We first met the producer of the series in the summer of 2000. He was looking for a place to film Frontier House and Montana was in the running. A "secret" valley in Montana was chosen as the location for filming the series, and Nevada City was chosen as the location for training. Nevada City functioned as a training center for the families to transition back in time. The families needed to learn the appropriate 1880's era skills in animal husbandry, farming, homemaking, wood stove cooking, etc. Nevada City, an open air museum located in Alder Gulch, seemed to fit the bill, as the town provided privacy in a setting of more than 100 old buildings.
Nevada City has 17 original buildings from the mid-1800's. The other buildings were moved to the town site over a fifty-year period, beginning in the mid 1900's. Most of the "moved-in" buildings came from other locations in Montana, but there are a few from Yellowstone National Park.
The families and their trainers spent two weeks in Nevada City preparing for time travel. During that period preparations were made for the construction of three cabins to be built at the secret location. The three on-site cabins were modeled after cabins located in Nevada City. Last October the Montana Heritage Commission contracted with the producers of Frontier House to acquire the artifacts used in filming this exploration of life on the 1883 Montana frontier. The entire contents of the families' three log cabins will be exhibited in similar Nevada City cabins in time for the 2002 tourist season. Visitors can look forward to seeing items from the series such as beds, tables and chairs, cooking utensils, axes, gas lamps, clothing, shoes, canned foods, and more. We currently have two of the three cabins ready for public viewing. The third cabin will be ready in the next four to six weeks, depending on weather conditions.
The Frontier House Museum formal opening is scheduled for June 1, 2002 in Nevada City. We expect all three cabins to be ready and "viewable" weeks before that date. Americans have often looked to history to recount human struggles and achievements. We believe this series and the display of its artifacts in Historic Nevada City will rekindle an old definition of the word 'home' and demonstrate how the frontier experience helped shape what it means to be an American. There are a few pictures and additional information on our website. Please see http://www.frontierhousemuseum.com
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