Welcome to the Good Ole Days this year at Tabor Days 2024!
(MINATARE, Neb.) — Minatare’s Kelso Park will be hopping Saturday morning September 7th as Minatare’s Tabor Days kicks off with games and all kinds of fun stuff for the kids at 11:00 a.m.
The beer garden at the Broken Spoke will be open from 1:00 p.m. to midnight.

The annual parade is set to begin at 2:00 p.m., which should include vehicles coming over after Melbeta’s Hot Rod & Bike Show ends, to join the parade.
Native American Dancers & Singers and the Guadalupe Dancers will provide entertainment in the afternoon hours, along with other family-friendly activities.
Where Did The Name ‘Tabor’ Originate?
Shortly after Nebraska became a state, George W. Fairfield was sent to survey the land from York west to Yellowstone. The natural beauty and availability of good water and soil made this his choice of all he surveyed. In 1885 he filed claim to land at this location.
Fairfield established a “land locator’s office” in Sidney near the Union Pacific depot, met each train, talked with land seekers, and helped them locate a homestead near his proposed town of “Tabor.” The town consisted of a “soddie” building which served as the Post Office and a general store, also included were 3 or 4 houses. After choosing a site, they would journey back across the Camp Clarke Bridge to Sidney, county seat for the giant Cheyenne County at that time, to file their claims.

Early residents showed real foresight when, in 1887, they met and organized the Minatare Canal & Irrigation Company, the first such project in the area. Built mainly through the efforts of people like Theodore Harshman and his large family, who dug more than half the ditch themselves, it was constructed with little or no money. Lumber for bridges and headgates was hauled from the Wildcat Hills and sawed lumber from the Pine Ridge. The first water was turned in on August 15, 1888.
When the Burlington Railroad arrived in 1900, it missed the town of Tabor, which consisted of a sod post office, general store, and four houses. So Tabor shifted its location and changed its name to “Minatare”, an Indian word meaning “clear water.”
A District Two School system, organized in 1887, was first held in a dug out, later in a sod house, and eventually in a four room community hall. In 1897 the present district was formed by combining schools at Minatare, Red Top, and Fairview which developed into the K-12 system that we enjoy today. As director Charles Brackman wrote, “After the town was established it was apparent the school ought to be moved. I favored the idea provided there would be a place where the country children could stable their horses.”
In those days there were no trees to be found anywhere except for three giant cottonwoods near Minatare. These famous landmarks still stand today. According to one tale, a girl who lived some distance north of town had never seen a tree, so for her sixteenth birthday, her father brought her to town to view them.
Minatare was Scottsbluff County’s first voting place and the precinct was named Tabor.
Visit Minatare Nebraska – History and Memories on facebook for more!
This information is also available on the city’s website at https://cityofminatare.com
Enjoy Minatare Tabor Days 2024!
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