Buffalo Bill Scout's Rest Ranch
A Step back in time


By Denise Poss

When area residents refer to Buffalo Bill State Historical Park, the image of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s elegant Victorian house often come to mind. The three-story home, with its crisp coat of white paint and neat green trim work is oftentimes the focal point in photos and descriptions of the park.

It is the massive barn, however, that Cody chose to spend most of his time in when he came off the road from one of his famous Wild West Shows. It was there that the West’s most colorful showman, army scout and buffalo hunter raised cattle and horses and introduced blooded stock to this part of the country.

According to Steve Kemper, Buffalo Bill State Historical Park Superintendent, the barn was built in 1887; a sprawling, magnificent structure situated in the midst of 4,000 acres that Cody called Scouts Rest Ranch.

“At that time, it was a very expensive structure,” Kemper said. “It was very showy. We’ve had people say we’ve probably gussied it up a bit, but this is how it really was.”

It took seven railroad cars of lumber to build the structure, which measures 148-feet long, 70-feet wide and 40-feet high. The barn went by no particular name until Scout’s Rest Ranch was painted across the roof. This could be seen from the Union Pacific Railroad tracks located south of the ranch and passengers could identify where Cody’s ranch was.
Ace shooter Phoebe Ann Moses, better known as “Annie Oakley,” joined the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show in 1884, and became good friends with Cody. Her trademark, the Ace of Hearts with a bullet hole in the center, is at the peak of the barn on both ends. This was taken from her shooting act, in which she used cards thrown into the air as targets. One such card was about 5-by-2-inches, with a picture of Oakley at one end and a heart-shaped target at the other. The cards were often thrown into the audience as souvenirs.

The horse-powered grain grinder, located on the west outside of the barn, had a power take-off shaft that extended into the barn to power the grain elevator. It was made by the L.B. McCargar Feed & Mill Co. of St. Joseph, Mo., and was called the Famous Lighting.

Grain was emptied into the hopper from the center runway, or by shoveling grain into the small bin on the west side of the elevator. The grain was then elevated upstairs to one of the two storage bins and was used as needed.

Inside the barn, there are 73 rafters per side and the rafters under the eaves are cut in the shape of gunstocks. In the southwest corner of the barn is an office that was used by Cody’s ranch manager.

“It was a working ranch and they were selling stock and improving cattle breeds,” Kemper said. “He (Cody) was real progressive. He was one of the first ones to irrigate this valley and, at no cost, to provide irrigation water by providing easements for people to get the water to other ranchers.”

The southwest corner of the barn might also have been used for harness repair or small equipment repair. This would have been for repairs other than blacksmithing because of the potential for starting a fire in the barn. There was a blacksmith shop on the grounds, but it was located west of the barn.

The many stalls that are in the barn were used to keep draft horses and riding horses that were used daily. Some of the stalls located near the front potion of the barn were probably used to house Cody’s thoroughbred stallions and some of his show stock during the off-season.
The harness was hung on the south wall, as it is today. All of the saddles were hung so mice could not chew on the leather.

A large collection of saddles, including side saddles, a Mexican saddle, California- and Texas-style saddles, and a McClellan Saddle now adorn the dividing walls between the stalls. The collection includes a saddle made around 1877 that has Cody’s initials inscribed on the back fender. It is questionable, however, that it ever belonged to Cody.

Numerous photos of Cody, his family, famous members of his show and others line the rustic walls of the stately structure. Original show bills advertising the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show line the upper portion of the walls near the main entrance of the barn. Kemper said they are currently investigating ways to preserve the posters from further decay.

Cody was the proud owner of Scouts Rest Ranch until 1911, when he sold the ranch and some 3,000 acres to his show partner, Pawnee Bill, for $100,000. The Cody family remained at the ranch until April of 1913, when they moved to Cody, Wyo.

Scouts Rest Ranch became a state historical park in 1965, and is being preserved by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. It now encompasses 16 acres of the original ranch, including the house and barn, and holds a wealth of Cody memorabilia and historical relics.

Kemper said the barn and Cody’s house are in the process of being re-painted and the battens (the long, white strips that run through the vertical cracks of the barn walls) on the barn are being replaced. The old battens have been cut into small pieces and are being offered to visitors for a $1 donation.