1881 Courthouse Museum, Historical museum in Custer, South Dakota
The 1881 Courthouse Museum is a two-story brick building in Italianate style housing several exhibition rooms with different collections. The displays cover Native American artifacts, local mining history, and regional wildlife in separate dedicated spaces.
This building was constructed in 1880 from local materials and served as the Custer County courthouse for nearly 100 years. It transitioned to a museum in the 1970s to preserve and share the region's history with visitors.
The building displays Lakota clothing and tools alongside photographs that help visitors understand how Native Americans lived in this region. You can see how their culture shaped the area and continues to be remembered today.
The building is centrally located in Custer and easy to reach when visiting the town. Visitors should check opening times beforehand and allow enough time to explore the multiple exhibition rooms at a relaxed pace.
A historic cabin from the Cheyenne to Deadwood Stage route has been relocated to the museum grounds to show visitors how travelers rested along this important route. The building preserves the daily conditions and sleeping arrangements travelers experienced on their journeys.
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