Sights to See

Palmer-Epard Cabin

The Palmer-Epard Cabin was built in 1867 from mixed hardwoods, by George W. Palmer about 14 miles northeast of the Monument. It is representative of local construction style and considered luxurious in size measuring 14 x 16 feet. Imagine living in this one room cabin with 10 children. Between 1875 and 1880, a 10 x 12 foot lean-to was added to the rear of the original cabin and the Palmers continued to live in it until 1895 when it was sold to nephews Eugene Mumford and William Foreman. A few years later, the farm was resold to Lawrence and Ida Mumford Epard. The Epards lived in the cabin for nearly 40 years.

The cabin was moved to Homestead National Monument in June of 1950 and placed on a concrete foundation and rehabilitated by park employees. It was moved in 1954 away from Nebraska Highway 4 right of way and then again in 1961 to the present site behind the visitor center. Maintenance and preservation of the cabin have been the priority of the National Park Service during this time. The Palmer-Epard cabin fills the need of an interpretive feature at the Monument, giving a glimpse of life on the homestead frontier in the years following the Civil War.

In many areas trees were not available for constructing log cabins so homesteaders lived in dugouts and sod houses.

Freeman School

The Freeman School serves as a reminder of the role the schoolhouse played in the history of the prairie frontier. Officially known as school District Number 21, the school was a center of education for prairie children from 1872 until 1967. During its long history, the school was also a meeting place for the First Trinity Lutheran Church, the polling place for Blakely Township, and a gathering place for many debates, socials and clubs. It is not known if it was named after Thomas Freeman , a local bricklayer, or Daniel Freeman, a local homesteader. Both men served on the school board at one time. Daniel garnered national attention with his protest against bible-based lessons at the school.

Books and supplies were precious in one-room schools. Many students had to supply their own texts, often the family Bible. However, in 1881, the Freeman School provided textbooks for its students, ten years before it was required by the legislature. Some furnishings were hand-made, but the Freeman School had desks shipped from Indiana. Teachers were young, sometimes younger than their oldest students. Salaries were meager, and many teachers were housed and fed by the student's families.

The school stands quiet now. The sounds of the teacher's bell, children at recess, and Sunday Hymns have faded. Today, the Freeman school provides us with a window to the past, a small glimpse of life on the prairie frontier. The National Park Service has restored the school to look much as it did in the 1870's. You may visit the grounds anytime, but access to the interior of the school is limited to Ranger conducted tours available during normal operating hours. Upon request, the Freeman School is open for tours year round, from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. School groups are welcome to visit and even to hold classes for a day in the historic classroom.

Exhibition of Solomon Butcher Photographs

Homestead National Monument of America will open a Solomon D. Butcher Photography exhibition on March 12, 2008 at the monument's Education Center. This special exhibition will run until June 29, 2008. On loan from the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney, Nebraska, the exhibition will feature images from their collection of Solomon Butcher prints.

The exhibition showcases homesteaders from western Nebraska. Butcher originally initiated this unique project due to his acute awareness that homesteading was a brief moment in American history, worthy of documentation. From 1886 to 1911 he photographed the men and women brave enough to homestead in hopes of relating their stories to future generations. The portion of Butcher's prints on display at Homestead National Monument of America consists of homesteading family portraits and 're-created histories' from western Nebraska.

Living Wall

As visitors walk from the parking lot to the Heritage Center they pass the "Living Wall," a visual representaiton of the percentage of land in each state that was successfully homesteaded. Homesteaders claimed land from the "public domain." When the Homestead Act was passed in 1862 there were many states where most of the public land or "public domain" had already been sold to settlers. In 1862 most of the "public domain" was in states west of the Mississippi, but there was some public land in some of the states east of the Mississippi. Therefore, eventually there were successful homesteaders in 30 states. Each of these 30 states is represented in the "Living Wall." In the photo album below the "cut out" in each state represents the percentage of land in the state that was successfully homesteaded.

Nearby Attractions

Homestead National Monument of America is located in an area rich with the history of the westward settlement of the United States. There are also many other historical and natural national and state sites of interest. There are several camping locations nearby.

