Rare Cars, Motorcyles, Antiques & More at South Dakota’s Pioneer Auto Show

Murdo, South Dakota, may just be a small town off I-90, but it’s got a big attraction — the Pioneer Auto Show museum.

The General Lee 01, from The Dukes of Hazzard tv show. — *The General Lee from tv’s Dukes of Hazzard. The only remaining intact General Lee built by Van Nyus for the show – this car was used in the series and follow-up specials. Photo by Linda Aksomitis.*

If you’re looking for things to see and do in South Dakota, the Pioneer Auto Show is easy to find and hard to leave.

What’s at the Pioneer Auto Show Museum?

The Pioneer Auto Show museum is constantly under development and growing.

*Cars from the 1900s to 1920s. Photo by Linda Aksomitis.*

So, to put absolute numbers on its collection is impossible. However, you’ll find:

Nearly 300 classic cars from the 1900s to the 1990s
Motorcycles from the 1900s to 1920s
More than 60 rare, antique tractors
Hundreds of pieces of Americana and antiques
Open air prairie town of 16+ buildings

Those, of course, are the numbers. But the collection itself is another story.

How did the Pioneer Auto Show museum get started?

The Pioneer Auto Show started in 1954 (it celebrated 70 years in 2024). In the early 1950s it consisted of a few cars collected by Dick (AJ) Geisler and his family, to attract people to stop at their Phillips 66 gas station.

The cars were a hit. Business thrived. And of course, one thing always leads to another, and Dick was soon buying and collecting antique and vintage cars. The collection grew.

So, Dick and his two sons, Dave and John, built a place to display all of the cars they’d been collecting in 1954. Iin 1973, Dick passed away. John ran the vintage automobile museum and Dave managed the growing classic car collection, which now has more than 30 buildings.

Map of the Pioneer Auto Show & Antique Town

The easiest way to get an idea of the size of the Pioneer Auto Show attraction in Murdo is to look at its map.

Map of Murdo's Pioneer Auto Show buildings — *Map listing the different parts of the Pioneer Auto Show & Antique Town museum. Photo by Linda Aksomitis.*

The museum is well organized, with the most historically significant pieces in the buildings near the entrance.

Rare Cars

1962 rare Messerschmidt car — *1962 Messerschmidt – made by the maker of WWII German fighter planes. Top speed 62 mph – single cylinder, got 60 to 100 mpg. Photo by Linda Aksomitis.*

Some of the highlights of those first buildings include cars like a 1957 Chevy convertible — red, of course. And naturally, you can’t have a Dukes of Hazard car without one for Smokey and the Bandit. So, there’s also a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am Special Edition Package car.

Going back in time, the collection has a 1952 “Woody” Wagon, from a total production of only 359 cars.

Then, there’s the totally hand-built 20th Century Unlimited!

20th Century Unlimited car built in Arizona. — *20th Century Unlimited built by Jerry Nickel in Arizona. Photo by Linda Aksomitis.*

Fast Fact: The 20th Century Unlimited (above) took 4.5 years to build and was made of 1000 board feet of Mahogany (4183 pieces), 64 pieces of oak, and 312 other pieces. It's held together by 5 gallons of Elmers Exterior glue and 60 pounds of drywall screws. The finish is 4 gallons of Urethane, spar grade. It has two 500 cubic inch Cadillac engines.

Explore a list of the Pioneer Auto Show car collection on their website.

The Motorcycles

Motorcycle display at the Pioneer Auto Show museum in Murdo, South Dakota — *Motorcycle display. Photo by Linda Aksomitis.*

The Pioneer Auto Show motorcycle collection ranges from 1914 Indian twin-cylinder to a 1982 Nevel Russian Cycle.

There are around 40 motorcycles in the museum collection. Since South Dakota is well-known for its annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the bikes are a popular exhibit.

Brands in the collection include the ever-popular Harley-Davidsons, as well as assorted Honda and Indian bikes.

On the rarer side (to me anyway), you’ll find brands like the Whizzer, Bella Scooter, and Mustang motorcycle.

You can view the whole list of motorcycles at the Pioneer Auto Show website.

3-wheeled motorcycle handmade to look like a Wells Fargo stage | #murdo #northdakota #museum #museums #motorcycles #travel — *Homemade in Nebraska 3-wheel Stagecoach motorcycle with a VW engine. It was a four time Sturgis runner. Photo by Linda Aksomitis.*

Tractor Collection

Farming is the number one industry in South Dakota. In fact, farming accounts for around 30% of its economic output. So, it’s no surprise that tractors would be important in the Pioneer Auto Show Collection.

Vintage tractors at the Pioneer Auto Show — *Tractor building at the Pioneer Auto Show. Photo by Linda Aksomitis.*

And of course, there are some rare tractor finds in the collection. The most impressive was a 1971 Lamborghini. If you didn’t know Lamborghini made tractors, you’re not alone!

