SCOTTSBLUFF — The Robidoux Trading Post takes visitors back in time, serving as a representation of the family’s second trading post in the Nebraska Panhandle. Historical documents show the trading post provided supplies and blacksmithing to immigrants and the Native population.
“The Robidouxs were one of the very first entrepreneurs in this area that had the trading posts,” Dan Morford, member of The Friends of Robidoux Trading Post, said. “They provided a lot of services and supplies for those immigrants and for the Native Americans that were here, that traded with them.”

Robidoux Trading Post stands at its new location in Gering north of Five Rocks Amphitheater.
The sod-roofed building has been reconstructed with 100-year-old hand-hewn logs and had been located at its original site in Carter Canyon until last year.
The new home for the trading post was well thought out, with its location in Gering just north of Five Rocks Amphitheater and near Robidoux Pass.
“It’ll be fun for the people camping, you know, they can easily walk (to the post),” Barb Netherland, chairman of The Friends of Robidoux Trading Post said.
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Visitors are encouraged to view the outside structure of the fort and glimpse through the windows to see the restoration work that is still underway. The Friends of Robidoux Trading Post is a group of volunteer community members who have taken up care of the post.
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“We formed mostly to just try to better serve the post, to keep a better eye on it,” Netherland said. “The post had some maintenance issues that needed to be looked at and we just really felt like it needed more attention.”
The group has divided into subcommittees to continue to work on different phases geared toward completing the renovations. Morford is the chairman for the story committee which is charged with designing the interior exhibits as well as the interpretive signage for the outside of the post. The displays will feature items that will depict the Native and fur trade life of the 1850s as well as blacksmith tools.
Landscape additions comprised of plants native to the area are also planned.

A portion of the Robidoux Trading Post will most likely be roped off for visitors to see a display of blacksmithing tools, fur trade items and other things immigrants may have stopped at the fort to restock on.
“Our hope is to be able to open the post — at least occasionally — and make it into a fun, educational experience,” Netherland said. “And it is an opportunity to demonstrate local history.”
She said to this point the projects have been completed by volunteers and funded primarily through Scotts Bluff County Tourism and Gering Keno revenues. The City of Gering and Scotts Bluff National Monument have supported the renovation with preservation guidance and expertise.
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