Dobby’s Frontier Town – Alliance, Nebraska

Dobby’s Frontier Town – Alliance, Nebraska

There are dreams that just need to be followed and Kenneth Dobby took that to the creation of Dobby’s Frontier Town.  This is a delightful stop on your Nebraska vacation to see how history has been preserved with the buildings that Mr. Dobby has saved from around the area. 

There have been a dozen buildings moved and renovated to his site near his home.  He began the process in 1988.  He began with a General story that resembled the one his family owned when he was a boy in the 30’s.

One of the buildings that he has restored is the home of the log cabin which was built by the region’s first black homesteader.  He also has the first filling station that served the area.  Want to visit a mortuary from the past?  He has one of those too.  You may want to visit the saloon after your visit to the mortuary, go ahead; there is one at Dobby’s Frontier Town for you to see.

Have you ever been to a bootlegger’s cabin?  You can when you visit here.  With the environmentalists talking about insulating or building your house with straw being a topic of TV shows and news articles, they should just visit here and see the baled straw houses that were part of the area years before it became "popular" for the younger generation.

You’ve probably read about the Chinese laundry that was popular during the days of the west being settled.  Here in Dobby’s Frontier Town you will have the opportunity to actually visit one.

Some things go on for years and years, even though the construction may change and the locations expand or change but in Dobby’s Frontier Town you will be able to see an old Wells Fargo bank.  Although it doesn’t look like the sleek concrete and steel structures of today, it served the same purpose, to keep the deposits safe for those living in the area.

If someone tried to steal the money from the bank they would end up in the jail.  It’s there for you to see too.  You can also visit the Medical Building where the Barber was used as a medical man when no other was available or the important practices of the period, such as "Blood Letting", "Leaching" or the occasional needed stick or tooth to be pulled.  Broken bones were set at the "Dr.’s" office and put in a cast, and then you were sent home.

In 1927 Rex Meyers came to town and bought the Star Hamburger Shop and changed the name to Rex’s.  According to legend the hamburgers were just great even though they were tiny, 18 to a pound of meat *according to Frank Whaley who worked for Rex for years.)  It wasn’t a fancy grill or processed meat that they settlers ate, it was hamburger fired in rendered beef suit on a gill heated by a Coleman camp stove. The original building burned down in the forties and a new brick building was constructed to continue serving the hamburgers until 1969.

All the communities in the frontier had a cobbler’s shop at some point in time.  In the building on display you will see various tools used by a cobbler to make shoes and sometimes even to do harness work if the town didn’t have a harness maker. 

The blacksmith shop was probably one of the most important shops in town.  You could get tools built, shoes for your horses, hails, a hinge, a lock or even a pan mended or a kettle handle reattached.  He was critical in helping to keep things in working order.  It was kind of like being the hardware store of the west.

A visit to the Still House will give you an idea of how creative bootleggers were at concealing their work and product during Prohibition.  Even though the house was searched frequently by the "Revenuers" they never found the location.  When Mr. Dobby bought the place in 1962 and started renovations he found the still under the stairwell.  There are so many things to see here from the still, collection of kegs and spigots, a cider press and more so visit the Still House.

Each fall there is a celebration in town to experience the Old West.  There are live demonstrations, entertainment, anvil blasting, pioneer church service, sing along, antique photos and of course the wonderful food an beverages to enjoy.

Hours: Summer hours: 10am-6pm, closed Mon. Winter hours: 10am-dusk.

Admission: Free but they gratefully accept donations to help with the cost.

E-mail: lleedlee24@yahoo.com

Location: 320 East 25th Street, Alliance NE 69301
Phone: 308-762-4321

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