Restoring The Past: Bringing Back The Soddie

  • The Sod House Museum in Gothenburg averages about 12,000 visitors each year, not counting those who don’t actually go inside and sign the book. The leaking roof on the soddies has been recently replaced and co-owner J.C. Smith hopes to have the cactus back on the roof soon. (Leader photo by Ellen Mortensen)
    The Sod House Museum in Gothenburg averages about 12,000 visitors each year, not counting those who don’t actually go inside and sign the book. The leaking roof on the soddies has been recently replaced and co-owner J.C. Smith hopes to have the cactus back on the roof soon. (Leader photo by Ellen Mortensen)

    Back in 2020, J.C. Smith, Justin Strasburg, and Jim Aden partnered together to purchase Gothenburg’s Sod House Museum. It was strictly an act of love.

    “It was not an ideal time to buy a museum,” Smith quipped, noting that at the time, people had to wear a mask to visit.

    Fueled by the desire to save a piece of local history, Smith pulled in one day and followed the trail back to the sod house. He read the sign and was moved to action. “The more I thought about that sign, the more I realized that is still the fiber and DNA that is persistent in Gothenburg yet today. A lot of people here come together to do a lot of good things,” he shared.

    Merle and Linda Block owned the property and had been trying for a few years to sell it. “It was becoming completely overgrown and deteriorating fast,” said …