Local Sites of Interest

Rock Creek Station State Historical Park
Near Jansen, Nebraska

Rock Creek Station might have faded into obscurity, like so many other stage and Pony Express stations, except for one fateful day in 1861. On that July afternoon, one James Butler Hickok killed David McCanles there and began his career as a gunfighter.

Rock Creek SHP's Visitor Center overlooks some 350 acres of prairie hilltops, timber-studded creek bottoms, rugged ravines and deep trail ruts. A visit to the Visitor Center can help start a mental journey back to the 1800's. Interpretation of the road ranches, "Wild Bill" Hickok and tales of trail traffic bear mute testimony to the rich history of the area.

Rock Creek Station SHP is located adjacent to the Recreation Area which has electrical camper pads with a modern shower/latrine building.

Gage County Historical Society and Museum
In Beatrice, Nebraska

The museum is housed in the Burlington Railroad Depot built in 1906 in the Neo-Classical Revival style. The building was constructed of Omaha pressed brick with Bedford stone trim at the cost of $35,000, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On October 1, 1908, presidential candidate William Howard Taft stopped at the station to speak from his train to an estimated crowd of 12,000.

Hollenberg Pony Express Station State Historic Site
Near Hanover, Kansas

At historic Hollenberg Pony Express Station you can almost hear the thundering of horse hooves and the creak of wagons as Pony Express riders and hundreds of pioneers made their way west.

Information Resources
Visit Beatrice
Nebraska Travel and Tourism
Nebraska Games and Parks Commission
Nebraska State Historical Society
Kansas Travel and Tourism
Kansas State Historical Society
National Park System
National Archives

Nearby Attractions

Units in the National Park System

Nebraska
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument
Niobrara National Scenic River
Missouri National Recreation River
Scotts Bluff National Monument

Kansas
Brown v Board of Education National Historic Site
Fort Larned National Historic Site
Fort Scott National Historic Site
Nicodemus National Historic Site
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

National Trails System
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Missouri River Basin Lewis & Clark Interpretive Trail & Visitors Center [Nebraska City, Nebraska]
Western Historic Trails Center [Council Bluffs, Iowa]
Missouri National Recreational River Resource and Education Center [Ponca, Nebraska]
Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center [Sioux City, Iowa]
Santa Fe National Historic Trail
Oregon National Historic Trail
California National Historic Trail
Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
Pony Express National Historic Trail
Marysville [Kansas] Pony Express Barn
Hollenberg Pony Express Station
Rock Creek Station

State Sites

Kansas State Historic Sites

Hollenberg Pony Express Station State Historic Site [near Hanover, Kansas]

Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site [Eight miles north of U.S. 36 on K-266 near Republic, Kansas]

Native American Heritage Museum State Historic Site [One mile north of U.S. 36, two miles east of Highland, Kansas]

Kansas Museum of History [Topeka, Kansas]

Other Kansas Sites of Interest

Pony Express Barn [Marysville, Kansas]

Konza Prairie [Manhattan, Kansas]

Nebraska State Parks and State Historical Parks

Arbor Lodge State Historical Park [Nebraska City, Nebraska]

Fort Kearney State Historical Park [Kearney, Nebraska]

Indian Cave State Park [Shubert, Nebraska]

Mahoney State Park [Ashland, Nebraska]

Platte River State Park [Louisville, Nebraska]

Rock Creek Station State Historical Park [near Jansen, Nebraska]

Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial [Red Cloud, Nebraska]

Nebraska State Park Contact Information

Other Nebraska Sites of Interest

Gage County Historical Society and Museum [in Beatrice, Nebraska]

Old West Trails Center [Odell, Nebraska]

Great Plains Welsh Heritage Project [Wymore, Nebraska]

Czech Museum [Wilber, Nebraska]

Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer [Grand Island, Nebraska]

Hastings Museum and Planetarium [Hastings, Nebraska]

Sites In or Near Lincoln, Nebraska

Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center

University of Nebraska State Museum [often referred to as Morrill Hall or Elephant Hall]

Nebraska State Capitol

Museum of Nebraska History

Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery

Great Plains Art Museum

Strategic Air and Space Museum

Visitors' Bureau for Other Cities in the Region

Omaha, Nebraska

Nebraska City, Nebraska

Grand Island, Nebraska

Topeka, Kansas

St. Joseph, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri

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