Vacation at Pioneer Villiage in Minden, Nebraska

Harold Warp put together Pioneer Village and it is the largest collection of America history items anywhere.  Pioneer Village is located on 20 acres.  There are 28 buildings that contain over 50,000 historical items.  They have all been restored.  They are exhibited in groups in the order of their development.  The exhibits at Pioneer Village date back to 1830.

There are 12 historic buildings, Frontier Fort, a real Pony Express Station, an Iron Horse and a sod house.  There is a collection of 25 Currier and Ives original prints.  There are 23 Jackson paintings and the largest single collection of Roger's statues.

The Main Building has more than 10,000 items on display.  They show the development of transportation, lighting, guns, money and other items.  Otto from 1876 is on display.  Otto is the oldest Internal Combustion engine.  A 1942-P59 which is the oldest jet airplane is on display.  Art and sculpture are displayed in one area.

The Elm Creek Fort was the first log cabin in Webster County Nebraska.  It was both a dwelling and used as a community fort against Indian attacks.  This structure was built in 1869.  The cabin is furnished with items from 1869.  An original Pony Express mailbox is on the wall.

The Peoples Store is an authentic general store that was in Stamford, Nebraska area in pioneer days.  It is stocked with authentic items from the period.  It has original Fort Kearney Post Office mailboxes.  There is also a glass cat on the cracker barrel.

You can also visit the Bloomington Land Office.  It was originally located in Franklin County, Nebraska.  Pioneers filed their homestead claims here.  There are maps, old land records and John N. The Warps original homestead title displayed here.

The Fire House is another interesting exhibit.  There is fire fighting equipment from the hand cart to the modern fire trucks.  There is also an outdoor jail that is made of strap iron and on old diesel powered city light plant.

The Lowell Depot operated during the homesteading days from 1872 to 1882.  This was the western terminal of the B & M Railroad.  There are 2 old locomotives and a narrow gauge caboose on display in front of the depot.

The Country School is an authentic rural school building from the late 19^th and 20^th century.  It is furnished with original desks, books, stove, water pail, dinner pails, out houses and many other things from this time period.

The Sod House is a replica.  It is completely furnished.  There is a trundle bed and much more.

The China House has a fabulous collection of china, pottery, cut glass and precious items that were brought west in covered wagons.  There is a sugar bowl that was owned by Abraham Lincoln.  It has glazed pictures of his mother and grandmother on it.

The Church was the first church in Minden and it was built in 1884.  There is an organ, original pews, pulpit and many other items on display.  Sunday Services are held during the summer.

The Merry-Go-Round is the oldest steam powered one in the U.S.  Rides are still 5 cents.  The engineer sometimes will let the riders blow the whistle.

The Horse Barn is an authentic pioneer barn.  It was moved here from the Warp homestead which is 9 miles from Minden.

The Homes and Shops Building has 20 rooms that have items on display from the past.  There are kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms of each generation since 1830.  There is a music ship, doctor’s office, print shop, drug store, barber shop and much more.  There are yarn spinning, weaving and broom making demonstrations.

There is an antique Farm Machinery Building that hoses plowing, cultivating, seeding, harvesting and threshing equipment.  There is also a huge 1890 combine that was pulled by 30 horses on display.

The Antique Tractor and Truck Building houses 100 early farm tractors.  There are farm trucks, lawn mowers and gasoline engines displayed here.  Dave Buicks first gasoline engine is on display here.

The Livery Stable was built in Minden during the horse and buggy days.  The livery stable is a two story building that has saddles, harness, fly nets and many horse drawn rigs on display.  There is a complete harness shop.

There is an Antique car building.  It is a two story building that has antique Buicks, Cadillac’s, Dodges, Oldsmobile’s and much more.

There is a Chevrolets and other Cars building.  There are 50 Chevrolets on display here.  The first Corvette is on display.  The extinct cars are kept on the second floor.  There is a 1902 Cadillac on display.

There is the Fords, Studebakers, Motorcycles, Snowmobiles and Bicycles building.  There are over 70 Fords, Lincolns, Mercury’s and Edsels on the first floor.  There is a 1903 Ford on display.  The second floor has a great selection of antique motorcycles, bicycles and snowmobiles.

There are the Agriculture Building and Steam Tractors exhibit.  There are over 500 agricultural implements on display.  McCormick’s first reappear is on display here.  There is also John Deere’s fir plow.

There is a Blacksmith Shop that forges items that are sold during the summer months.

There is a Pony Express Barn that is an authentic log building.  It was moved from Bridgeport, Nebraska to Pioneer Village.  It was originally the Pumpkinseed relay station to the Black Hills in 1860.  There is also a 3 horse barn.  Buffalo Bill's saddle is on display here.

There is the Home Appliance Building.  It is home to washing machines, stoves, refrigerators, bathtubs and much more.  The Franklin stove from 1744 is on display here.  The first Kelvinator refrigerator from 1925 is also on display.

The Hobby House has a collection of dolls, pitchers, buttons, hatpins, fans, canes, trivets and much more.

There is a Snack Bar that serves coffee, ice cream, candy, soft drinks and sandwiches.

Pioneer Village has so much to offer the tourist.  The Pioneer Village has items on display that date back to 1830 and some before that and they go all the way up to the present day.  Pioneer Village has so much to offer you will have to spend several days to take everything in.

Article source:

http://www.hikercentral.com

http://www.pioneervilliage.com