Experiencing Rock County history

BASSETT, Neb. (KOLN) - During a visit to Bassett, you’ll want to make sure and pay a visit to the Rock County Historical Society Museum, which has many features.

We talked with Evelyn Armstrong about the museum. “Part of the museum is in the depot building,” Armstrong said. “In 1969, they sold this whole building, which includes an apartment, a freight area, and a waiting area.”

There are other buildings on the grounds. “There is a one-room schoolhouse, the Valley Grove Schoolhouse that has been brought in,” Armstrong said. There is also a church on the grounds that was originally built in 1889 in Stuart. Then, it moved to Newport, and eventually it ended up in Bassett, and is now one of the great exhibits on the museum grounds. There is also an agricultural building that highlights farming and ranching, and there is a unique log cabin with great displays inside.

“We have a painted china set, called a lemonade set,” Armstrong said. “It was painted in the 1930s. We have some David Dorsey prints that were made during our Centennial. We are proud of the David Dorsey things, and there is a quilt room where one of the quilts was made in 1912. We have a veterans area. A purple heart was donated to us, it’s Jud Gesiriech’s purple heart, and there are heart-warming stories about that and other POW’s during World War II.”

In the freight room, you’ll see many references to the former mascot of Bassett. “We used to be the Tigers,” Armstrong said. “But we’ve consolidated with Springview, and now we are the Knights. There are many original items in our waiting room as well.” You are invited to come to the Rock County Museum, and then be sure to check out some of the restaurants and shops in Bassett’s downtown area. The community also has a very nice grocery store as well.

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