September 12, 2023 – Fort Robinson State Park, NE (Continued)

After hiking the interpretative trail at Toadstool Geologic Park, we drove to High Plains Homestead - an authentic 1880’s village, mercantile and group lodging facility.  We were greeted by the owner; Heather Wolhart and she told us the story of the village.

In 1875 fortune seekers started heading to the Black Hills of South Dakota in search of gold.  They could ride the train as far as Sidney, NE.  From there they either walked or rode horseback to South Dakota along the Sidney to Deadwood Trail.  The following year up to 1,500 people a day passed through Sidney and up the trail.  Small villages sprang up all along this trail. When the traffic on the trail dwindled the villages slowly died.   High Plains Homestead sits on the site of one of these villages.

A previous owner of the property found 1880s buildings in the area and moved them to his property.

We enjoyed looking at both the outside and inside of buildings like this saloon.

And the schoolhouse.

Rex remembers desks like these but no he did not go to school in 1876!!  Not sure the last chairs are very old.

The guest rooms and cabin all have antiques on the porches.

The Sherrif’s office, complete with hat, coat, rifles and a wanted poster laying on the trunk.

Jail rules seem a little harsh – meals of beans, bread and water and only two visits to the outhouse a day!

This was a typical house in the villages – one of the first “tiny homes”.

And no village is without a horse-drawn wagon.

We ate a picnic lunch on a shaded picnic table and then visited the Mercantile Store.  The store sells items from local artisans.  We bought a bowl made from coils of rope and some delicious rhubarb-strawberry jam.  This is a very interesting and fun place to visit.