Yeehaw! Welcome back in time to the Wild West – the 1800s – with this stop at 1880 Town along our drive from Pierre to Rapid City, SD.
One of the best parts? It’s dog-friendly everywhere except the saloon on site (which during the summer is open for drinks and ice cream) and the upstairs area of the red barn which has props from the movie, Dances with Wolves. Here’s what to expect when you visit the past.
There’s a Conoco outside, a pet rest area and a series of picnic benches which are undercover, providing shade from the South Dakota heat. Even in May this was a warm place to stop midday.
The entrance is in through the Red Barn. There’s the ticket booth, gift shop, local memorabilia from the 1800s and upstairs is a display from Dances with Wolves with props and photos. It’s also very cool inside temperature-wise, so it’s a great place to step out of the heat and cool off before heading out into 1880 Town beyond.
This area felt a little unusual – it’s covered with memorabilia and you have to really look around to find some fun hidden gems with interesting information and historical significance. In this photo you can see some pictures from the creation of Mount Rushmore, including actual granite from the site and the sculptor’s desk.
You go upstairs and you’re transported to the movie set from Dances with Wolves. The movie was set in – and largely filmed in – South Dakota.
The photos on the walls show behind the scenes shots from the movie, including one of Kevin Costner’s dad as an extra – Kevin looks just like his dad did then, today!
You go out through the back door of the barn and find yourself on Main Street for any old frontier town from the 1800s. Please note – this was all land taken from indigenous people during the colonization of North America. This land in Midland, SD belonged to the Tséstho’e (Cheyenne), Očhéthi Šakówiŋ and Mnicoujou. You can find out more about which indigenous people originally owned the land you live on at the Native Land website.
Many of the buildings are original to the time period, but were brought in to 1880 Town from other places across South Dakota and the west to preserve them and their historic significance.
As you walk along the main street, and the subsequent offshoots, you can walk into various buildings like the barber’s or view them through a protective screen.
Truffles, as always, was a very good sport about wearing her little cowboy hat for pictures. It was the start of a long day and she wore it with a pretty happy face around the town. We don’t have her wear it non-stop – she wears it for photos and is then free to be a pup again. Here she is posing with the Wells Fargo stagecoach!
The attention to detail and the amount of memorabilia that goes into 1880 Town is really something. There are so many buildings to see we ended up there for a few hours. I was also gathering material for The Traveling Teach, but you can easily spend an afternoon (or an entire day) there if you want to see everything. However, you can also just stop for an hour to stretch your legs and walk the town, just peeking in a place or two and grabbing an ice cream.
The Marshal’s office and jail was a really fun one to step inside. You got to look around and pose as the Sheriff. We brough along our own law enforcement pawfficer sporting her BARK Ranger badge! Outlaws, beware! But often times the land was lawless – and moving over into Indian Territory that bordered these towns resulted in many outlaws escaping justice until the US Marshals came into existence on the frontier.
This is the saloon that isn’t dog-friendly since they’re busy and serve drinks and ice cream during the high season from May – August. You’re truly transported back to a time of “sporting girls” (working girls or prostitutes), saloon dancers, piano playing and card games as you go through the doors.
With more than 30 buildings, there’s so much to see and experience. Again, from these images you can see the attention to detail the site has put into recreating a town from the 1880s.
It’s almost “too lifelike” when your husband can play a trick on you saying that a church service is in progress so to be really quiet as you approach. There was music and people inside but they were behind the wire. That was so weird, until I realized it was just mannequins and turned to see Stephen cracking up at my careful steps to peek inside.
There’s a little trek out to the homestead. There’s no shade and it’s very hot in the spring and summer, so please take some water with you if you’re heading out to see the homestead. According to information provided there, you can see the town’s camel out there on your walk during peak season. He wasn’t around during our visit but we did see longhorn steer.
Another fun thing to climb up inside is the train. You can check out the luggage and ticket office at the depot and jump on board to see what transportation out to the west was like in the 1880s. Spoiler alert – depending on your ticket price it’s “rustic.”
Here’s a few more shots of what the inside of just some of the 30 buildings on site looked like.
Inside the Town Hall is a little film you can sit and watch about the Wild West.
A larger homestead house was one of the last buildings we went into. It gave a good impression, when compared to the other homestead and houses, how different life could be for a family of means out on the frontier versus many trying to scrape a living out of the gold mines or farmable soil.
The school house is always one of my favorite stops as The Traveling Teach. I love seeing how school was conducted across the country and one room school houses always fascinate me. How do you teach kids that are 5-13 in one room? If they’re all new to learning that’s one thing, but imagine different levels a few years in, trying to keep up with the age and development stages of your students? Whew!! No thanks!
Just before heading back through the Red Barn to the exit you can pan for gold – I’m sure this is a delightful activity for kids on a hot summer day. It’s nicely shaded and probably provides a much needed break for moms and dads.
1880 Town was a highlight for me in South Dakota, and not just because it was on our driving day. It was a fun place to stop and had a lot of space to walk around, see cool things and learn more. One thing I’d have loved was a more detailed brochure or more information on each building like at the Pioneer Town we visited near Phoenix, AZ. But overall? I’d say it’s a good stop for any road trip through South Dakota.
[…] in feeding prairie dogs in South Dakota here’s all the details. As you drive along I-90 from 1880 Town to Wall Drug (or more likely, to Rapid City or Deadwood), you’ll start to see signs for the […]