harold warp pioneer village

Lived in Nebraska for 20+ years and finally went to Pioneer Village. Very cold, they are not heating any of the buildings. 26 buildings of stuff! quite the car collection in several of the buildings. Unique and varied items. Loved the fact that alot of the stuff here is hands-on and touchable. You can tell that this museum is past its prime, but still worth the side trip if in the Kearney/Grand Island area.

Loved everything, so much to look at. Very cool and speaking of cool, the buildings were all very cold. I think its hard to justify to keep place open in winter. Still brought back great memories. Hopefully it will survive.

When I was told that it would take hours to go through a museum in the heart of Nebraska, I was skeptical. But the Pioneer Village takes at least that long to take in all the buildings and collections. They are very cool and you'll never see anything like this in one place again. Ironically, the very thing that Mr. Warp was trying to portray in showing the evolution of things over time has also impacted the museum itself. It is stuck in time from the '50s to '70s era when it was at its peak and now the world has surpassed it, just as the highway has. It's still a great place to visit and we recommend taking the small detour off of I-80 to see it. Unfortunately we went on a cold day and there of course isn't any heat in any of the buildings so it got kind of uncomfortable after awhile and we didn't see all that we could have seen. We hope that the Foundation can continue to support this great collection of history and carry on Mr. Warp's legacy.

There are collections of cameras and typewriters, guns and toys, ladies' fashions and Western art, china and glassware. But the most impressive and seemingly most in keeping with the overall theme are the collections of farm equipment and cars. Like, the 2nd oldest Cadillac, the first production model Ford, and on and on. Just some amazing stuff. There are several big warehouse buildings containing much of this. Then there are other buildings, such as a 1-room schoolhouse, a sod house, and an old store, that have been acquired and moved here. The day we were here, 2 days before Thanksgiving, it was colder than cold, with a stiff north wind. We got pretty cold walking between buildings and even inside, most are not heated. I would like to come back in milder weather and see a lot more. The lady in the main building who took the tickets and manned the gift shop was very nice.

This is an amazing place. A little off the road but well worth the visit. The collection must have taken a long time to assemble and it is both educational and fun to explore.

Do you like antique farm equipment? Do you love aviation equipment? Railroads, trolley cars, the history of everyday life in the various decades of the 20th century, the pony express, old churches, odd hobbies? I'm sure I missed something. Come early you still won't have enough time to take it all in. This place is mind blowing I can't say enough about it. I can't wait to visit again and plan to stop in again in November over Thanksgiving.

There are some attractions you visit that when you leave you wonder if it was worth the admission price. Not so with this place. There is SO MUCH to see! And it's organized in such a great way. Some of the exhibits are interactive (great for kids), and I just can't say enough about how cool this place is. Better give yourself plenty of time, though; you'll be here a while.

Ok. This place is the equivalent of a Disneyland of Americana!!!! No....this place is BETTER than Disneyland!!! It's located in Minden, Nebraska and it will take an entire day to go through, or better yet 3 days. Your ticket to enter is a multiple day pass. There's miles and miles of authentic (not replicas) of Americana and it's all organized to take you from the start of USA history to current times. There's an authentic pioneer village on site that is all authentic buildings that were brought in and restored. There is a working steam train you can take rides on, a working old water tower that fills the train, seriously there are no words qualified to explain this place. For the car enthusiast there's every kind of classic car you can dream up. The money this man put into this place is nothing other than...."seriously???" There is also a campground on site so you can stay overnight.This place is worth coming any distance to see...seriously probably the best place I've ever been to in my whole life and I've traveled extensively.

Way past it's prime. New owners are not keeping it up. Dark and dusty. If you must visit bring a flashlight.

Visit Pioneer Village while you can. With leaking roofs and burnt out lighting Harold Warp's dream of a self-supporting museum may not be realized. So much deferred maintenance is not a sign of financial strength. Pioneer Village may not be around for long. If only Interstate 80 had been built closer! There were a dozen cars in the lot instead of the hundreds that this place needs to survive. It is still an interesting collection. We took four hours to tour all 26 buildings. Pioneer Village's faults are manifold. When was the last time the carousel worked or the diner was open? Did the diner's awning blow away in the last year or the last millennium? Pioneer Village's best displays show American rooms through the decades. There must be hundreds of cars. Like most car museums, you see only the front ends of most cars with no rear end, interior, or dashboard views. Unlike most car museums, the lighting is poor. I rate Pioneer Village 5 stars for all the stuff. You never saw so much stuff. Tractors, ski mobiles, farm implements, steam locomotive, schoolroom, church, sleighs, button hooks, radios, furniture, water tower, outboard motors, hansom cab, still, gasoline pumps, clothing, fire extinguishers, the list goes on and on. We saw a wheel chair user. There would be plenty to see in a wheelchair, but no way to go upstairs in a number of buildings, definitely not 100% accessible, maybe 70%. We saw four staff members. The man demonstrating broom making was great, the guy smoking while mowing grass was not. With a docent in each of the 26 buildings and an army of curators and conservators this place could be world class. As it is it is just a massive collection of poorly lighted and described items. The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village do it right, go there instead if you can.

