Nebraska

The Archway is a unique trail-themed building that spans the emigrant trails, now part of Interstate 80. The facility tells this story of 170 years of westward movement with detailed displays, family activities, education programs, and more.

The 1864 Uprising was a series of American Indian raids made by the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes in an attempt to drive emigrants from their lands. A Nebraska State Historical Society interpretive marker provides more information about these raids.

Windlass Hill is scarred by deeply eroded ruts cut by thousands of wagons sliding downhill with their wheels locked on the Oregon Trail. Due to the steepness of the grade, the wagons could easily travel at speeds that were not good for them or the livestock pulling the wagons. They were slowed by locking the wheels, which prevented the wheels from turning and increased friction.

Sweet spring water made Ash Hollow State Historical Park an important spot for American Indians. Centuries ago, a ferocious battle between the Pawnee and Lakota Sioux took place here for control of the valley. Years later, this valley, and its spring water, also became an important stop for emigrants making their way west.

Fort Kearny was the first Western military post built to protect emigrants on the trails west, and it later served as the headquarters for a number of small outposts along the emigrant trails. The fort was also a place where emigrants could resupply and a Pony Express station.

Walk along original wagon swales, visit a Pawnee Indian earth lodge, and explore a “pioneer settlement” that interprets the 1850s-1860s road ranches—the truck stops of yore—that served emigration and freight traffic along the trail.

The final resting place of Mormon emigrant Rebecca Winters. Rebecca died of cholera on August 15, 1852. Her grave site was marked with a metal wagon wheel rim that was engraved “Rebecca Winters, Age 50.” The grave had been forgotten for years until 1899 when surveyors for the Burlington Northern Railroad rediscovered it. 

O'Fallon's Bluff is a section of bluffs about 20 miles long that sits next to the south side of the Platte River. The bluffs close proximity to the river forced the emigrant trails onto a narrow path that went up and over the bluffs. Over time, as thousands of wagons, emigrants, and livestock went up the rise, ruts were carved into the dry bluffs. These ruts are still visible today at Sutherland Rest Area.

The Murdock site is located on the south side of the Wood River, two miles south of present-day Alda, Nebraska, and one mile southwest of the Wood River Crossing. The swales seen in the ground on this 2.4 acre site are from decades of wagon wheels, plodding livestock and pioneers on foot. They have survived because the small patch of ground between the modern road and the river was preserved for generations as pastureland.

Located on the Oregon Trail, legacy of the Plains Museum is a destination for people interested in stories of human and agricultural history in the North Platte Valley and High Plains. Fine new state-of-the-art and interactive exhibits.