One of my favorite parts of driving through the midwest has been discovering the collections of rich guys that made a fortune off of this land in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. These guys had way too much money and didn’t know what to do with it, and usually attributed it to the hard work that had to be done as pioneers living on the plains. Today, that collection is at Pioneer Village in Minden Nebraska.
Claiming to be the largest collection of “Americana” anywhere, Pioneer Village is a museum consisting of 28 buildings and over 50,000 items. You’ll find everything here from old farming supplies, to the entire history of American cars, to tools and household items from that time period.
The village is a little bit overwhelming. Ok, it’s a lot of bit overwhelming. As soon as you enter the first building, you are surrounded with Model T’s and Wright Brothers era planes. As you exit, old train cars greet you. Multi Floor garages filled with classic cars are numerous. You can spend hours looking around here.
It is definitely worth the time to drive out of the way and explore. The feeling of nostalgia is inescapable. It seems that time and the local economy is taking its toll on the area. The buildings are taken care of, but the surrounding town seems as if it is slowly dying. Who knows how long it will still be around. Come take it in as you can.
Closest Supercharger Gothenberg NE 81 mi
318 Platte River Rd, Gothenburg, NE 69138
Pioneer Village
138 US-6, Minden, NE 68959
