Currently all programs and displays, with the exception of genealogy, are not available because the Society is carrying out a renovation and building project. Below is information about the project and its significance to the Society.
Download the Museum Renovation Design Guide (17.3MB)
Description of Project
The Fremont County Rodeo/Museum project is a multi-step plan to create a museum complex in Sidney. Overall the project will result in the building of a new Rodeo Museum and renovation of the existing Fremont County Museum. The Fremont County Historical Society (FCHS) is the lead organization with the Sidney Rodeo Organization and Sidney Legion Auxiliary as collaborating partners. When completed over 10,000 square feet of new exhibits will be available to the public. The Rodeo Museum will interpret the eighty-six year history of the Sidney Rodeo and help the public understand more clearly the sport of Rodeo. The Historical Society’s main museum will expand from a small county historical museum to one that is a modern facility educating the public about events that are of broader local and national interest.
Already renovated and functioning is the Gathering Place, a meeting and performing arts center. It is used for educational programs and plays. Additionally, it is rented by individuals and groups for meetings, weddings and summer camps. The style of this structure is the model for the whole complex Walking into the Gathering Place, you see original restored wood floors, restored woodwork, trim decorations reminiscent of the 1890’s and colors that reflect that time period. It is a warm inviting look.
The current project began in late 2006. The major events the first three years were developing the plan and fund raising. Will Thomson, one of Iowa’s prominent museum designers, was hired by the project to provide a plan. Fund raising has included applying for grants as well as a capital campaign in the area.
When both parts are completed three buildings will be linked together in a block long structure- Rodeo Museum, Main Museum and Gathering Place. The complex will also include a one room school house, already in place; a space to grow a heritage garden and room to add attractions in the future. The Rodeo Museum building is being funded by a Vision Iowa CAT grant and Iowa West Foundation Grant.
The part of the project involving the Main Museum is to upgrade the infrastructure of the building and create all new exhibits. This building is almost 100 years old and has had many functions. When purchased by Fremont County Historical Society (FCHS) in the 1960’s, it was a car dealership. In this space, the Society developed a simple, “folksy” museum. Now it needs to be brought up-to-date. The plans include acclimatizing the area with all new a/c and heating and full insulation. Additionally, the roof will be replaced.
Because the main museum was part of the square in Sidney for almost a century, the current look of the building is a blend of many styles and looks. Will Thomson’s design plan is maintain the outside of the building and replicate inside a Victorian look that would be reminiscent of what was in the County, an elegant, simple style free of ornate bric-a-brac. The exhibit area is being completely redone with new exhibits including an area in the middle of the museum to rotate displays and stories.
The Rodeo Museum construction will begin very soon. It is expected to have the building completed sometime in the early summer of 2010 then exhibit construction will begin. In late spring of 2010, renovation of the main museum is scheduled to begin with completion sometime in 2011. The exhibits would be completed in 2012.
Historical or cultural significance of the project
Fremont County has its local stories that are valued by the local residents. But project organizers were aware that there are events in the history of Fremont County that are pieces of a much larger story. Will Thomson was hired to research those stories. He researched the County’s history. In his report to FCHS, he states, “This County’s (FREMONT) history is one unique among Iowa counties. The story of Fremont County has aspects of great historical moment: Lewis and Clark, the Abolitionist’s Struggle, Statehood, Civil War and so on.” Below are listed some of the majors events that will be part of the exhibits funded by this grant request Snippets of why they are significant and historically important to the area, region and nation are provided.
Pre-Historic Native Americans and the
Native American/French Canadian trapper era:
The pre-historic Glenwood Culture extended southward into this area. An archeological study has been commissioned to study the Loess Hills for eligibility to be one of the Great America Highways. The archeology of the Glenwood Culture is one of the historical aspects that will help secure this designation. Currently, our county is being surveyed by Iowa State archeologicalist to identify burial and housing sites, which are reported to be numerous. The FCHS collection includes piece from the Glenwood Culture and can be used to create an exhibit on this era.
During the exploration of the West by French Canadian Trappers, they established a settlement in Fremont County, known as The French Village. This led to the Lakota Sioux Native Americans living in South Dakota and Wyoming impacting the development of Fremont County. Their role illustrates that not all settlement of this country was an orderly progression from the East to the West. It also highlights that our part of Iowa has been a crossroads. In the book “With My Own Eyes” published by the University of Nebraska Press in 1988, the life stories of two Lakota women were preserved. The two women told these stories in the early 1900’s of their childhood dating back to the mid 1800’s. They were the daughters of marriages between French Canadian trappers and Lakota women. Their fathers came from Saint Louis and had traveled the Missouri River through Fremont County.
