Group hopes to revive sod house museum in central Nebraska

GOTHENBURG, Neb. (AP) — Three Gothenburg business owners are working to revive the old Sod House Museum at the town’s exit off of Interstate 80.

J.C. Smith said he and his business partners were attracted to the site partly because they noticed that dozens of dog walkers stopped there each day to exercise their pets, according to the Lincoln Journal Star. So the owners of Crop Tech Solutions bought the site that includes the sod house, a big red barn, a large plow and a steel bison built out of barbed wire.

“It’s that free opportunity that’s passing through Gothenburg that we’re trying to capture,” Smith said. “We don’t care about making money. We want to grow our other business and benefit the town.”

Smith and his partners plan to shore up the old sod house, and they’d like to start using the barn to host community events. That may eventually add cabins that travelers can rent overnight.

Anything that draws travelers and their spending money off the interstate is good for the economy, said Deb Egenberger, executive director of the Community Development Office.

“We love that we have a trio of younger people that really have a vision for getting people into Gothenburg and keeping them here for a while,” she said. “We’re really glad to have them doing it.”