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Prairie Lakes Region, Nebraska

Republican City Orleans Brule Wood River Ravenna Elwood Beaver City Stockville Curtis Hayes Center Imperial Ogallala Sutherland North Platte Gothenburg Cozad Lexington Kearney Loup City Gibbon St. Paul Grand Island Benkelman McCook Cambridge Arapahoe Holdrege Minden Hastings Alma Franklin Red Cloud Trenton Grant

In 1820, Stephen Long, explorer and military man, called this country the Great American Desert. Today, he'd be shocked to discover dozens of man-made lakes and huge reservoirs complementing the grassy plains of the region. Nowhere is the relationship of man and the land more poignantly realized than Nebraska's Prairie Lakes Country. This relationship becomes even more evident in the excellent museums, historic homes and memorable personalities of the area such as Willa Cather and Senator George Norris. It's a country rich in history and personality that you'll enjoy getting to know and returning to year after year.

Explore Prairie Lakes Region


The Red Cloud Opera House

The Red Cloud Opera House, 1885, stood for many years as the jewel in Main Street's crown. Here Blind Boone played, William Jennings Bryan spoke, and it was from this stage that Willa Cather graduated in 1890 and delivered her eloquent oration, "Superstition vs. Investigation"

Red Cloud, NE Historic Buildings


WPA Post Office Mural

At the southeast corner of the square is the Minden Post Office. It was completed in 1937 in the style called by some "WPA Moderne". The mural over the postmaster's door was painted by Willow E. Bunn in the WPA artists' program in 1939.

Minden, NE Arts

Mrs. H.J. Bartenbach House

National Register of Historic Places

The house is a distinct and significant example of a Nebraska dwelling designed in the Moderne style of the 1930s, a style never widely popular in the state. The original house, a one-story Victorian dwelling constructed in 1893

Grand Island, NE NATIONAL REGISTER

Historic Gruber House

History comes alive at the historic Gruber House, which is a fine example of everyday life at the end of an age of grace and style. Built in 1908, the home reflects the charm of the Victorian era, with furnishings and decor reminiscent of the early 1900

St. Paul, NE Famous Homes

Civil War Veteran's Memorial, Gazebo Park

The Civil War(1861-1865) Statue and Marker honor those unknown dead that fought for their beliefs and for the freedoms that this nation is based upon.

Beaver City, NE Memorials

Bronze Sculpture

Greeting visitors to Holdrege is the beautiful 12' bronze sculpture, "Promise of the Prairie", by native artist, George Lundeen. It is a promise for today and tomorrow; The promise that living in Phelps County is a good life with room to grow and laugh and love.

Holdrege, NE Arts

Champion Mill State Historical Park

The last functional water-powered mill in Nebraska, this two-story structure stands as a symbol of the settlement and development of Nebraska and the West. Champion Mill ground flour and grain from 1888-1968

Imperial, NE State Parks

Swedish Crosses Cemetery

For over a century, three unique crosses have been a lasting symbol of the Swedish heritage of Gothenburg. In the early 1880s, Peter and Anna Berg, along with Anna'

Gothenburg, NE Cemeteries

Fort Kearny State Recreation Area

Campers will find south-central Nebraska's Fort Kearny State Recreation Area much to their liking. Once called Kearney County SRA, this recreational area boasts excellent camping facilities. The attractive 152-acre area was acquired by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in 1960

Kearney, NE State Recreation Areas

Phelps County Wildlife Preserves

March is the peak month for viewing waterfowl at all of the wildlife preserves. At the Funk Lagoon you may see more than 500,000 ducks and geese per day, and over 20

Holdrege, NE Wildlife Refuges

Explore Prairie Lakes Region