In Aurora, Nebraska, this collection preserves the history of settlers and their descendants on the state’s central plains through buildings and artifacts of everyday life. Dedicated on July 4, 1976, during the United States bicentennial, it presents prairie domestic life, small-town commerce, farming, schooling, and transportation. Its main building includes a replica sod house, a log cabin, and a miniature late 19th- and early 20th-century Main Street with businesses and public spaces. Other features include an agricultural building built around a real homestead, a one-room schoolhouse, the Bates House, a blacksmith shop used for demonstrations, and a restored railroad caboose.