WCSM Headline News

Aug 6, 2026

Neil Armstrong's boyhood home is for sale


Neil Armstrong’s boyhood home in Wapakoneta is officially for sale, and this is a pretty remarkable piece of local—and American—history.

The house at 601 West Benton Street is listed for $430,000. It was built in 1908 and has three bedrooms, about 1,539 square feet and one-and-a-half bathrooms.

The Armstrong family moved there in 1944, when Neil was 13. Inside that home, he built model airplanes, created a wind tunnel in the basement and reportedly launched models from his upstairs bedroom window to test how far they would fly. He later rode his bicycle to flying lessons and earned his pilot’s license at 16—before he had a driver’s license.

Retired history teacher Karen Mikesell has owned the home since 1988 and has worked to preserve its historic character. Nine astronauts have visited, including Buzz Aldrin, who reportedly became emotional while standing inside Armstrong’s former bedroom.

Mikesell says she hopes the next owner will protect the home’s history. One possibility would be for someone to purchase it and donate it to the Armstrong Air & Space Museum, although the museum says it does not currently have the money to buy the property itself. The home has no legal protection preventing a future owner from altering it


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