Wheels Across the Prairie Museum

The museum is a great place to stop and stretch your legs on your trip between De Smet and Walnut Grove. There are numerous exhibits to see. I am showing mostly railroad info here on Dakotagirl since that is the major LIW interest.

The following comes from the Tracy Minnesota web site

Wheels Across the Prairie Museum
on the west edge of Tracy on Hwy 14

Our signature attraction is our four-unit freight train. The engine is a 1915 American locomotive used in the yard of the St. Paul railroad system. The engine and the coal car were sold to a private owner in Rochester, MN and later sold again to the museum site. To complement the engine we were able to obtain an immigrant box car from the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad and finally added the caboose which is the rolling workstation.

To make the picture complete we found an original CNW depot from Volga, SD. Our train exhibit is also highlighted by the story of Laura Ingalls Wilder who took her first train ride from Walnut Grove to Tracy in the 1880's. Mrs. Wilder details the event in her book, “By the Shores of Silver Lake.” Tracy is also mentioned as a rail center in the book, “The Long Winter.”

As villages grew in the late 1800's, our `village' has also grown. The Wheels Across the Prairie's buildings are real. The school house is furnished with genuine artifacts, the barber shop, summer kitchen and the post office are authentic. Replica buildings are the 1930 cottage and the chapel. The collections are period pieces. We showcase some of the collections we own in the different buildings such as tractors, a wild bird collection, a car and various machinery.

Our latest exhibit is the 1860's Lowe log cabin, it came to us from the former Great Oasis Lake area in Murray County. It was unusual for its time but reflected the hopes of the Lowe family that it would be the beginning of a new community. It was planned to not only house the family, but to be used for church services and school classes. Unfortunately, the village never materialized.

Our latest acquisition is the Monroe Township Town Hall. This building was a town hall in 1890 that was moved two miles west on Highway 14 to replace a school house that had burned down. It was used as a schoolhouse, known as the Muedeking School, and Pleasant View School, until 1954. At that time, District 417 absorbed all country schools into the district. The town hall continues to function as an active part of the grassroots government in session, even though it has been moved to the museum property. We hope to share with our guests the political aspects of township-county-state legislative process.

We have several exciting and interesting displays and buildings that tell many stories of our area at the Wheels Across the Prairie Museum! Our volunteers are available to answer questions and help guide you through local history.

Staff: Volunteers from the community

Hours: 1-5pm, Memorial Day through Labor Day Week-end. Special Labor Day Week-end hours are: Fri., Sat., & Sun. 9 a.m.-8 p.m. and Monday 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and by request

Information: Jon Wendorff, president (507-212-1155) or Janet Randall, treasurer (507-629-4502)

Restored Train Depot

The depot at the Tracy museum came from Volga, SD

Wooden Paving Stones

Some of the original wooden paving stones. The stones were uncovered during a street renovation project in Tracy.

Tracy Railroad Round House

Tracy Railroad Round House

Old Tracy Train Depot

I am not sure of the date of this postcard, but it appears to be around the late 1800s. This is probably the same depot that Caroline and the girls saw in 1879. I wonder if that is the hotel in the background. It looks different than the photo postcard below. Perhaps this drawing is later or the artist dressed up the image a bit.

View of Tracy from Depot

View of town of Tracy from Depot

Another View of the Depot

Another view of the train depot. There is the Depot Hotel in the background.