Old West Town Tour

Welcome!

The town dog has awaited your arrival. If a dog accepted strangers coming into a town the people would accept them but if the dog showed dislike for the strangers the people would shy away from them. If you are in the dog house go ahead take your picture as you begin your walk into yesterday.

Outhouse

The outhouse is waiting to welcome you. The outhouse was the equalizer of yesterday. People of every size, shape, religion, intelligence, and ability used the same facilities so it was called the necessary. Notice the wide street. If the founding fathers of a town thought their town would grow and prosper they made the street wide enough to turn the oxen team when supplies were brought in by the freight line.

Wagon Tarp Tent

As the people came west they took the tarp off the top of the wagon and made it into a tent. That tent was used as a business building or a home until they could afford a small building. Our buildings are of the original size used as the people came west. There are 14 or 16 of the old, old, buildings from that time and you will recognize them as you go along.

Saloon

As the men came west they were looking for information about land, jobs or where supplies could be obtained. The saloon was usually a place to find the information. If the saloon sold groceries or supplies it was called a roadhouse. When the women came they used the saloon for church services or gatherings since it was usually the largest building in the town.

Town Hall

Our town hall is used as a washroom or restroom. Many things happen in town halls today so we named our bathrooms the town hall.

Surveyors

The surveyors came first to measure the land so it could be given away. One old man told how the grass was as high as a horse's belly or the horse's head. The surveyors were walking and were petrified of being caught in a buffalo stampede or grass fire so they dug seedling trees along the banks of the rivers and lakes to plant in the surveyor stake holes in hopes the trees would grow and be used as a guide to get them back off the prairie. Those trees were known as lone trees all across Louisiana Purchase Territory.

Immigration

The early immigrants came through the southern states, then Ellis Island where better records were kept. Later they came through Quebec, Canada. The fare was ½ half thru Quebec since the ships were reloaded, usually with lumber, and returned to Europe The free land could be gotten several ways but each claim had requirements. The idea was to give away the land and collect tax money to operate the government.

The railroads sent people to Europe to tell about the free land and they prospered by the fares to transport the immigrants and their belongings.

Accountant

Mr. after Taxes is waiting for you to have your picture taken. After all you feel like that after you pay your taxes you may as well look like that.

Fur Trader

The fur trades were among the early settlers. They trapped and hunted for food and the furs. The beaver pelt was used for hats and coats as it shed the water. There was no medicine for pneumonia so it was most important to keep warm and dry.

Barber

The barber did a lot of doctoring and dental work as well as cutting hair and shaving the men. The red of the barber pole is for the blood and the white is for the shaving cream used in the barbering profession.

Furniture Craftsmen

As the people came west the animals got tired of pulling the wagons so the people threw away their furniture to lighten the loads. When the carpenters came they built buildings and furniture. Many people of Scandinavian descent were very adept in carpentry skills.

The people coming to America were in different sizes. As you go around the corner you will find mirrors to alter your shape. If you put your feet close to the frame you can change your appearance. Sometimes you get a little broad in the beam or lose 20 pounds here but it is difficult to keep it off once you walk away.

Bootlegging Shack

As we follow the boardwalk we come to the bootlegging shack. There was no welfare in early day America so if you had a big family and needed food you could steal the neighbor’s chickens and sell liquor illegally. It was called bootlegging. Stealing the chickens and selling liquor illegally were both disgraceful and could be punishable by jail time which was terrible.

Laundry

Our laundry is an Oriental laundry. There are 50 nationalities in the Oriental culture. The people were small in stature and very hard working. They worked on the railroads coming west and were often owned restaurants and laundries. They were businesses that required long hard hours of service.

Creamery

Turn to the left and go along the back of the barn. The first building is a creamery. Children of 3 or 4 years could milk the milch cows. The cream was sold for 4 cents a pound as America stepped into 1900 and it provided money to pay taxes on the homestead.

Hatchery

The hatchery has equipment used for chickens or fowl Eggs were hatched by the hens in early days and later were incubated by machines. Turkeys were a favorite during hard times since they would forge on weeds and were able to get along on little feed.

Fire Company

As we go along the side of the barn, we go across to the fire company. If a fire broke out in an old town the youngest children would pump the water to put out the fire. The people thought their town was falling apart when they had to ask for volunteers to fight fires.

Vacant Lot

The vacant lot is available for rent or sale. The sheriff or marshal was hired to keep a nice peaceful town. Sometimes he was a good guy and sometimes he was a bad guy. There is a story about gunslingers. They rolled up a $5. bill and carried it in the last chamber of their gun so if they were slow on the draw in a gunfight the undertaker got the $5. and would bury them.

