River Towns

Meadville Ghost Town
We were excited to see a ghost town listed near our backroads route in north central Nebraska. Our AAA map listed it under “Historic.” The map showed the ghost town of Meadville located on the Niobrara River, but no road to the north; we decided to embark on a bit of a side-trip adventure anyway. We’re always up for that! After a few miles of gravel road and some beautiful fall foliage, we crossed a brand new bridge — which was a pleasant surprise since our map didn’t show that detail.

About a half mile further, we located the “historic ghost town.” The General Store is open daily at noon. We were there mid-morning so there was no one around. Meadville’s main building is the Post Office/General Store which was restored 15 years ago. There are three other buildings on the property — a storage building, a house that appears to have been moved in, and an authentic log cabin that seems to be original to the town.

A bit disappointing, but we didn’t talk to anyone about the history so perhaps there is more than meets the eye or some grand plans in the works. It did look as though we missed quite a party — there were beer bottles and bags — and more bags — of beer cans. Perhaps that is their fundraising method for future improvements!

For this backroads trip, however, we have to say it was not worth the trip. The only spirits we found evidence of are those that come in a brown bottle!