Hugo’s Hedlund House Museum –Discover Our History.
The Hedlund House Museum is located on the SW corner of 4th Ave and 7th St in Hugo.
Nearly a century and a half have passed since William A. Hill, a Civil War veteran from Massachusetts, arrived on this spot.
In those days, cattle comprised the only local industry, and this undeveloped land rested along the stage line between the Willow Springs and Lake stations.
Mr. Hill and his partner operated a general store and trading post, serving the new rail line constructed by the Kansas Pacific Railway Co. in 1870. Mr. Hill filed his homestead claim in 1875 and platted the town that ultimately came to be called “Hugo.”
In 1877, Mr. Hill built this house, and lived in it for nine years. Gip Beasley made his home here for two years, until Mr. Hill moved his family back in, in 1889.
Over the next 18 years, residents of this house included Frank Tompkins (four years), John C. Wilson (six years), L. D. Rockey (five years), and James Dostal (four years).
In 1918, the Peter O. Hedlund family assumed ownership of the house, and for the next 53 years, it was home to three generations of Hedlunds. In 1971, Mertle C. Hedlund donated the home and property to the Town of Hugo. It was her desire that the house should become a museum. The town gratefully accepted Mrs. Hedlund’s gift.
In August of 1972, Lincoln County dedicated the Hedlund House Museum. Items continue to be donated for display in the museum, and the Town has erected another display building just north of the Hedlund House. While the Town of Hugo pays for maintenance, the museum is staffed entirely by volunteers. Thousands of people have toured the Hedlund House over the past and we invite you to see what they have already discovered.