Nebraska Ghost Towns Part 5 // Venus, Wee Town, Ames

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Here are all of my Nebraska ghost town videos in one playlist! kzbin.info/aero/PL4jqwLUrhjNRfJY3fBbmmCW98ilUDWBGN

[@rose2m]

I just found your channel and have been watching your videos all day! I’m from Nebraska & love history, so I find these very interesting! I’m adding a few I hadn’t heard of to my list of places to check out! Montrose & Emmerick are a couple other Nebraska ghost towns I can think of. Also, my family just visited Brownville, NE and that is a very neat little town!

[@Taximan90]

My great Grandpa Uttecht owned Wee Town for years, My Great Aunt and Great Uncle also lived there and my Grandpa Lyle worked there as a teen in the '40's. As mentioned, they had free movies on Saturday nights and made money selling ice cream cones for 5 cents.

[@KennethKucera]

My wife grew up near Venus. There was a grocery store which also sold hardware and clothing. A gas station also and they attended the Wesleyan Methodist church from time to time. The parents shopped there regularly as there was not much else to go to get groceries, supplies and sell cream & eggs. Yes the school, it was made of stucco. A great video, you are one of the best. Will have to venture up to Venus this summer as we live near Howells. Thanks so much.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Aww thanks so much for the kind comment! I had read a little about Venus but wasn’t expecting to find the school there! I appreciate you watching! Have fun with your travels!

[@mistered9435]

I had many great times at Wee-Town in the 80’s and early 90’s! It was a hopping place, and was frequented by motorcycle gangs, farmers, and regional bands.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Awesome! I would’ve loved to have checked it out back then!

[@teebob21]

Super cool that you did this video! I live just 20 miles from Wee Town. You're right that it was never a town...it was just a gas station. It used to be a popular truck stop just 20 years ago...but as soon as they stopped selling gas, people quit stopping. I never did go to the WeeTown movie nights but they still had them when I was in high school (graduated 2001). It was for sale for a TON of money in 2022. I would have bought it if I felt like spending six figures to lose five figures a year! Hwy 81 is still a major throughway through the state.....it runs non-stop from Mexico all the way to Canada.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thanks for the additional info! Interesting they kept showing movies that long! Love finding these hidden gems but glad you didn’t buy it for that much!

[@papabear562]

I lived in N/W Indiana back in my young days, and US 30 passed through the town I lived in at the time, Dyer. I had no idea US 30 spanned the entire country. Fascinating drive through Nebraska. Another great video, and this finishes my trek through Nebraska via your videos! (I think) 😆

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thanks so much!! US 30 would be a great road trip someday too!

[@hungarysammy]

Love all the old buildings! I cant help but think of what it was like when these places were lively! Love the old days and the old ways! Such interesting names as well!😊

[@ronfullerton3162]

My mind loves to travel back and imagine what it was like in the times when these old places "were hopping" yet. I was growing up in the 1950's in very rural southeast Iowa, and remember going to the little towns for "trading" as the folks called shopping. They were so full of life and people were on the move everywhere. I could happily hop a time machine and go back!

[@sueelliott3206]

It just blows my mind of all these little ghost towns that I have never heard of. Been here for over 6 decades and still don't know my state. Lol TFS

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

I feel the same about my home state! Thanks for watching!

[@midwestghosttown]

All those towns are 3 hours over the river from me - I'll have to head in that direction. One thing - when you get shots of tractors in the field, and you are driving down a dirt road, and capturing a train going by - it feels like home to me. Thank you for the video!

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Same! Takes me back to growing up in rural Ohio :)

[@LillyMarz777]

I go pass Wee Town every time I go to Norfolk. My late husband said his dad used to drink there.

[@johnhoppkins7258]

I lived in Norfolk ne years ago. Wee town is just a few miles from there.

[@perseusguy]

Looks like excellent weather... always interesting trips...

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

I actually filmed this last October and it was pretty nice out still!

