Museum of the Fur Trade

The Museum of the Fur Trade in Chadron, Nebraska celebrates North America's first continent-wide economy which was the business of furs that involved trappers, fur traders, and Indians alike. The museum opened in 1949 adjacent to the trading post and warehouse site (built in 1833) in a forested region in Nebraska. The post was operated until 1876 when the post was shut down after ammunition sold to the Indians was confiscated by U.S. soldiers. The museum's collection includes fur trade lifestyle trappings such as weapons, clothing, and goods. Other exhibits include William Clark fabric samples and Kit Carson's shotgun along with unusual exhibits like the Buffalo Tongue which had been a northern plains delicacy in the pioneer days. Several costumes from the film "The Revenant" were also donated to the museum in 2016 in appreciation for the consultation the museum had given to the producers regarding the lives of mountain men during that era of American history.