Gustave Koehler Rose Garden, ca.1893

During the late 1880s and1890s, Gustave "Gus" and Kate Koehler's rose garden was considered one the finest in Nebraska. The Koehler's home and rose garden was located on South Locust Street just west of Pier Park. According to an 1894 Grand Island Independent, the Koehler rose garden featured over 500 varieties of rose bushes. The Koehler's even imported roses from Saxony, the region in Germany where Gus was born. Koehler gained affluence first by excavating the two ice ponds that later formed Pier Park and then by financing the Koehler Hotel in 1893. Kate Koehler is the third woman from the left. The other three females admiring the garden are not identified.

Honor a special Mom, Daughter, Aunt, Sister, or Friend with a commemorative gift in the new Heritage Rose Garden in Stuhr Museum's Railroad Town inspired by Koehler's roses. To learn more about participating in our 1890s rose garden project, contact Stuhr Museum Foundation, PO Box 1801, Grand Island, NE 68802, or 308-385-5131.

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