Someone (sorry I can't remember who) recommended the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer. It was about 40 miles away and a quick drive using the interstate. As we approached the 200 acres that the museum is on and a long driveway and the "toll gate", I was pleasantly surprised when the girl said it would be $14.00 for the two of us with the old folk's rate. The girl directed us to the Stuhr Building which is surrounded by water.
Once inside the Stuhr building we watched a video partly narrated by Henry Fonda whose boyhood home is on the grounds.
There were two floors of exhibits and the main floor was about the Lincoln Highway. There were marble floors and the noise from upstairs with a disruptive child made us skip the second floor.
We parked our truck and proceeded to "Railroad Town", dropping back in history to the year 1893. The town consists of 24 houses and businesses.
We were immediately greeted by the "woman of the house". She showed us around the home and told us about the owner being a bachelor. We made comment about the large closets that this house possessed. She told us the house was usually brighter but she was washing curtains.
Each one of the homes was completely furnished with all accessories. They have been moved to the property and they even imitated the exact lot size.
This home had a butler's pantry and a dumb waiter.
The next home was even more impressive but the lady of the house told me I wasn't allowed to take photos.
This was the Glade Flour Mill--it was lunch time so I suppose that is why there wasn't someone in period clothing to explain the milling process.
We found out that the docent in the house behind the blacksmith shop was married to the blacksmith. He was making a trivet which will be for sale in the Mercantile.
We were thankful it was such a beautiful day because it wasn't hot in there at all.
The fire hall had a jail in the back left corner.
Next door to the fire hall was the jail and marshal office. We wondered about the jail but this office was closed for lunch.
Bill and I both felt old when we remembered these post office boxes from West Virginia.
Of course, Bill liked the bank with the big vault.
The millinery shop was very interesting. All the hats are handmade using old photos for patterns.
Can you see the snake on the bottom center hat? I can't understand why someone would want one on a hat.
The wood planing mill was very interesting. The docent turned on all the machinery and it was surprising how quiet it was. 
How do I look as mayor sitting in the mayor's seat in town hall?
Bill will only go to a barber shop that has a red and white pole out front. This shop had a bathtub off to the left and a red and white pole.
The docent working in the Mercantile was telling us her parents live in Casa Grande. I had to buy a candy stick but it was hard to choose which flavor. I chose tangerine.
There was a newspaper shop which Bill took a photo of the printing area and said this photo is for Don but for some reason half of our photos didn't transfer. There was a boarding house, cafe, telephone exchange, tinsmith, veterinary, school, hardware, doctor and shoe shop. The depot and train were also displayed.
We climbed back in the truck and drove to the church.
The next stop was the Pawnee earth lodge. The Pawnee were the dominant people of the region until the 1850's.
We figured if we went back to the Stuhr Building maybe the disruptive child would be gone. It was nice and quiet. One interesting thing I saw was this World War I gas mask for a horse.
Turtle Safely.....
I had no idea that they had gas masks for the horses. Makes sense though. I think it's neat they had people working in each building to give you some background info.
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