[@francisbarlow9904]

Well John, I find your videos fascinating, I really do. Considering we are only across the pond Americans and Englishmen are so very different in their behaviour and settling down habits. I live in a village which until the 1890's (and since it's listing in the Doomsday book of 1086) had a population of less than 100. In the 1890's a coal mine was opened and the population grew to about 10,500 in 1980. 1982 the coal mine closed and about 3000 jobs were lost and as many more in supporting industries, today the population is 10500 and probably about to grow as at least 3 new building developments begin. I think it is more about the vastness of the USA to be honest. In England we have not had a 'Ghost town' since the Black Death plague in the 14th century, even after Hitler flattened a few towns in the 40's they were rebuilt. Plague villages (Ghost towns) are very uncommon indeed. Keep up the good work and thank you very much, Frank.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Wow such an interesting comment - thank you! I'm very fascinated with your history over there since it is so much older than ours. But our pioneering history is what is most interesting to me here, because you can still see much of it. Thanks again!

[@juliogonzales5441]

Great camera 📸 shots...thank you

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Many thanks!

[@peterselten500]

Hi john thanks for the tour great to see the photo of the gas station back in the day an a wee bit of history for it . Cheers mate 🇦🇺

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Always have to visit a place called Wee Town! Haha. Thanks!

[@mikehuhman3249]

Would like to say Thank you for the time and effort you put in to the video you share.great job 👍

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thank you! It’s a lot of fun!

[@Quitealways]

Beautiful farming area showing plowed fields in the areas . Loved train passing in closing . Brings back childhood memories. 😊 Thanks for sharing your adventure.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thank you! Lots of beautiful places in the mother half of Nebraska! Thanks for watching some many videos!

[@robertwynn5844]

Familiar with all 3 places. Back in the 80's Weetown was a place I stopped to get gas on my way to Wayne.

[@ronfullerton3162]

I could be wrong, but by the looks of it, I would say it was a travel stop before the interstates and limited access four laners. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of area for truck parking, but maybe some of it is overgrown by Mother Nature, or returned back to farming. The old truck stops were fairly easy to pick out until the last twenty years or so. Time is calling them. There is what is left of another old truck stop on highway 92, I believe it was between Brainard and Weston on the south side of the highway. It was quite recognizable in the 1990's, but I couldn't find it on satellite maps just now. Many of the old dance Halls are the same way. I almost wonder if that one building at Venus wasn't an old dance hall as open as it was. Any ways, those old buildings are going away fast. Well our wonderful travel guide, this way outside of my single day runs radius, so I hadn't been to any of them. Once again for taking us along. It was as much fun as always!

[@bertholini2810]

Really nice video. Thank you for posting !

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thank you very much!

[@bertholini2810]

@@TravelwithaWiseguy As you know.... we put cable/fiber optics in and we stayed in some (seriously) terrible places. XXXX came in and said, hey it's snowing and at 3 o'clock in the morning he was yelling, Dood, there is snow in here. I was dieing laughing, thinking to myself after 5 years we stayed in the worst/cheapest motels that ever was. I'll bet you have stayed in a few..... uh, ratty (that's a good word) motels. Be good, be safe !

[@bglrj]

Delightful.

[@rossbryan6102]

OAKES AMES WAS NOT ONLY A UNION PACIFIC OFFICIAL, BUT HIS FAMILY BUSINESS WAS MAKING HANDTOOLS SUCH AS PICKS AND SHOVELS, THAT DID THE DIRT WORK ON EARLY UNION PACIFIC CONSTRUCTION!

[@bglrj]

We used to sell Ames implements and tools in the hardware store!

[@pamelacrowe4971]

Thanks for the video.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

You are welcome!

[@mathewhephill8686]

Safe travels

[@calvinjluther]

The real question is if you ever get to Chase, which technically does exist but the church got moved to one of the farms so that still exists.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Sounds interesting!

[@augiegirl1]

I grew up in Fremont, only 5 miles from Ames, & my parents & brother still live there! I now live in Topeka.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Awesome 😎

[@augiegirl1]

@@TravelwithaWiseguy ​​The next time you're up that way, check out the Louis E. May Historical Museum on Nye Ave. in Fremont; my volunteer hours as a tour guide at that museum contributed to the requirements for me to earn my Girl Scout Silver & Gold Awards. Also, my home church (St. Timothy Lutheran) is right next to it. The best time to go, if you can, is during John C. Fremont Days, the 2nd weekend in July; during the festival, Fremont’s population (normally around 25,000) becomes the size of TOPEKA (125,000)! FYI, this video is not on your Nebraska playlist; please add it!

[@williammatzek4660]

A man that grew up a mile north of Bentley Kansas told me this! When I was a boy on Saturday night they show a movie on the side of a building. Have a good day! (In Bentley)

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Would've be fun to do! I bet there were some good times!

