Attractions

Museums

Pony Express Station: Gothenburg is home to two Pony Express Stations. The Midway is on its original ranch site south of Gothenburg. The Sam Macchette station is located in Ehmen Park just 1 mile north of I-80 at 15th & Lake Avenue. The station in the park was used as a fur trading post/ranch housing along the Oregon Trail southwest of Gothenburg before it was used as a Pony Express station in 1860-1861. It was moved from its original site and rebuilt in Ehmen Park in 1931. The museum has been open to the public since 1954. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the summer months, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in May and September and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in April and October. FREE ADMISSION.

Sod House Museum: This memorial to the first settlers in the area features a barn, sod house, windmills and life-sized barbed wire sculptures. Located behind the barn, which is filled with memorabilia and photographs, the sod house is a replica of the early homes with sparse interior reflecting the hard times faced by pioneer families.  Take Exist 211 off I-80 and drive one block north to relive scenes from our pioneer heritage.

Gothenburg Historical Museum: Organized in 1980, it’s purpose is to gather, preserve and make available records and other material relating to the history of Gothenburg and the surrounding area; to stimulate an interest in and knowledge of, the locality’s past, to discover and collect any material which may help to establish or illustrate the history of Gothenburg and the surrounding area and the exploration, settlement, and the development of it. FREE ADMISSION.

Historic Tour of Gothenburg
Take your own personal tour down beautiful tree-lined streets graced with lovely older homes and buildings. Settled by Swedes and Germans, the town has many homes that boast a Scandinavian influence in architectural style.  Homes on this tour include one that was a wedding present, one that was a hospital, one that has a widow’s walk and one that had a back staircase that was hidden by a bookcase.  Take the tour and find out the long-forgotten history.  It will take you north from downtown to Lake Helen, which has become a beautiful recreation site.

Swedish Crosses
For over a century, three unique crosses have served as a lasting symbol of the Swedish heritage of Gothenburg.  These unusual and artistic grave markers wrought in Swedish steel by a loving grandfather, mark three children’s graves… making a small corn of Dawson County “forever Sweden”. In 1991 it was designated a Nebraska Historical site.

Gothenburg Public Library
1104 Lake Avenue
Gothenburg, NE 69138
The library was built in 1916 with assistance from a $7,000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation. It is architecturally unique as most Carnegie Libraries in Nebraska had Classical features. The Gothenburg library style, however, is Jacobethan Revival. In 1986 the library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The library has cemetery records and microfilm of back issues of the local paper available to the history enthusiasts. A 6,000 square foot $1.2 million addition and renovation of the original building was completed in 1999. The architecture of the addition carries on the unique features of the original building. The new library addition houses the adult library, which includes a technology room with 10 computers in the computer lab and two in the children's library, offices, study rooms and a reading area with fireplace. The original building has been converted to a community meeting room and the children's library. The children's library hosts nearly 100 pre-school age children in Story Hour during the school year. In the summer, the library sponsors a Summer Reading Program for elementary age children.

The Sun Theatre
10th & Avenue D
Gothenburg, NE 69138
The Sun Theatre was built and used as an opera house from 1909-1926. In 1927 the theatre was opened and children were charged 10 cents and adults 20 cents for silent movies accompanied by an orchestra. The 1930's brought sound, Technicolor and controversy over allowing movies to be shown on Sundays. The Gothenburg Community Playhouse, formed in 1968, conducted a successful fund drive to "Save the Sun" in 1981 and has kept the theatre open under volunteer management and public contributions. Currently the theatre runs weekly movies Friday through Sunday and sponsors Community Playhouse productions several times each year. These include plays, musicals and talent shows.