Road Ranches Along the Platte

The rancher behind the pineapple was Charles McDonald, born near Morristown, Tennessee, in 1826. He married Orra B. Henry of Hamilton, New York, in 1858, and in 1860 opened his ranch and general store at Cottonwood Springs, on the ground where Fort McPherson was later built. Through the Indian wars he supplied the fort with hay. He moved to North Platte in 1872, kept a general store there from 1873 to 1899, opened the Bank of Charles McDonald in 1878 and served as Lincoln County's first county judge. He died in North Platte on April 22, 1919.

What the plaque says

Road Ranches Along the Platte With the discovery of gold in the Rocky Mountains in the late 1850s, overland freighting and travel intensified. Every few miles westward along the trails, enterprising individuals established road ranches which offered lodgings and provisions to travelers. A variety of goods was available: the Cheese Creek Ranche in eastern Nebraska was named for its main product; the Freeman Ranche at Plum Creek was noted for fresh bread and milk. Some ranches, like McDonald's at Cottonwood Springs, presented such delicacies as fresh pineapple and imported French wines. Many ranches, however, were scorned because of their poor service and unsanitary conditions. Even when located within walking distance of neighbors, ranche personnel felt isolated and endangered. Many ranches were burned during the Indian trouble of the mid-1860's, and some ranchers and their families were killed or taken prisoner. Ranchers who were not discouraged by the hazardous trail life often became prominent in Nebraska's history. James Boyd, once a road rancher became governor of the state. When the Union Pacific Railroad built through the area in 1866 and 1867, overland freighting and stage travel ended, hastening the disappearance of the colorful road ranches. Department of Roads Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park — 20 mi
  Scout's Rest, the North Platte ranch house and barn of William F. Cody, in the town where his Old Glory Blowout of July 4, 1882 became the first act of the Wild West.
• Golden Spike Tower and Bailey Yard — 21 mi
  A tower with seventh- and eighth-floor decks over Union Pacific's Bailey Yard in North Platte, the world's largest railroad classification yard, in a town the railroad laid out and fed troops from.

More markers nearby

• Fort McPherson and North Platte — 0.7 mi
• Fort McPherson — 5.6 mi
• Swedish Crosses Cemetery — 14 mi
• Etna — 16 mi