Welcome to Wilber Nebraska
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This sign introduces Wilber at the north Highway 103 entrance into town. Each entrance into town has a different home made folk art sign. On July 17, 1963 Governor Frank Morrison proclaimed Wilber “the Czech Capital of Nebraska.” Later, on July 10, 1987, President Ronald Reagan named Wilber the “Czech Capital of the United States.”
$100.00

City Office, Wilber
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The city office sits at the crossroads of highways 103 and 41. Loudspeakers broadcast Czech polka music all day long. Professor Charles Dana Wilber donated the land for the town in 1873. He was a geologist and a land speculator. Wilber became the county seat of Saline County in 1877. The county was named for the large salt deposits thought to be there, but were never found. The Wilber Hotel just down the street was built in 1895 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. It still serves roast duck and pork with dumplings and other traditional Czech dishes. The Czech Cellar is a cool place to have a drink, and you can dance in the beer garden day and night. This bed and breakfast inn has 10 historic rooms. Each room was adopted by a Wilber family who donated money for renovations as well as antiques to furnish it.
$100.00

Brush Creek Hall, Wilber
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Driving near Wilber one bright summer afternoon, I noticed an old, graying sign with an arrow, “Brush Creek Hall, One Mile.” Expecting a large building like Tabor Hall a few miles to the north, I drove right past it at first. I thought it was a barn. I had to backtrack when I realized I had gone too far. This lovely old building is actually the oldest known Sokol Hall in Nebraska. It was built in 1888 by a group of boys who wanted a local place to practice the Sokol principles of “a healthy mind in a healthy body.” By the 1920s there were sixty members, including gymnastic teams for boys, girls, and adults.
$100.00

Brush Creek Hall Piano
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Inside Brush Creek Hall is what remains of one of the most important cultural centers in the county. The roof protects it from the rain so the birds and mice live with the now quiet piano. Sokol was established in Prague, Bohemia, in 1862 and spread to the United States. It was a gymnastic movement that also promoted cultural and patriotic education. In English, Sokol means “Falcon,” a bird known for its courage, endurance, speed, eyesight, and its love of the heights. In that way it symbolized the ideals of Sokol: fitness, power and high aims.
$100.00

Brush Creek Hall Door, Wilber
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Bohemian Freethinkers were the first group in the United States to profess free thought in an organized way. They met together in reading societies and fraternal organizations like Sokol and WBFA, the Western Bohemian Fraternal Association (in Czech: ZCBJ, Zapadni Cesko Bratrska Jednota). Brush Creek Hall is on the Register of Historic Places.
$100.00

Czech Craft Shop, Wilber
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Wilber is proud of its old world connections. Folk art traditions are kept alive in the commerce and culture. Because of its status as the Czech Capital of Nebraska, Wilber has many visitors each year who love to steep themselves in the history of the area. The craft shop advertises hand embroidered Czech costumes, ceramics, mementos, cookbooks, and original design china. The Czech Cottage imports Czech collectibles and antiques.
$100.00