The exterior walls were reinforced and repaired with new sod blocks, cut with a horse-drawn plow about from the house; additional concrete coating was applied in places. The porch walls were re-shingled, and doors and windows were replaced. Inside the house, the manure covering the floors was removed, and the wood flooring repaired; the plaster on the walls was patched or replaced, up to 20 layers of old wallpaper was removed, and new wallpaper applied in places. Pioneer-era interior furnishings such as a cast-iron stove were installed. In May 1982, the house was opened as a museum. In 1986, the house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places, under the name "William R. Dowse House". In the form nominating it for the register, it was described as "an excellent example of the sod house phenomenon", and as one of the few surviving sod houses in the state. For their efforts in restoring the house and opening it to the public, Philip and Curtis Dowse received the Nebraska State Historical Society's Nebraska Preservation Award in 1990. In the 21st century, the Dowse Sod House is promoted as a tourist destination by the village of Comstock and by the Nebraska Division of Travel and Tourism. Notes References Gaston, W. L. and A. R. Humphrey. History of Custer County, Nebraska. Lincoln, Nebraska: Western Publishing and Engraving Company, 1919. Howard, Robert M. "Dowse Efforts Preserve Traditions That Might Be Lost To Present-Day Attitudes". Nebraska Cattleman, February 1983. pp. 20–21, 66. Kampinen, Andrea L. "The sod houses of Custer County, Nebraska". Masters thesis, University of Georgia, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-22. Welsch, Roger L. Sod Walls: The Story of The Nebraska Sod House. Broken Bow, Nebraska: Purcells, Inc., 1968. External links More photos of the Dowse sod house at Wikimedia Commons Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska Houses in Custer County, Nebraska Houses completed in 1900 Sod houses Historic house museums in Nebraska Museums in Custer County, Nebraska National Register of Historic Places in Custer County, Nebraska