Fast Fact: Lamborghini Trattori is an Italian agricultural machinery manufacturer. Its first tractors were manufactured in 1948 using discarded war materials, producing a single tractor a week.

Prairie Town

The prairie town has 16 buildings, all with their own share of interior museum artifacts.

So what’s in the town?

Well, a train depot with a caboose to get you there. A jail house in case you mess up on your visit and a church to ask forgiveness. A barber shop to fix up your shaggy looks. A livery barn and blacksmith shop if you galloped in. A bank in case you make some money and a photo shop to preserve the memory. A jewelry store to buy that special someone “back home” something special. A general store and butcher shop to make sure you don’t go hungry!

Nostalgic Collectibles & Antiques

If you love rare antiques, Americana, and nostalgic collectibles, you’ll have a proverbial heyday at the Pioneer Auto Show.

There are so many different types of collectibles and antiques it’s impossible to list them all!

Some of my favorites include:

Pedal children’s wagon (Junior Chain Drive)
Hopalong Cassidy figures & souvenirs
Honky Tonk player piano used in Virginia City, Nevada 1899
Jar Jar statue (only 126 made) from Star Wars
Dozens of Grandpa’s pipes (my Grandad really did smoke one!)

Vintage foosball table and other collectibles | #collectibles #museum #southdakota #Murdo — *Foosball tables & other collectibles. Photo by Linda Aksomitis.*

Fire Chief children’s bicycle
1930 Dalton adding machine
Vintage treadmill powered by a dog, goat, or sheep, and ued to power a washing machine, churn or cream separator

Linda’s Pick of the Exhibits

So, yes, I love cars (especially the muscle cars of my teens), but they didn’t come in first for me when it came to this museum.

My favorite display was the kids’ lunch boxes. That may sound a little odd, but there’s a story involved.

8 vintage lunch boxes on a shelf — *Vintage lunch boxes on a shelf. I’d have loved the plaid one! Photo by Linda Aksomitis.*

When I was a kid, times were tough. Lunch pails, particularly ones with popular characters on, were expensive. So, my brothers and I didn’t get anything like that – instead, we had jam cans or syrup pails to carry our lunch to school.

As we got older and went to town school, we graduated to the plainest of plain lunch boxes. Just grey, or if you were lucky, maybe a basic red one.

lunch boxes - Strawberry shortcake, Masters of the Universe, Care Bears, Secret Wars. — *Lunch boxes with various popular characters. Photo by Linda Aksomitis.*

So what lunch boxes did I dream of owning? My top picks would have Roy Rogers and Dale Evans or Lassie or Lost in Space!

Linda’s Road Trip Tips

We visited Murdo on a trip that started on U.S. Route 83, which runs pretty well straight south for 1,885 miles (3,034 km) from Westhope, North Dakota, to Texas. Murdo is at the junction of U.S. 83 and I-90, south of the capital city, Pierre.

Wonderful 50s nostalgia at the Pioneer Auto Show in Murdo, South Dakota | #museum #travel #cars #automobiles — *Pin me!*

We stayed in Murdo, at the Sioux motel, which was average.

While we saw other hotels in Murdo, none were listed on Expedia at the time we visited. C’est la vie.

If you’re at the museum over meal time (or just need a break from exploring), we enjoyed the museum’s Food Court for breakfast.

We had lunch 77 miles later on U.S. 83, at the Coachlight Cafe in the little town of Valentine, Nebraska (couldn’t resist). The hamurgers were great at this little local diner and the coffee was just $0.50 a cup!

Who Should Visit the Pioneer Auto Show?

If you’re trekking through South Dakota on I-90 or U.S. 83, the Pioneer Auto Show is a must-see!

Car body and grill mounted on an entrance table with cash register — *Entrance and cash register to buy tickets. Photo by Linda Aksomitis.*

This museum takes a full day (or a few visits!) if you’re interested in all of the different collections. There’s tons of information to read from make, model and year of vehicles to information about many collectibles. The most significant parts of the collection have newspaper clippings, posters, etc. to learn about them.

Since there are many buildings and the open air town museum, navigation may prove challenging for wheelchairs.

How Do You Visit the Pioneer Auto Show museum?

The Pioneer Auto Show is located in the town of Murdo, South Dakota, at the intersection of I-90 and U.S. 83, at 503 5th Street.

Check opening days and hours (typically only closed in January), as well as admission costs on the Pioneer Auto Show website.

Find out what’s happening at the Pioneer Auto Show Facebook page.

Take a virtual tour of the Pioneer Auto Show museum with South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB) on YouTube.

Plan your trip to Murdo, SD, with Google maps.

Find More Museum Reviews for South Dakota

Check out more reviews for museum attractions in South Dakota on guide2museums.com.

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