HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG1025.AM: Robert Fletcher Gilder, 1856-1940
Papers: 1819-1968, mainly 1912-1928
Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska: Archeologist
Size: One folder
BACKGROUND NOTE
Born in New York in 1856, Robert Gilder settled in Nebraska in 1887 and established himself as a journalist, archeologist and painter. He worked as a newspaper reporter for 32 years, and he produced hundreds of paintings that would become his legacy. During his trips to the woods along the Missouri River bluffs to paint, Gilder discovered various shallow depressions dotting the top of the bluffs. Despite having no formal training in archeology, Gilder started digging into the depressions and recorded his findings. He published his findings in the newspaper, and later professional journals. His initial observations and findings, along with later professional excavations, led to the establishment of the “Nebraska Culture,” or the Nebraska Phase. Gilder continued to research and paint for the rest of his life. Robert Gilder died in Omaha on March 7, 1940. He is buried in Bellevue Cemetery at Bellevue, Nebraska.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The collection contains three letters and several articles by Robert F. Gilder. Gilder wrote two of the letters to A.E. Sheldon of the Nebraska State Historical Society to discuss their archeological research. A third letter, dated January 19, 1922, is to Eolia Marquardt of Avoca, Nebraska, in which Gilder gives an account of his scientific discoveries and research. The collection also contains several reprints of articles concerning Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota archeology. Photocopies of Gilder’s The Nebraska Culture Man are included.
See the photo component [RG1025.PH] for related images.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
See the Library Catalog and the Nebraska History index for articles and publications by Robert Fletcher Gilder.
INVENTORY
Letters, reprints, etc.
Subject headings:
Archeologists — Nebraska
Archeology — Iowa
Archeology — Nebraska
Archeology — South Dakota
Gilder, Robert Fletcher, 1856-1940
Indians of North America — Nebraska
Indians of North America — South Dakota
Marquardt, Eolia
Nebraska Culture Man
Nebraska Loess Man
Osage Indians
Otoe Indians
Pawnee Indians
Richardson County (Nebraska) — History
Sarpy County (Nebraska) — History
Sheldon, Addison Erwin, 1861-1943
Revised TMM 07-15-2009
