Gothenburg rather effusively bills itself as the Pony Express Capital of Nebraska. Perhaps this is a mite boastful, but there's no doubt Gothenburg is a great vacation destination. The town itself is easy to get to, just a couple miles off of I-80, midway between Kearney and North Platte. The Pony Express station there is located toward the center of town, in beautiful Ehman Park. And there are several other attractions (which I'll describe below) which make Gothenburg a gratifying place in which to unwind and relax.

Will the Real Pony Express Station Please Stand Up?

There's a bit of a mystery here. Now don't get me wrong, I love mysteries and especially ones that involve historical sleuthing. Things like attempting to solve the Jack the Ripper murders one hundred years after the fact have always fascinated me. In this case, it's trying to sort out which station at Gothenburg is which. Let me explain.

A couple years ago, I wrote away to the Feds asking if they had any material which would help someone with a keen interest in the Oregon and Pony Express Trails plan a rewarding vacation out west. A week later two gargantuan parcels arrived, one from the Long Distance Trails Office and another from the Bureau of Land Management. Included among the excellent literature was the fact-filled book by Anthony Godfrey you see to the right here. (I forget which of the two agencies sent it now. In either case, the Department of Interior was ultimately responsible for seeing I received it.) As I've mentioned throughout this Web site, there's a ton of valuable information out there on adventures in the Great Plains, paid for by our taxes. You just have to know how to ask for it — and the ability to write a thoughtful, courteous letter expressing an active interest helps as well.

Anyway, this beautifully produced large book (almost an inch thick!) is chock full of maps, descriptions of historic sites along the Pony Express Trail and historical vignettes. Remember, when I display pictures like these on this Web site, I'm not trying to take credit for someone else's work. It's only to give you an idea of what's out there and let you know about some of the neat things I've picked up along the way. Be sure to click the [footnote] to get the full publishing details and see who's responsible for this gem.

Now back to the mystery. In the book cited above, there are entries for two Pony Express stations which were supposedly located near the Gothenburg area: one was named the Midway Station, and the other was Machette's Station.

According to the historians who have looked into this, Midway Station was probably situated about three miles south of Gothenburg. (I guess this would put it on the other side of the Interstate). Godfrey claims, "Sources generally agree on its identity as a Pony Express and stage station, although opinions vary about its function as a relay or home station." [footnote] Then, the great Platte River historian Merrill Mattes wrote that the building was burned by the Indians back in 1866. And yet, apparently a building still stands at that point (on private land) and has been indicated by an official marker erected by the Oregon Trail Memorial Association. Strange...

The other station, Machette's Station, has an equally obscure heritage. Again, referring to the book described above, "The identity and location of Machette's Station remains controversial." [footnote] There was an old two-story log dwelling which stood on nearby land for many, many years and I suppose local lore credited it as being the Pony Express station. In 1931 the local American Legion disassembled it and reconstructed it as a single story building in Ehman Park.

This is the building we visited in May of 2001. (See the picture to the right; remember, you can click the thumbnail to expand the photo to full size.) There are signs all over town that will take you right to it.

So, like I said, there's a bit of a mystery here and perhaps someday more conclusive evidence will turn up establishing which of these is the genuine article. In any event, Machette's Station, open to the public and free of charge, is a wonderful place to tour. Inside are a number of interesting artifacts, and of course, a small gift and book shop. We had a great time here; the weather was cool and perfect, Ehman park shady and gorgeous, and the Station had a neat "feel" to it. And, oh, there's an official bronze Pony Express plaque in front which makes a great backdrop for tour photos.

The Station is open from 8am to 8pm during June, July and August, and 9am to 6pm in May and September. Also note that there are horse-drawn carriage rides available from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Fantastic Camping Accommodations

Actually, we had rolled in the night before our tour of Machette's Station. Needing accommodations after a full day of driving across Nebraska, we continued northward through the town, ending up at Lake Helen and Lafayette Park. This is a municipal park, right on the north outskirts of town.

What a beautiful campground! Since we had come several weeks before Memorial Day (always a wise choice), we had the park to ourselves. We picked a campsite just footsteps away from the lake, and enjoyed some excellent birding and carefree walks. See the picture to the left.

Gothenburg has really rolled out the red carpet here. This nicely shaded municipal campground featured hot showers, a cooking grate, old-fashioned street lamps, trash collection and so forth, all for a trifling fee (RV and motorized campers pay more, which seems appropriate.) A walking trail takes you all around (and across!) Lake Helen, and there are spots to fish, swim and even exercise.

We met the friendly caretakers later that evening, as they were coming back from an auction. Marie and I had a pleasant chat with them about antiques, and they showed us some of the items they had picked up.

As the sun went down, we threw together a homecooked meal of bacon-wrapped London broils and baked potatoes. By the time it was dark, a catbird began to twitter and kept it up, off and on, throughout much of the night. If this all sounds like an idyllic way to unwind after a tough year, you're right. As I've mentioned throughout these pages, I love Nebraska and think the people there are the friendliest I've ever met. Gothenburg is quite representative of this; it's an ideal holiday spot and will long stick in my memory.

The following day, after visiting the Pony Express station downtown, we also stopped at the fantastic Sod Hut Museum. This is a must-see (and I picked up one of my favorite books here, Solomon D. Butcher: Photographing the American Dream by John E. Carter), but I'll save a description of the Sod Hut for another place in this Web presentation. Sunday saw us reluctantly leaving Gothenburg behind as we headed West to the Pawnee National Grassland. Little did we know that a fiendish snowstorm lay ahead just seven hours down the road...

• Federal
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • Department of the Interior
  • National Park Service
  
  
• State
  • State of Nebraska Travel and Tourism
  
  
• Municipal
  • City of Gothenburg (more info on the town)
  • City of Kearney
  • City of North Platte
  
  
• Other Interesting Sites
  • Casebook: Jack the Ripper
  • Merrill J. Mattes Research Library
  • Oregon Trail Memorial Association