A hands-on living history experience awaits you at the Stuhr Museum featuring many original period structures, exhibits, activities and events. In Prairie Treasures Gift Shop unique and one-of-a-kind items including Nebraska made products, historical books, seasonal offerings, goodies and Stuhr Museum souvenirs are available to purchase.
Attractions at the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
Stuhr Building
Start your visit to the history museum in the Stuhr Building, surrounded by a water-filled moat complete with fish and a splendid walkway. Designed by world-renowned architect Edward Durell Stone, the Stuhr Building will orient you with the history and development of the region and prepare you for what you will see, hear and experience as you make your way through the museum. The Museum’s many indoor exhibits showcase period rooms, tools, household articles and furnishings that chronicle Nebraska’s history from 1860 to 1920.
Railroad Exhibit
One of the Stuhr Museum’s most striking features is its Railroad Exhibit, led by the Augustine Family, Union Pacific Engine 437. Following is the Bosselman Family, Hoch Family Union Pacific Boarding Car and the Ann and Dennis Vanosdall Union Pacific Caboose.
The Gus Fonner Rotunda
The Gus Fonner Rotunda houses the history museum’s Native American and Old West memorabilia formerly belonging to the late August L. Fonner, Grand Island civic leader and horseman. Discover fascinating exhibits that reflect the contrasting cultures of the Plains Indians and the early western settlers. At the center of the Rotunda you will find a life-sized sculpture of a Sioux Indian family made by Ellis Burman. The Arrowmaker, made of plaster and coated in bronze, is a sculptor of an Indian boy watching his father sight down an arrow to test its trueness. Behind the boy and his father, the mother watches intently.
Hornady Family Harbor
Wander the winding paths of the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer to the Horady Family Harbor, east of the Fonner Rotunda and featuring a pond, windmill, wooden bridges, flower gardens, shrubs, picnic tables and open grassy spaces. Relax beneath a canopy of trees in the Henry Fonda Memorial Rose Garden, or feed the ducks that live in the history museum’s Arboretum.
Antique Farm Machinery Building
Explore the Stuhr Museum’s Antique Auto and Farm Machinery Building documenting the birth and evolution of the state’s agricultural heritage. Among the Museum’s 200-piece collection of antique farm machinery is an 1880 threshing machine, early steam engines, hay rakes, cultivators, ploughs, potato planters, tractors, and numerous examples of horse-drawn and tractor-drawn farm implements. Additionally the building houses antique automobiles including buggies, a 1909 Model T, a 1913 Overland and a 1903 American.
Pawnee Earth Lodge
Step inside the Pawnee Earth Lodge to experience Indian life. Designed in the style of the Pawnee Indian, the earth lodge houses authentic Pawnee artifacts. See how inhabitants used the space inside the lodge to live, survive, worship and celebrate. Outside the lodge is the original pioneer trail used by mountain men William Ashley and James Beckwourth, by military men like Stephen H. Long, soldiers of Fort Kearny, and by missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman and wife Narcissa. Look for wagon swales outside the Pawnee Earth Lodge, still visible after 175 years. Additionally, Sampson the buffalo and Clyde the goat can be found grazing near the lodge.
Log Cabin Settlement
Stuhr Museum’s Log Cabin Settlement is a complex of eight structures that interpret the 1850s and 60s “road ranches” that were built along the pioneer trails. Such cabins offered travellers heading west a place to rest, buy provisions and make repairs on equipment. Highlighted Cabins include Menck and Vieregg Cabins, where you can discover what humble beginnings are all about.
Taylor Ranch
In its day, Taylor Ranch was one of Hall County’s premier homes, welcoming guests like President Theodore Roosevelt during his visit to Grand Island in 1903. The house features nine bedrooms, three sitting rooms, a nursery, play room, dining room, office, kitchen and pantry, and three baths.
Shopping at Prairie Treasures Gift Shop
Be sure to stop by the Prairie Treasures Gift Shop, located in the Stuhr Building. Unique and one-of-a-kind items including Nebraska-made products, historical books, seasonal offerings, goodies and items related to the Stuhr Museum are available to purchase.
- Wheelchair rentals are available at the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Refreshments can be purchased from vending machines located throughout the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer.
- Non-flash photography, videotapes and audiotapes for private, non-commercial use are permitted throughout the history museum.