Museum helps visitors and locals reconnect to Bayard’s past

BAYARD, Neb. (KOLN) - The Bayard Depot Museum served as an actual railroad depot until the late 1980s. Locals then turned it into a museum, and it’s still a popular gathering spot today.

John Schmall, who is on the board of directors for the museum, said the building was the last depot constructed for Bayard, and the third one constructed overall.

It was finished in 1928, and it was run as a depot until the 1980s," Schmall said. “Burlington Northern and now Burlington Northern Santa Fe serviced this line, and still does. This was one of their depots, but when it was mothballed in the 80s, a group of local citizens acquired the building, and constructed a museum. They tried to keep the original character of the building. It’s not really a railroad museum, but a town museum inside a railroad building.”

Schmall said he remembers coming into the building as a child, because he grew up in the town. “Burlington Northern would bring Santa Claus in on cabooses. And, I remember sitting in here, being very scared of Santa one December! The museum held it’s grand opening in 1999, and it’s been community operated and staffed.”

The museum has just about everything you’d expect from a place situated a few miles from the base of Chimney Rock.

“We have a lot of Chimney Rock memorabilia,” Schmall said. “But we also have plenty of Western Sugar history. We have a room devoted to the local school, which is one of our most popular rooms. We also feature local businesses, trophies, rock clubs, military uniforms and just about everything that tells the story of Bayard.”

While we were doing the interview with Schmall, a real train came by, and Schmall said trains are just a part of life in the area. “They come by about every 15 minutes or so,” he said. “There are times when there are dozens per day, or sometimes it can be down to about one per hour. But, we have not only the Burlington Northern line here, but the Union Pacific line just a few miles south, so it’s a part of life here.”

Schmall said the museum is a great place to connect with Bayard’s history, and it’s a place where local people can reconnect. “We have quite a bit of unique items,” Schmall said. “We had the ‘Gift of God’ pageant held in our hills back in the 20s and 30s, made famous by Life Magazine. We have some of that memorabilia there. It’s a unique part of the world. Bayard is not a terribly old town, in that we were founded in 1888, but there is so much history here. It’s a fantastic spot to come and be a part of for the time you are here.”