Scout's Rest

Less than three weeks before the Wild West opened in Omaha on May 19, 1883, its first camp stood on Cody's ranch at North Platte. Sidney editor J. C. Bush visited on May 1 with Cody and James McNulty and wrote in the Plaindealer-Telegraph of May 3 of tents pitched on level meadow, buffalo and horses grazing in the next pasture, elk expected within days, and men buying the most famous bucking horses in Nebraska. Buck Taylor, one of the star riders, rode a wall-eyed calico horse for them. A dress rehearsal followed at Columbus on May 10.

What the plaque says

Scout's Rest William Frederick Cody (1846-1917), known to the world as "Buffalo Bill," was the most noted Nebraskan of his day. The many national and European tours of his various "Wild West" exhibitions made him the living symbol of the American West. Cody came to Nebraska in 1869 as guide and scout for the 5th Cavalry at nearby Fort McPherson. He also served as guide for the wealthy and famous on buffalo hunts. Buffalo Bill first went on the stage in 1872, and he formed his first "Wild West" in 1883. He was also involved in ranching and farming, and he was a pioneer in the development of irrigation in both Nebraska and Wyoming. This frontiersman was named to the Nebraska Hall of Fame in 1967. Scout's Rest was built for Buffalo Bill in 1886 as a place to relax between show tours. Here he entertained in elaborate style his famous contem- poraries as well as his old friends of frontier days. Scout's Rest was named to the National Register of Historic Places on January 30, 1978. The house is in Second Empire style with Italianate and Eastlake features; it cost $3,900. The rear addition was added in 1909. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park — steps away
  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 — 2.2 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 — 0.4 mi
• Sioux Lookout — 2.6 mi
• Fort McPherson — 15 mi
• The Great Platte River Road — 15 mi