Nebraskaland Magazine
LINCOLN, Neb. – At a special living history event on Aug. 17 at Rock Creek Station State Historical Park, living historians from across the country will reenact the daily life of the site in 1864.
During “A Walk Back in Time,” living historians will inhabit the park’s reconstructed road ranch, demonstrating haying, carpentry, blacksmithing, stock tending, and running a mid-19th century Overland Trail road ranch in Nebraska Territory.
Several living historians will be traveling in from out of state, from as far away as Texas and Minnesota, said park superintendent Jeff Bargar.
Bargar hopes visitors walk away with a richer understanding of the world of Rock Creek Station, which was “an interstate of the 1800s,” he said.
“When you think of ‘pioneer and immigrant experiences,’ you think of a line of wagons headed west. That’s not the actual life of that era,” Bargar said.
Rock Creek Station was established in 1857 along the Oregon and California trails. It was a supply center and resting spot for westward emigrants and later became a Pony Express relay station. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission developed it as a state historical park in 1980.
Rock Creek Station State Historical Park is located at 57426 710 Road, approximately 6 miles east of Fairbury in Jefferson County. For more information, call the park at 402-729-5777. A park entry permit is required.
