Loup Rivers Scenic Byway
Dowse Sod House, NE

The Dowse Sod House located in Custer County is a wonderful example of the early sod houses constructed by pioneers settling on the plains. Materials generally used to construct homes, such as timber, were scare on the Plains and resourceful pioneers used what they could. The Dowse Sod House was built in 1900, a little later than many of the first pioneers, but uses the sod brick construction. Wood frames were later added, but the site remains as an example of the sod houses that were built in central Nebraska.