Fur Trade Days

Fur Trade Days

Second weekend in July

Chadron, Nebraska, was at one time a frontier town with a reputation for lawlessness. Shootouts in the local saloons were a regular occurrence. But in 1893 a local newspaper came up with a way of putting the town's high spiritedness to better use. They organized the 1,000 Mile Horse Race from Chadron to Chicago—a publicity stunt that made Chadron a household name. Nine men, including one former outlaw, competed in the race. John Berry, the winner, reached Chicago in 13 days, 16 hours.
Today Fur Trade Days is an attempt to recreate the excitement of the town's active frontier trading days in the mid-1800s. Activities include a buffalo cookout, horseshoe pitching and buffalo chip-throwing contests, and a primitive rendezvous with a black powder shoot.

CONTACTS:
Chadron/Dawes County Area Chamber of Commerce
706 W. Third St.
P.O. Box 646
Chadron, NE 69337
800-603-2937 or 308-432-4401; fax: 308-432-4757
www.chadron.com

Celebration days:
2011: Jul 9; Jul 10
2012: Jul 14; Jul 15
2013: Jul 13; Jul 14
2014: Jul 12; Jul 13
2015: Jul 11; Jul 12