Boot Hill Cemetery & Camp Lookout (Sidney, NE)

Constructed and used between 1868 and 1889, the cemetery played a significant role in the history of the “Old West” when Sidney was: a major outpost for the U.S. Army and a shipping point to and from the Black Hills Gold Rush. The Cemetery was abandoned in 1889 with the graves holding the legends, stories and memories of 89 saloons, gaming halls, brothels and all-night theaters on Front Street. Neglect and inappropriate use are being combated by a volunteer preservation effort. Camp Lookout is definitely the oldest building in Sidney and perhaps the entire Panhandle. The structure was built in 1867 to house soldiers from Fort Sedgwick, Colorado, who set up an outpost along Lodgepole Creek to protect railroad workers pushing the Union Pacific across the plains. Later known as Sidney Barracks, it eventually became a lodging facility and then a private residence after the Army pulled out in 1894. Volunteers working on the Boot Hill project are trying to buy it from the willing owner.