[@brucesmith9144]

Venus can drive west for a couple hours to meet Valentine. Nebraska, that is.

[@stevenuttecht7801]

My Grandpa Uttecht started/owned Wee Town for years, My Aunt and Uncle also lived there and my Dad worked there as a teen in the '40's. As mentioned, they had free movies on Saturday nights and made money selling ice cream cones for 5 cents.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Awesome 😎

[@rideinthedark]

Growing up in small town Iowa and Nebraska and traveling between Nebraska and Oklahoma/Dallas for 40 years, your videos are fascinating. Thank you for sharing these videos and photos.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Awesome thank you!

[@flower-yn9jp]

Would have know you were making a report on wee town could have let you in what’s left of old buildings at your own risk thou 1:44 1:44

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

That would’ve been great!

[@Mason_buba]

My great grandma and grandpa are the last owners of wee town before they died

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Oh wow that’s very interesting! Thank you for sharing!

[@oldradiosnphonographs]

Yep. That collapsed building was a general store and a home.

[@oldradiosnphonographs]

Couple of ghost town suggestions: Angora NE Dickens NE Stockville NE Vesta NE Sunol NE Anoka NE Harlan Kansas looks really interesting too

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thanks! Anoka is in my 10 Smallest Towns in Nebraska video. Sunol is briefly in my Oregon Trail video, but I remember it and want to go back! Thanks for the suggestions!

[@oldradiosnphonographs]

@@TravelwithaWiseguy Ok some more suggestions (my apologies if you covered these towns before) Montrose KS Lamar NE Ardmore SD Bostwick NE Crab Orchard NE Industry KS Manchester KS Densmore KS Carneiro KS Corbin KS Bellaire KS Zenith KS

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Thanks! The only one on that list I've made a video for is Zenith, KS. Would love to visit all of them!

[@oldradiosnphonographs]

@@TravelwithaWiseguy I’ll search google maps if I find some candidates For you. Doing research Manchester KS had some really cool buildings until the late 2010s but they either collapsed or were torn down. As of 2019 they had been reduced to rubble. I’m not sure if it was cleaned up or not since then.

[@paulinemarks6207]

Do you ever encounter ghosts? 👻👻👻. I’m watching your older videos since I found your channel.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

I’ve never seen a ghost!! Thanks for watching the older videos 😊

[@3catsaden352]

Highway 30 known as The Lincoln Highway!

[@RojoOkie]

Careful getting too close to those trains I hear they like to derail

[@Surr3alD3sign]

Yo venus is pretty close to where i live, bloomfield nebraska

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Beautiful area to live!

[@travis303]

How did Venus have an attraction that was so popular "thousands and thousands of people" and now suddenly it's no more? I understand towns gradually decline but if they had something that drew that many people (I assume it would happen more than just one time as what was so special about that one time that it gathered that many people and every other year was a dud) how on earth did that stop being a popular attraction? That is my question. It would be like if the Sturgis motorcycle rally, which also draws thousands and thousands of people, suddenly stopped drawing and Sturgis disappeared. Doesn't make sense. I understand the interstates bypassing some of these towns but I would think that if Venus drew that many people to whatever party it had, it must have been a lot of fun and people would still go even if the interstate by passed it.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

I agree! Here is the article I found about it that gives a lot more detail than I did in the video: www.auroranewsregister.com/commentary/trip-back-time-venus-ne

[@travis303]

@@TravelwithaWiseguy "There were swarms of people swimming in an Olympic size pool" I assume you saw no evidence of any place a huge pool like this could have been? Goodness, 30,000 people went to this thing. How on earth did that just disappear? There are no answers to that question in the link you posted. That is crazy.

[@TravelwithaWiseguy]

Yeah it's pretty wild! I'm just guessing that it died off gradually then they stopped it. I have no idea.

[@travis303]

@@TravelwithaWiseguy I bring up the Sturgis motorcycle rally again because that's the closest analogy I can think of. I can't imagine something that happens every year that is so big and that community depends on, brings in lots of income, just disappearing like that. I bet this was a similar thing where 10s of thousands of people show up to this thing, bring their money, spend their money, and that disappeared, the town ended up disappearing. Is it possible that one party disappearing led to the town's demise? Any chance that one event may have been the biggest money maker of the year? Just speculating but it is such an interesting thing. You made me think a lot more than I expected today.

[@eburro62331]

@@TravelwithaWiseguy Interesting!!!