).