Jail

The jail is a Dakota Territory jail from Ward, South Dakota. Notice how the lumber was laid down to build the walls. It was a disgrace to go to jail and your family would be ashamed of your behavior. We are grateful to the Ward community for this piece of history. The furnishings are the original pieces from the 1800s.

Gunsmith

A gunsmith would fix our guns or perhaps reload ammunition for us. A gun was never pointed at anyone or anything you did not intend to kill.

Newspaper

A newspaper was among the first businesses to be established for a town to grow and prosper. The Moss City news presented the facts and let you decide who was right or wrong. When stories were printed they contained a moral or lesson to enlighten or entertain their readers.

Bank

Banking was conducted by a family with money. They would make loans, collect interest, and become very wealthy. If you were honest and worked hard chances are they would loan you money.

Feed and Seed

Feed and seed was bought and sold through the feed store. Grain was sold by weight. Farmers had their grain cleaned and used as seed the next year. Their crops increased but they planted in rotation to restore the nutrients in the soil. Fertilizer was the manure from their livestock that they used on the land.

Ice Shack

Before you go around the corner, I would like you to look back to that little ice shack. The buildings you see are grey, brown, dirty and monotonous. If the grass was as high as the horse's belly and a gentle breeze was blowing..the wave of grass, the dirty existence and the quiet cost many of the pioneer men and women their mental stability. They simply lost their minds.

As we go around the corner we see the family chair. We can all be little kids again when we sit in it.

Jeweler

The jeweler sold eyeglasses and beautiful colored dishes and bright shiny jewelry. I think this store gave women hope for color and prosperity in their lives. The abstract and insurance company researched the title to land and recorded the flaws and descriptions. The insurance companies made many promises in their policies but some did not pay as promised.

Toy Store

The toy store was not a real business. We wanted you to see what the toys were like. Most of them were educational. Dolls prepared girls to care for babies. Cards taught counting. Blocks could teach letters.

Machines taught the working of equipment. Books helped you read. The toys created imagination and the desire for learning.

Photographer

The photographer recorded life in early America. Many of them traveled and carried nice clothes so you could dress up, have a picture taken and send that picture to your family looking quite well off. It took from 5 to 20 minutes of holding very still to get a picture. That is why many of the people in the early pictures look constipated.

General Store

The general store sold a bit of everything. In the early days the people went to do their trading rather than shopping. They would take the extra eggs, apples, potatoes, etc. to the store and trade with the owner for what they needed. We call it bartering today.

Sweet Shop

The sweet shop made bread, pies, cookies and cakes daily. Men traveling through the area would be good customers. It would be operated by a spinster or widow. It was a disgrace for a man if his wife had to work to help support his family.

Butcher

The butchering was done on farms or behind buildings. The people coming west in a wagon train allowed 700 pounds of meat for a family of 4 to reach their destination. As the people came they supplemented their supply with game.

Construction Company

The construction company has the tools used in the building of roads and structures. When the men would build roads or plow the snow to open the roads in the winter they were paid with a warrant that could be used to pay their taxes. Many men saved their family homestead with those warrants.

Livery Barn

The man at the livery barn would rent a buggy or wagon to you. He sold or traded horses or animals. He would board your horse while you did you business in town. When a man went courtin he better rent a nice buggy because ladies like to go in style. If he didn't have any money left he could sleep in the hayloft and hope the guy before him didn't have bed bugs.

Blacksmith

The blacksmith fixed broken iron pieces on your wagon or implements. He would shoe your horses, mules or oxen. He would weld pieces together by getting the metal in his forge white hot and pounding it together to form a single piece. In his spare time the blacksmith made square nails. The nails were so valuable the people burned their homes to bring the nails west.

Hardware Store

The hardware store sold almost everything we needed. He had pails, shovels, chain, guns, fishing things, fencing materials, coal oil, paint and housewares for the ladies. If their chamber pot sprang a leak he sold mend-its to fix the leak or even a brand new chamber pot.

Old Tipi Burner

The old tipi burner houses our Indian display. As America spread west the great White Father in Washington made treaties with the people but the Indian agents hired by the government were not always honest, which created a lot of problems. The code talkers used their native language to translate messages during World War 2 to help win the war. The Indian people contributed a lot to the growth and development of America.

Hotel

The hotel provided lodging for people traveling as well as space for other businesses. Traveling salesmen would rent a room in the hotel. They would advertise their wares so people would come to the hotel and buy their products and then move on to the next location to set up and sell again. The first hotel in Rapid City had 2 bedrooms and a dirt floor. In this fine establishment we have 4 bedrooms and a dirt floor. One of our rooms is used for boarding house lodgers.

Restaurant

A restaurant is attached to the hotel. As families moved west, they would at times have difficulties such as a wagon axle break or some such difficulty that caused them to stay in an area over the winter. The men could secure a job working day labor and sleeping in a hayloft but the women would find work in a hotel or restaurant and work for room and board.

