Sixth Stop – Flavors #21, Nebraska Prairie Museum

Filed Under: All Posts, Guest Bloggers on August 17, 2009

We’re heading east again, down Interstate 80, then south on highway 183 at exit 257 (Elm Creek) towards Holdrege. Located in the heart of Phelps County, the Holdrege area was primarily settled through the Homestead Act, where settlers who spent five years farming and improving 160 acres would then receive a deed to that land.

The Nebraska Prairie Museum is a great place to explore this American heritage and more. You have the opportunity to view collections of period clothing, antique toys, farm equipment, tools and household items, a unique W.W.II German POW exhibit room, and much more! One of my favorites is the Town Square, a collection of “shops” depicting stores around the turn of the century. See what could be purchased in the drug store, or pick out your favorite in the toy store.

I proudly declare a personal bias. I am a resident of Phelps County and reside in the house my great-grandfather built on land he homesteaded. The trunk he brought with him from Sweden is in the exhibit about Bertrand, the community I call home. The history of central Nebraska is well represented at the Nebraska Prairie Museum, from a prairie schoolhouse to a country church and extensive genealogical records from the area. If you like history, you’ll love the Nebraska Prairie Museum! Please visit nebraskaprairie.org for the museum hours and to get a preview of the exhibit about Camp Atlanta, a World War II era German POW Camp.