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The Nebraska State Historical Society Blog

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The Great Sheedy Murder Trial of 1891

It was Lincoln’s most sensational criminal trial of the nineteenth century. But as historian Timothy Mahoney argues, the Sheedy case was more than just a sordid tale of ...

An Archeologist’s Favorite Tool: LiDAR

By Nolan Johnson, NSHS Archeologist LiDAR is one of my favorite tools as an archeologist. What is LiDAR you may ask? LiDAR stands for “Light Detection and Ranging” ...

Lincoln and Washington Counties Named for U.S. Presidents

Several other Nebraska localities were named for presidents Lincoln or Washington, the most prominent of which is the state’s capital city, the largest one in the U.S. ...

Send a Valentine to your Valentine from Valentine: History of the Cachet Program

When your name is easily used in puns and songs, the novelty wears off quickly. But instead settling for cheap laughs, one Nebraska town has turned a notable name into ...

Marker Monday: DeWitty – An African American Settlement in the Sandhills

Spread out along the North Loup River west of here, DeWitty, later known as Audacious, was the largest and longest-lasting African American settlement in rural ...

How Eliza Grayson escaped Nebraska slavery

By David L. Bristow, Editor   Eliza Grayson was one of the very first enslaved people brought to Nebraska when the territory opened to white settlers in 1854. ...

Marker Monday: World War II Hero Charles Jackson French

Marker Text The “Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Jackson French Post Office” is named in honor of an Omaha sailor. Born in Arkansas, French moved to Omaha to live ...

Opening Doors: Film Director Joan Micklin Silver of Omaha

This article appears in the Winter 2024 issue of Nebraska History Magazine. Nebraska State Historical Society members receive four issues of the magazine per year. The ...

When Buffalo Bill’s men almost dumped a cowboy statue in a lagoon

What happens when real cowboys see fake cowboy art? In 1893 it took all of Buffalo Bill Cody’s persuasiveness to keep his men from dumping the work of a famous sculptor ...

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About NSHS

The Nebraska State Historical Society was founded in 1878 by citizens who recognized Nebraska was going through great changes and they sought to record the stories of both indigenous and immigrant peoples. It was designated a state institution and began receiving funds from the legislature in 1883. Legislation in 1994 changed NSHS from a state institution to a state agency. The division is headed by Director Daryl Bohac. They are assisted by an administrative staff responsible for financial and personnel functions, museum store services, security, and facilities maintenance for NSHS.

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Discover the real places and people of our past at these NSHS sites.

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Find games, lists, and more to enhance your history education curriculum.

Latest Hall of Fame Inductee

The Nebraska Hall of Fame was established in 1961 to officially recognize prominent Nebraskans.

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Listen to the articles and authors published in the Nebraska History Magazine with our new Nebraska History Podcast!

Nebraska Collections

NSHS's mission is to collect, preserve, and open our shared history to all Nebraskans.

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Make a cash donation to help us acquire, preserve, and interpret Nebraska’s history. Gifts to the Nebraska State Historical Society help leave a legacy and may help your taxes, too! Support the work of NSHS.

Volunteers are the heroes of NSHS. So much history, so little time! Your work helps us share access to Nebraska’s stories at our museums and sites, the reference room, and online.