We Found Vintage in the Most Unlikely Place

A dirt road in rural Nebraska leads us to one of the most rural estate sales--and one of the most unusual antique malls--that we’ve ever explored.

We’re following a garage sale route through rural Nebraska, and our first fun garage sale stop takes us to a bargain on Titan Golden Canaries--and a random drive farther into the countryside. Miles from anywhere, we suddenly pass an antique mall housed in old grain bins. Intrigued, we call the number on the sign, become the day's first visitors and start discovering cool stuff. The barn and its resident cats lead us through thoughtful country displays filled with general store cabinets, primitive farm furniture, early 1900s kitchenware, tins, phones, tools, typewriters, crocks, scales and all kinds of hardware.

The surprises continue outside, where 21 grain bin buildings hold individual dealer displays packed with antiques and vintage finds. Jewelry cases offer bargain bling, pocket knives, half dolls and compacts, while the bins reveal great buys on Bauer pottery, Hedi Schoop figurines, mesh bags and more. This place is very remote, but it rewards the drive with the kind of unexpected discoveries that make exploring small-town antique shops so much fun.

From there, we head west into another time zone and reach Madrid, Nebraska, where a collector estate sale still has plenty to offer on its half-off day. An impossibly cheap saddle, a calf weaner, an embossed 1907 corer and a really good wood plane join vintage kitchenware and glassware in my pile until I’m squeezing purchases into every vacant space in the van.

Estate sales and antique malls both prove to be terrific sources across the Great Plains, where some of the best vintage finds appear in places we would never expect!

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