Opera House

The opera house provided entertainment and culture in the old towns. Traveling groups came into the towns to put on plays, musical programs, etc. Sometimes one person would read poetry and of course religious speakers traveled from place to place entertaining. I am sorry we are not taking applications for opera singers today.

Catalog Store

The catalog store was not a normal business in the old towns. The catalog companies sent out their books through the post office and the customers would order the items they wanted which were delivered by the postman. The catalog company sold everything from school supplies, farm equipment, construction materials, clothing, food, medicine, beautiful jewelry, and homes. The catalog companies caused many small business owners out of business since they bought in volume and sold cheap.

Undertaker

The undertaker was usually connected with a furniture company. The early coffin was just a box. Burial was done soon after death before the body began to decompose.

Seamstress

The seamstress would be a widow or spinster. She would repair or mend your clothing or make new clothing if the lady of the house did not have time. Old clothing was made into blankets or lap robes. Nothing was wasted. If the material was beyond use it was used for rags to clean.

School

School land was set aside in towns or communities for education of children. If you came from another country the teacher would use books written in both your native tongue and English. You would learn one line at a time and in turn teach your family at home the translations.

The book we have is in German and the first line is "Where is your new home?" You could learn the township, county, and state in just that one sentence. The books were printed in 16 or 17 languages from across the world.

Church

Church was held in saloons or large buildings before buildings were built just for services. The churches provided a social element to the communities as well as education of the bible. Many of the early settlers could not read so the ministers interpreted the messages and explained their ideas to the people.

Cemetery

We ask you to stop for a moment and pay your respects to the dearly departed in the cemetery. The town notables such as "Bill Owen" who died poor, "Humpty Dumpty" lies in pieces and "Billy Buffalo" are resting here.

Manure Spreader

The manure spreader awaits newlywed people here in town. It was customary to take the newlyweds for a ride in the stinky spreader just for fun.

Leather and Harness Shop

The leather and harness shop has the equipment to make saddles, harnesses, and even shoes. Leather is one product that can be washed with saddle soap to clean and then soaked in neatsfoot oil to restore it to its original condition.

Lumber Company

The O’Conner Lumber Company was operated by the O’Conner family for 4 generations. There are lots of trees here to be cut but they ran out of boys. The buildings were skidded to the trees in early days and cut. The O’Conner family is spoken of with praise by former employees and customers alike. They are remembered as hard working and honest in all their dealings. We are grateful for the donation of this building from Jack O’Conner and his family.

Implement Building

The Implement Building houses an Indian Agency buggy, a pony sleigh, a doctor buggy and a Studebaker Wagon. The company sold glass, repair items and even potato planting items. Potatoes could be baked in the morning when the boys did chores. After breakfast a potato could be put in each pocket to keep your hands warm as you walked to school. At noon you ate the potatoes for lunch. Potatoes grew in most soil and produced many times their seed.

Dentist

The dental work was done in very early days by the barber but in time a man who knew dental skills had his own practice. If you had an infected tooth it was necessary to remove or repair the tooth to prevent infection since there were no medicines as we know them today. The chair is a World War I dental chair and the arms of the chair held you down as they worked on your teeth.

Music Store

The Music Store was a wonderful addition to the town. Each area in the world had a form of traditional music in their area but the people enjoyed the music from all the other cultures. It is considered the universal language of the people. This store contains several instruments of music.

Hairdesser

Hairdressing was usually done at home but as America prospered women enhanced their appearance and of course the hair became the first consideration of beauty. A wig or added tresses gave your hair more body and beauty. In time a permanent was used to add curl to your straight locks or if your hair was curly a straightening solution was used to straighten the locks.

Judge’s Chambers

The Judge's chambers were used if a scoundrel broke the law. The judge was allowed to perform marriages in the absence of a minister. Justice was swift and in days of old based on the Bible. Some judges used the readings from the Old Testament with an “eye for an eye” and some judges used the New Testament with “turn the other cheek” as the basis of their decisions.

America uses the jury system in their legal system. The gallows are above the judge's chamber. We carefully adhere to the hanging of out of control mother-in-laws at high noon daily IF the hang-man is sober and available.

Barrister

The Barrister or lawyer was to obtain justice for people who had difficulty in legal matters. You would need to read and understand the 12 books in the book case to obtain the knowledge to be a lawyer. Last but not least we have the office of Doctor Rex M. Quack our beloved doctor. Many of the doctors started doctoring animals and went onto caring for people. The doctor mixed medicines, many of which contained alcohol or natural plants used as drugs. A doctor was required to have a skeleton in his closet to determine how the bones in the body aligned as America stepped into 1900.

Old West Town
Adventures in an Old West Town
Experience the Old West