Nebraska Prairie Museum, Holdrege
The Nebraska Prairie Museum’s World War II Interpretive Center displays a scale replica of the original WWII German POW Camp Atlanta, which was located southwest of Holdrege. Also exhibited are items donated by former military personnel who worked there, POWs who were interned there, and local families and businesses who hired the POWs during the war.
Visitors will find many items to feed their fascination with history.
The Nebraska Prairie Museum at Holdrege is well maintained, and its collection is broadly representative of the region’s history.
Videos of interviews and books are available for purchase. Extensive collections of prairie history are on display. Home and business period rooms, dish collections, a quilt collection, an arrowhead collection, antique farm machinery and tools and a genealogical library are on display.
Other historical attractions include:
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Indoor town square and a new gift shop.
Outbuildings include a Lutheran Church, one-room schoolhouse, early farmhouse, POW guard tower and windmill. The Nebraska Prairie Museum is the home of the National Sod House Society.
The Nebraska Prairie Museum is one mile north of Holdrege and can be reached at 308-995-5015.
Trails & Rails Museum, Kearney
The Trails & Rails Museum has eight historic buildings to tour, as well as a Union Pacific locomotive engine and caboose, a livery barn and the Family History Center.
The extensive archive department houses the Buffalo County records and is used by researchers worldwide. The new Textile Tales is nearly complete and is scheduled to open soon.
The Trails & Rails Museum in Kearney is dedicated to teaching visitors about Kearney’s history and preserving it.
The Trails & Rails Museum is located on the original Mormon Trail route on Kearney’s 11th Street. The museum is owned and operated by the Buffalo County Historical Society, which is a not-for-profit, 501©(3) organization. Please check out www.bchs.us for details and special events.
Open Memorial Day-Labor Day, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m.; or by appointment. Also open September-May, Monday, Friday, 1-5 p.m. Admission: $10 adults, $5 ages 5-12. Closed on major holidays.
An authentic Union Pacific steam locomotive can be seen at the Trails & Rails Museum.
Robert Henri Museum, Cozad
The Robert Henri Museum is in the former home of the town’s founder, John Cozad. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is said to be the oldest brick building in Dawson County.
Built in 1878-79, its interior has been restored to its appearance at the time the Cozad family lived there.
In 1882, John Cozad killed a rancher during an argument and immediately left the area and disappeared because he was indicted for murder. The other members of the Cozad family left Nebraska in 1884, and all of them assumed new identities in New York City.
The Robert Henri Museum in Cozad houses a collection of paintings by one of Nebraska’s best visual artists.
Robert Henry Cozad, who was 19 years old when he left Nebraska, changed his name to Robert Henri. Henri would go on to become a world-famous painter and art instructor.
But it was in Cozad where Henri showed the early signs of becoming a talented artist. The museum has five exhibits telling the story of the family and the career of Robert Henri.
Hours of operation:
Tuesday: All day
Wednesday: All day
Thursday: 9 a.m.–10 p.m.
Friday: 9 a.m.–10 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m.–10 p.m.
The Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles
HMMV is located next to the northeast exit 237 of Interstate 80 in Lexington. It is a nonprofit organization run by volunteers and funded by donations and grants.
History:
In 1986, four Lexington men founded the Heartland Museum. In 1991, a permanent site for the museum was obtained at exit 237 of Interstate 80.
In 1998, a 16,000-square-foot visitor center was constructed that houses many of the vehicles.
Collection:
The museum has about 100 vehicles, including helicopters, tanks, half-tracks, ambulances and a jeep from every branch of the service.
There are also displays of weapons, uniforms, engines, equipment and more, including the everyday necessities of a soldier’s life, such as MREs, and unique vehicles like those used by the German army in World War II.
Address:
606 Heartland Road
Kearney Area Children’s Museum
The Kearney Area Children’s Museum inspires play, exploration and discovery through interactive experiences.
Location: Alia Arram Memorial Building, 5827 Fourth Ave., Kearney
Contact: (308) 698-2228
Admission:
Adults $9
Children (age 1-13 years) $10
Senior citizens (60 plus) $8
12 months and under free
Operating Hours:
Monday — Closed
Tuesday — 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Wednesday — 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Thursday — 10 a.m.- 6:30 p.m.
Friday — 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Saturday — 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday — 1-5 p.m.
Fort Kearney Museum
This seasonal stop tucked away in Kearney has quietly preserved world history for nearly seven decades.
Egyptian mummies are displayed in a climate-controlled chamber. An authentic Samurai suit of armor occupies one exhibit.
Convex windows salvaged from an early Kearney opera house top cases of fossils, Old West weaponry and other curiosities.
Glass-bottom boat rides on owner Marlo Johnson’s sandpit lake give views of giant catfish and largemouth bass.
131 S. Central Ave., Kearney; call 308-234-5200
G.W. Frank Museum of History and Culture
After getting married in New York, professional architect George Frank Jr. and his wife Ella moved to Kearney to build a new home for his parents, George and Phoebe Frank.
Phoebe and George Frank occupied the historic house on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
The Frank family mansion was completed in 1889 and is now located on UNK’s campus. Currently it is part house museum, part history museum and part culture center. The free museum takes a deep look into Kearney’s past.
