Knoll's Country Inn

NORTH PLATTE NEBRASKA

by LoriPori

"NORTH PLATTE"

Saturday, October 3, 2009
Located in the southwestern part of the state of Nebraska, NORTH PLATTE is at the intersection of the I-80 and Highway 83.
North Platte is a railroad town, as Union Pacific Railroad's large Bailey Yard is located here. Today, North Platte is served only by freight trains. The Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center is an eight story building overlooking the railroad staging area.
Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park is located near North Platte. It's a Nebraska living history park about Buffalo bill Cody. The Park includes his actual house, known as Scout's Rest Ranch (located 2 miles west on Highway 83 along Highway 30).
Also nearby our Motel is Fort Cody.

"BUFFALO BILL CODY"

American Soldier - Bison Hunter - Showman - BUFFALO BILL CODY ( Feb 26, 1846 - Jan. 10, 1917) was one of the most colorful figures of the American Old West and famous for the shows with Cowboy themes.
Cody put together a traveling show and in 1883, in the area of North Platte, he founded "Buffalo Bill's Wild West". Visitors to this spectacle could see feats of skill, staged races and sideshows. Many authentic Western personalities were part of the Show - e.g. Sitting bull and a band of twenty braves. Cody's headline performers included Annie Oakley and her husband Frank Butler, who put on shooting exhibitions. Buffalo Bill and his performers would re-enact the Riding of the Pony Express, Indian attacks on Wagon Trains and Stagecoach Robberies. The show typically ended with a dramatic re-enactment of Custer's Last Stand. Of course, Cody himself portrayed General Custer.
Profits from the show enabled him to purchase , in 1886, a 4,000 acre ranch near North Platte. Scout's Rest Ranch included an 18-room mansion and a large barn to house the show's livestock.
Cody is buried on Colorado's Lookout Mountain, in Golden, Colorado, on the edge of the Rocky Mountains and overlooking the Great Plains, where he once hunted Buffalo.

"FORT CODY"

Fort Cody Trading Post, in operation since 1963, is the home of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show - in miniature. The show, made by Ernie and Virginia Palmquist, took 12 years to carve and contains over 20,000 hand carved pieces - many animated. The Grand Parade features cowboys from all over the world, wearing costumes and carrying their country's flag. The Main Show in center ring features Buffalo Bill himself, cowboys, Native Americans and his friend, Annie Oakley.
OLD WEST MUSEUM - Authentic cowboy gear - vintage chaps, cowboy boots and hats, and beautiful saddles. U.S. Cavalry and Indian Wars items, Native Indian Beadwork, costumes and Skookum dolls.
FORT CODY TRADING POST -- Souvenirs and Gifts - Minnetonka Moccasins, T-shirts, Western Theme books. etc.