One of the ladies’ family established Hamburg, Iowa in Fremont County. Family members from the Wyoming and South Dakota area moved to Hamburg for their children to attend the school. There were numerous family members who traveled to visit the area. One gets the sense reading the account that coming to Fremont County in the 1800’s would be like traveling today to Chicago for frequent visits. What is left out of the account is why this area? The answer is probably the Platte River. The book relates many accounts of the Platte River being the major transportation route from travelers going into the Wyoming and Dakota Territory areas. Why they came as far south of the Platte to Fremont County probably has something to do with the French Village thriving at that time. All of this information will be included in important exhibits about our early history.
Lewis and Clark Travels:
Thomson found that while eastern Iowa was being settled there was settlement activity on the western side of the state at the same time. The Missouri River served as one of the nation’s first interstate routes. It brought people into western Iowa. Lewis and Clark were some of the earliest visitors. William Clark in July of 1804 wrote about riding away from the river into an “open and bound less prairie. This prospect was So Sudden and entertaining that I forgot the object of my prosute and turned my attention to the Variety which presented themselves to my view.” He was approximately three to four miles up the river from modern day Nebraska City. There are accounts in the journal of some of their men paddling up the Nishnabotna River. Forty -five years later, what Lewis and Clark saw would become Fremont County.
Civil War:
The tensions of the Civil War played out in the county because of our proximity to Missouri. There were border patrols to guard against a confederate attack coming up from Missouri. The Abolitionists were active in Fremont County working with John Brown and the Underground Railroad. During the war there was an attempt to blow up the courthouse in Sidney, Historian’s ponder, if the attack was related to Southern sympathizers? Did the governor of Iowa think the County was a haven for southern sympathizers?
John Brown is famous for helping slaves escape through the Underground Railroad. What is not as well known is his mission was to take the runaway slaves directly through Fremont County. His group helped slaves cross the Missouri River into our county and travel to Tabor, located in the northern part of Fremont County. Tabor was settled by abolitionists who wanted to celebrate tolerance. Their exploits in helping slaves escape provides a rich set of information about those times. County residents were directly responsible in helping many on their journey to Chicago and freedom.
Establishing the Southern Border of Iowa:
The County’s western border is the Missouri river. It was well traveled in early history. The river brought French trappers, white and Indian settlers and later government surveyors all trying to decide where the County fit. The County was claimed by Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska at different times. Additionally the River and its meandering kept changing those boundaries making it even more difficult.
Mormons traveled through on their way to Salt Lake. The presence of Mormons affected how the state of Iowa viewed Fremont County. There are stories of how the original county request to be part of Iowa took a circuitous route to get to the Capital. By the time the papers reached the Capital so many hands had touched them that the original intent of the document was unclear. A reference in the request led the lawmakers to believe the county was being established for Mormons. This slowed the process of recognizing the County. Fremont County was also involved in the Honey Wars.
Project Summary
In summary, the project is developing an attraction that has significance statewide and nationally, not just locally. The above accountings are some of historical exhibits that will interest visitors from a distance. These stories will take front stage in the new exhibit configuration. The local stories will be remembered and told but they will not be the only ones highlighted.
The Rodeo Museum is also important to the total project. The 86- year- old Sidney Championship Rodeo and its importance to PRCA is an important cultural story to be told. The Museum will be more than looking at saddles and pictures of bucking broncos. There will be an explanation of the workings of Rodeo; how it relates to the Wild West Shows; how local war veterans played a role in creating the Rodeo; and how Sidney is still part of the national Rodeo Circuit.
Quality of Plans to interpret the historical resource:
The project organizers appreciate county museums and their role in preserving artifacts from the past. But to have a museum that survives and thrives in this age, it must attract visitors from everywhere. This requires a change in how the total project is organized to bring a new fresh interesting result. The first step in that effort was to secure the services of professionals. BVH, an architectural firm out of Omaha, Nebraska that also works in Iowa, was selected to work with the project. The firm has an extensive background in museum design. One of its best known projects is the Durham Western Museum in Omaha.
The professional deemed the most important for the project was the museum designer. Working with Jerome Thompson and the Iowa Historical Society, the names of several designers were obtained. A selection process was used to find a designer for the project. The result as stated above was hiring Will Thomson. His initial report to the project was contained in two booklets, each more than twenty-five pages, in which he identified important historical events in the County that needed to be preserved and told. Included in the report was the design and flow of exhibits in each museum building. The result for the main museum is an attraction that has the potential of reaching the quality of the State Historical Society Museum. Thomson’s vision has excited and energized the County for the project.
Important to the organizers is that Thomson will stay with the project as we create the exhibits. One of his biggest support areas will be the signage for the exhibits. He will work with us in developing information that will be understandable to the public. Currently, our museum has wonderful items that need to be interpreted more extensively. One example, a valuable item in the collection is a traveling pantry carried in wagon trains. We are told that it is one of the only six remaining in the country. Today a visitor sees the pantry but there is no interpretation explaining how it was used or its importance to traveling families. Thomson will help correct this problem.
Last, since not all stories can be told at once, a center space is being left for exhibits that will be rotated. Thus more events can be highlighted to provide a broader range of information for visitors.
