About the Museum and Gallery  

The museum's main building has a fascinating history and is one that continues to be revealed as the museum staff continues to organize the archives. The building was built in 1878-1879 and is listed on the U.S. Department of Interior's National Register of Historic Places. Recently we have begun to digitize documents that reveal the long and interesting history of what has become known to history as the Hendee Hotel. One of the most important and detailed histories was written by Betty Menke in 1985. The museum has begun to take a deeper look at the architectural history of the building. Recently an analysis of the building's paint colors was done in preparation for the repainting of the building. We have included that report here and will be uploading more documents in the future as they are digitized. In the fall of 2023 the museum will publish a new book entitled Nebraska Sign-posts: Robert Henri’s Years on the Great Plains written by our director who has spent the last four years reviewing materials in the museum's archives. It will be available in the museum's gift shop.