Being one of the first houses west of the Missouri river with electricity, the Franks’ house included various rooms. One room pays tribute to the work Frank did managing his various businesses, including the hydroelectric power plant, the trolley car system and the cotton mill. A desk was originally located in George Frank’s office, which was located in The Midway Hotel in downtown Kearney.
The original occupants of the Frank House in Kearney lived well, but a financial panic stole the good times from the Frank family. Visitors can get an idea of what fine living looked like.
In the dining room, the Franks hosted potential investors. The harp playing, expensive food and polished silver, even the electricity, all showed the financial possibilities of the Midwest.
On the upper level is an extensive collection of European and American decorative arts once owned by Philip and Mildred Strain, a Kearney post office clerk and schoolteacher.
After George Frank Sr. lost his financial holdings in the Panic of 1893, the house was purchased by a husband and wife medical team, who converted it into a sanitarium. It eventually was sold to the state of Nebraska, where it was used for the living quarters of the Nebraska State Tuberculosis Hospital staff until 1971.
In the discovery room are more art pieces and Tiffany stained-glass windows.
Built of red Colorado sandstone, the historic Frank House has been part of Kearney’s story for more than 100 years.
The G.W. Frank Museum is located on UNK’s campus at 2010 University Drive in Kearney. Guided tours are available when the museum is open Saturday and Sunday 1-5 p.m.
If you visit outside these hours, you can still check out the red Colorado sandstone architecture from the outside. Visit frank.unk.edu for more information on this integral place of Kearney’s history.
Pioneer Village
Pioneer Village is a museum and tourist attraction along U.S. Highway 6 in Minden. The village is featured in many roadside and historical attraction guides. It is made up of 50,000 historical objects and 28 historical buildings.
Address: 138 U.S. 6, Minden, NE 68959
Phone: 308-832-1181
Gothenburg Pony Express Station
Gothenburg is home to two original Pony Express stations.
The Sam Machette station (museum) is located in the Ehmen city park/arboretum. The original log building was disassembled, moved and reassembled in its current location in 1931 after it was donated to the city of Gothenburg by Mrs. C.A. Williams.
The second station in Gothenburg is still located on the original Oregon/Pony Express trail just south of town on private property.
The Midway Station is owned and cared for by the Gill family of Gothenburg. Even though this station is not open to the general public, special interest groups and tour buses have been allowed to view the property.
Location: 510 15th St., Gothenburg, NE 69138
American Automobile Experience
The inception of the American Automobile Experience — formerly the Classic Car Collection — dates to 2011 when 100 automobiles from Bernie and Janice Taulborg’s original collection were donated.
Undergoing a transformative shift, the collection now exclusively features cars on loan, boasting a fleet of over 135 vehicles. Nearly all of these additions are freshly acquired, ensuring a novel experience with each visit to the museum.
The American Automobile Experience, with 135 cars, feeds the hunger of car lovers. It’s housed in the building on the east end of the Cabela’s retail store on U.S. Highway 30.
The collection and facility receive care and maintenance from a team of volunteers whose passion fuels the collection’s mission.
At the Classic Car Collection, visitors are immersed in authentic vignettes, complete with artwork, mannequins and other period items, bringing the automotive narrative to life. Through interactive displays, technology is seamlessly integrated to show the profound impact of automobiles on society.
Step back in time at a recreated 1950s gas station, where vintage tools blend with modern devices, highlighting the evolution of technical prowess. Don’t miss the drive-in theater screen, complemented by the original ticket booth from the Kearney Drive-In, offering a nostalgic glimpse into automotive entertainment history.
Located in: Cabela’s, 3600 U.S. Highway 30, Kearney
Phone: 308-234-1964
Hours: Noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday
Great Platte River Road Archway
The Great Platte River Road Archway — also known as The Archway or Kearney Archway — is a monument on Interstate 80 three miles east of Kearney.
Opened in July 2000, it houses a historical experience that tells the story of Nebraska and the Platte River Valley in the development of America. The monument spans more than 300 feet above I-80 and is accessible via two numbered exits (272 and 275).
The trail along the Platte River through Nebraska came to be known as the Great Platte River Road and has been a thoroughfare for travel across the continent. The Archway museum details the stories of the pioneers, adventurers and innovators who have traveled the trail since the mid-1800s and helped to build America.
The exhibit starts at Fort Kearny in 1848 and features sections of the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Mormon Trail that converged at Fort Kearny before heading west. As visitors progress through the exhibit, the displays of different time periods feature a prairie schooner wagon on the Oregon Trail, a buffalo stampede, the Mormon Handcart Expedition, a 49er’s campsite, the Pony Express, the Transcontinental Telegraph, a stagecoach, the Transcontinental Railroad, the first transcontinental highway, the Lincoln Highway, and today’s transcontinental highway, I-80.
The exhibit ends with a replica drive-in and 1950s-style cafe with windows providing views over the interstate. The exhibits are in chronological order and reflect the historical developments that occurred on the Great Platte River Road.
For more information, call The Archway at 308-237-1000 or 877-511-2724.
