hitchcock museum

Visited again after a year and a half. The owner, Ray, keeps adding new things. Sadly they are lacking visitors to this little town and this tremendous museum. It is sad that it is only about 25 or so miles from Huron South Dakota and the people from there don't even take the short drive to see so much history of the South Dakota plains. Ray is a wealth of knowledge of the area having spent his life there. Go to Hitchcock, SD and see a view into the past with all of the things on display. We drove from Washington state to see it again after our first visit. No charge; donation jar available.

"Hitchcock, South Dakota, Population 108, Next 3 Exits" – (well, really next 3 dirt roads). This is the sign that greets you as you enter Hitchcock from the West on SD Highway 28. There is also a sign that says "Free Museum". Little did we know what a treasure find the Hitchcock Museum would be! We had gone to Hitchcock for a quick look around as that was where my wife's mother and her siblings had gone to high school back around 1930. We pulled up to the Museum just as the owner was leaving the Post Office next door after bringing his wife Rita, the postmistress, back from lunch. He asked if we would like to see the Museum and of course we said "Yes!". Upon entering the Museum, Ray Waldner, the owner, went around the building turning on the lights. As the lights came on, my mouth hung further and further open. I could not believe what I was seeing. Ray has a collection of about everything old from his days of growing up in this area of the plains of South Dakota. There are more old things in this museum, neatly displayed, than anyone can imagine. And Ray himself is a treasure trove of information about the area, having lived there all of his life. My wife's grandparents at one time had a general store in a little town a few miles away that today is only a dot on the map. Ray gave us the history on that town too. I was in awe of all of the old things displayed in this museum, from saddles, to license plates, to barbed wire, to old manual typewriters, to old metal disk music players. There is no way to describe everything there. My wife was in awe of the old newspapers, pictures and other information about her family. It was a very emotional experience for her. And the neat part about this is that Ray does all of this just for his love of the history of the area. There is a donation jar available but I doubt it does much more than pay the light bill. We spent about two hours in the Museum and then Ray took us around town and over to the school where my wife's family went to high school. It is now an elementary school as the school districts of a couple of towns have combined. My wife got to walk the floor where her mother walked and visualize her and her sisters and brother gaining their education many years ago. At one time Hitchcock was a booming town with several grain elevators on the rail line. Most of the people are now gone as well as the rail line and most of the grain elevators. This town and the Hitchcock Museum are real nostalgia for anyone who has an interest in the past. Don't miss the Hitchcock Museum if you are ever in the area. We are already planning our trip back for next spring and plan to spend a couple of days at the Hitchcock Museum.Hitchcock is located about 35 miles North and West of Huron, South Dakota which is almost due North of Mitchel, South Dakota. The location of the Hitchcock Museum is on Clarke Street in the same building as the Post Office.