Plainsman Museum & Hamilton County Historical Society

The Plainsman Museum is a not-for-profit institution, which focuses on the time from 1860-1950, that collects, preserves, illustrates, and works to establish the History of Hamilton County, Nebraska, through education, exhibits, research, and maintenance of relevant archives and collections.

Plainsman Museum Main Building

For fifty years the Plainsman Museum has been entrusted with the care of over 50,000 artifacts, as well as various written and photographic records detailing the lives of those who called this region home. Our exhibits are housed in five buildings on our 6-acre campus. In our Main Building, we have our colorful rotunda murals and mosaics, a sod house, a log cabin, a historical Main Street boardwalk, our military exhibit, and much, much more! We also have a vast collection of antique farm implements in our Agricultural Museum, as well as the Lulow historical homestead. Our other buildings include Gen. Delevan & Lana Bates' Victorian-era house, a one-room schoolhouse, and a blacksmith shop. All of these exhibits allow for a detailed and immersive experience for our visitors, some of whom come from around the country and around the world!

We also have a wide range of records available for historical and genealogical research. From newspapers, to photographs, to plat maps, to telephone directories and more - there's a wealth of information available.