28 Nebraskaland • May 2021
he Wild West built this house.
At fi rst glance, an 18-room French Second Empire-style
mansion might not strike you as "Western," but take a look
at that huge barn! This is what a Western man would build
for his family if he found himself with a lot of extra money in
the 1880s.
William F. "Buff alo Bill" Cody came to Nebraska in 1869 as
a Fort McPherson cavalry scout. Later he made his fortune as
a showman. Buff alo Bill's Wild West was a traveling outdoor
show that combined elements of theater, circus and rodeo,
with lots of fancy riding and shooting and mock battles against
Native American performers. Buff alo Bill did a lot to create the
popular mythology of the American West. His infl uence shaped
the Western movies and TV show s of the 20th century.
With show money rolling in, Cody had the house at his Scout's
Rest Ranch built in 1886. The big barn was added a few years
later. In the early days, Scout's Rest was a working ranch with
4,000 acres. Cody hired others to manage it, but lived here with
his family between tours.
Cody sold the ranch in 1911. The Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission bought it in 1964 and opened it to the public as the
Buff alo Bill Ranch State Historical Park.
In January 2021, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior added
Scout's Rest Ranch to its list of National Historic Landmarks.
N
Visit History Nebraska's website at history.nebraska.gov.
Buffalo Bill's
Big House
By David L. Bristow, History Nebraska
T
