1880 Town

About an hour east of the Badlands right off of Interstate 90 in Midland South Dakota is a place called 1880 Town. It’s a convenient stop for travelers heading down I90 to the Badlands or the Black Hills. It wasn’t on the top of our list when visiting the Badlands because it was a little out of the way and we were afraid it would be one of those cheesy tourist traps. But we had a free day and felt like going for a ride, so we checked it out and were pleasantly surprised.

So what is this 1880 Town anyways? Father and son Clarence and Richard Hullinger bought a tract of land at exit 170 off I90 back in 1969 with a vision of building an old West town. Then they started acquiring old building from the 1880 to 1920 era. Lots of building, and not just the buildings themselves but all of the authentic artifacts that came with them. Today there are over 50 structures from jail houses to a beautiful church built in 1915 that have all been carefully moved to the site and are on display.

Before we even entered the town we checked out the train diner. Yes, an authentic train retrofitted into a diner. Although they weren’t open for business we were still able to walk through all of the rail cars.

From there you enter the main building and pay your $12 entry fee. Through the door in this building are all sorts of Western artifacts. Upstairs is an amazing museum and tribute to the movie Dances with Wolves, which stared Kevin Costner. Authentic props from the movie, filmed in the area, are all on display. Even a mount of “Buck” aka Cisco, the horse from the movie, is on display. Buck lived at 1880 Town until he passed in 2008.

You enter the “town” from the backdoor of the main building, where you are free to stroll the large area and check out all of the buildings. The jail houses are all intact with cells and all. An authentic bank and post office that take you back in time look like they are ready to serve you. Speaking of serving, the large operational saloon is complete with bar, stage, an upstairs balcony and of course a saloon girls room. Sorry no alcohol at the bar but belly up for an old fashioned root beer and some popcorn. The old one room schoolhouse looks like class just let out, books and pencils still on the desks. Although, no guests accepted, the Dakota Hotel, built in 1910, stands tall along the street. Walk upstairs in the general store and see the one room doctors clinic. Thank goodness for modern medicine!

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to 1880 Town and would recommend it as a must stop if you are driving through or visiting the Badlands. My only caution is to allocate at least a couple of hours. We were there for just over two hours and still didn’t get to see the old homestead located 1/4 mile further down the road.

Safe travels and see you down the road a piece.