Mustangdad1961 did a great job of describing Pioneer Village. We took our children there about 3 decades ago and , for better or worse, it has not changed.There is, however, no question that it needs some repairs--as but one of many examples, the merry-go'round--does not work and needs extensive repairs. This may be a situation of Catch-22. The funding is not there to make all the necessary repairs, but to get more funding it will likely have to be "updated" to attract today's generation "of wired and connected, short-attention span" populous.I want to explicitly state that this is not simply a place of historical items displayed, but a showcase of development of that item from its early product to its latest iteration. We certainly find it fascinating to trace the progress, but wish it were in better presentation for safety and enjoyment. Unfortunately even in tourist season, there were very few other visitors.Lots and lots to see no matter your interests.Rating is difficult, becasue it is a treasure mine, but really needs some tender loving care and undoubtedly an infusion of a lot of cash.

Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska, offers visitors a chance to look back through American history. The museum focuses on life in America from the mid-1800s to the mid-1960s.I remember visiting Pioneer Village as a small child. My dad had borrowed a school bus that had been converted into a camper, and we loaded up the family for a couple of days in central Nebraska.I recall walking through one section with my mom. I can’t remember the exact spot in the village, but I remember talking about the history there.Each year since my wife and I started driving out to take in the Sandhill Crane viewing near Kearney, I’ve mentioned wanting to go to Pioneer Village. This year, we pulled the trigger and scheduled it as part of a weekend in the area.I was a little worried about being disappointed in the visit. I’d read articles and reviews mentioning the place was run down, in need of repair and exhibits were very dusty.Me thinks reports of its demise are extremely misreported. Do some items need paint jobs? Yes. Are some items dusty? Well, with 50,000 pieces of memorabilia, isn’t it realistic to expect some items may get dusty? So, yes, there were a few things that needed dusting. Pioneer Village may not be the crown jewel of the Plains it once was, but it is far from a rundown piece of junk.I enjoyed our visit. So did Lisa. I asked her what she thought about the reports I had read, and she agreed with me.More than 25 buildings sit on 20 acres of land. Some of the buildings were relocated from their original locations in rural Nebraska.The main building houses a display of different modes of transportation. From the early pioneer days, a covered wagon offers a glimpse of life in the day. A stage coach is on display. It gives a peek into what early overland commercial travel would have been like.A row of old cars welcomes visitors. We overhead a couple of older men discussing a few of the cars. It was interesting hearing them talk about what each car was like.An old milk wagon reminded Lisa of when her grandma would have milk delivered to the house. Of course, that was by truck and not a wagon.A row of antique dolls lined the top level of the building. There was a Mary Lincoln doll. The oddest thing we noticed in the exhibit was the Cabbage patch Doll, sitting amongst the antique ones.Two more large facilities house other vehicles. One is dedicated to Chevrolets. The second building had a variety of cars.One car that jumped out at me was an old Mercury Comet. We had one when I was a kid. We drove it to Montana when we visited relatives there. The thing I remember is getting passed by antique cars, such as a Ford Model T, on the interstate. I thought our car had no power. It turned out my dad drove slow his entire life. Ha!There was a truck that was built like a snowmobile. It had ski blades in front of the hood area.Farm equipment takes up a third large building.We saw tons of farm implements. Plows, combines, etc.Of course, I had to take a picture of a John Deere tractor. My dad loved John Deere vehicles.The village has a nice small outdoor path that allows access to small buildings.One is an “Indian stockade.” It was actually a fort building. It was a small building, but I guess five families lived in it at one time. They had to be cramped.An old railroad depot features a train engine and caboose. A rural schoolhouse shows what life was like in a one-room school.A sod house replica was pretty cool to view. The one-room structure represents what many homes would be like on the prairie.A working church sits on the grounds. The church was built in 1884 in Minden. It still has the original pews, pulpit and organ, among other items. A non-denominational service is held Sundays during summer months.We both enjoyed the Hobby House. It has a huge collection of off the wall items, including glass pitchers, Civil War “action figures,” salt/pepper shakers, dolls, patches, as well glass items. There is a jewel-decorated alphabet lining the ceiling wall.I checked with the Pioneer Village management about future plans. They plan to increase the period covered into this century. The museum is about American progress, so they are working on obtaining items to exhibit.They already have some. We noticed some old computers on display. There were some Commodores, as well as an Apple computer. Kids today probably cannot believe the size of some of the earlier computers. Pioneer Village is about a 12-mile drive south of Interstate 80. It is worth the drive. It gives an interesting look into the history of America.

An incredible, mind-boggling collection of Americana and everything American. It's an encyclopedia of everything that happened in America from the 1800s to the early 1900s. There is something of interest for everyone… the exhibits are so extensive you could spend days here.

This is just the BEST place. If Americana appeals to you, you can come here and eat your fill. There's the history of just about everything in daily life from amusements to housekeeping to tractors to cars to buildings to greeting cards. I spent a very enjoyable three hours there, one could spend days. I have some pictures at my blog: http://canibringthedog.com/2014/05/08/route-6-adventures-nebraska/

This village was recommended to us by a friend so we stopped on our way through NE. Wow……over 50,000 items on display from antique cars, tractors, trucks, china, you name it, it's there. We couldn't spend all day so we cut short a few of the buildings and I'm sure we missed some things but I think we have a good idea of what all has been collected for this museum and will come back again. It could use some upgrading in various areas, however that being said it may lose some of it's charm. I do think the grounds could use some TLC…..especially in the campground area which is where we stayed for a night. The restaurant is closed 'for the season' the sign says but one lady told us it's been closed for several seasons, however, the snack bar was open. Wear comfortable shoes would be the one recommendation I'd give.