Category: Museum Listing Date: 2011-08-15
Pioneer Auto Museum
Pioneer Auto Show Museum and Prairie Town, Murdo, South Dakota - Cars and Some Other Old Stuff
The pavement goes on for miles and miles, as does the prairie. The billboards promise sights like you never seen before (which in some cases is true) and adventures that only the "old west" can deliver. Driving across South Dakota on Interstate 90 can get pretty boring unless you plan ahead. There is one exit you should plan to take and that's the Murdo, South Dakota exit at I-90 & Hwy 83.
Well lit and clean display cases full of toys and model cars, vintage typewriters, smoker's pipes, old fancy door knobs, and 100 year old irons fill a large room. Cases of old guns and newspaper articles that cover history will catch your eye and hold your attentions. Gems and prehistoric jaw bones from around South Dakota spark your imagination. There are pianos and a butter churn. You grandmother didn't have much time to check her email.
The Pioneer Auto Show and Prairie Town is not just cars and some other old stuff. Oh sure there are more cars than you can count; and the other stuff? Well there are tractors from the early 1900s. There are bicycles galore and motorcycles, like the 1976 Harley Davidson Electroglide once owned by "The King" himself, Elvis Presley.
Go inside a gas station that was part of WNAX and you'll be right at home in 1929 South Dakota. WNAX continues to operate a radio station from Yankton, South Dakota. The gas station is only one of the historic buildings within the prairie town. You can enter a rural church and a one room school. A bank, a blacksmith shop, a jail, and train station are all representative of days gone by and all contain actual pieces used to carrying on the business of those days.
The cars. Yes, let's not forget the cars. The Geisler Family has gathered cars dating back to 1900 and forward. The 1969 General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard TV show is on display. A 1931 Packard Dual Cowl Sport Phaeton that was once driven by Tom Mix is nicely displayed behind glass. Thunderbirds, Mustangs, Cadillacs, and muscle cars peak the interests of almost every age.
You can say that there are cars and some other old stuff at the Pioneer Auto Show and Prairie Town, but oh those are some cars and that other old stuff is pretty darn cool!
