In 1890, capitalists George and Phoebe Frank, originally of New York, built a Richardsonian Romanesque mansion just outside of Kearney, Nebraska. They hoped to be part of the up-and-coming boom era brought on by westward expansion following the Civil War. The Frank Family mansion, which is now home to the G.W. Frank Museum of History and Culture, was created as an opulent showpiece. The Franks spared no expense when selecting materials, style, and functionality. The exterior is sandstone imported from Colorado, the interior wood was hard-carved by premier woodworker John Peter Lindbeck, and the Frank family mansion is one of the first homes in the American West to be wired for electricity as it was being built.

The entire first floor of the museum replicates the Frank family era of the 1890s. You can literally step back in time and view the opulence of the Gilded Age first-hand. Many original Frank family artifacts are housed on the first floor, as well as many other period pieces original to the 1890s.