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The Nebraska State Historical Society Blog

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Timeline Tuesday: Free Auto Camps

Long distance travel in the early days of the automobile was difficult, and comforts along the way were few. Motorists pitched their own tents and cooked their own meals ...

Flashback Friday: Ann Lowe and the Intriguing Couture Tradition of Ak-Sar-Ben ∙ Margaret Powell

During the 1960s, one of the most respected couture designers on the New York fashion scene was also one of its least known. Ann Lowe was the first African American ...

Flashback Friday: “Scopes Wasn’t the First”: Nebraska’s 1924 Anti-Evolution Trial – Adam Shapiro

The waning days of the 1924 presidential campaign found William Jennings Bryan back in his former home state of Nebraska. On Friday evening, October 17, 1924, the man ...

Marker Monday: Oto Indians

  Marker Text Note: The term “Indian” is used instead of “Native American” or “American Indian” as it was the common usage of the time this marker was ...

Early Nebraskan Coffee Substitutes Include Carrots, Okra

The lack of certain foods in early Nebraska encouraged the use of substitutes. Coffee, for example, was sometimes replaced with dried barley, rye, and corn. The Nebraska ...

Timeline Tuesday: Cowboys and Art

William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody and his Wild West were major attractions at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. However, a few members of the Wild West did ...

Flashback Friday: “A Celestial Visitor” Revisited: A Nebraska Newspaper Hoax From 1884 – Patricia C. Gaster

One of the oddest events in Nebraska’s history was said to have taken place about thirty-five miles northwest of Benkelman in SW Nebraska on June 6, 1884, when a ...

“Definitely Representative of Nebraska”: Jeanine Giller, Miss Nebraska 1972, and the Politics of Beauty Pageants – David C. Turpie and Shannon M. Risk

In 1982, the Lincoln Journal published an article entitled, “Miss Nebraskas rate pageant experience: Great!” For the article, the reporter, Charles Flowerday, had ...

Flashback Friday: A Church for the People and a Priest for the Common Man: Charles. W. Savidge, Omaha’s Eccentric Reformer (1882-1935) – Paul Putz

The hum and bustle of reform seemed to be everywhere in Omaha in July of 1892. Economic instability and uncertainty hovered, foreshadowing the impending Panic of 1893. ...

Flashback Friday: The Folk Songs of Great Plains Homesteading: Anthems, Laments, and Political Songs

“Uncle Sam is rich enough to give us all a farm.” So proclaimed a popular song from the early 1850s. In that era, good old Uncle Sam undoubtedly had deep enough pockets, ...

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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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Latest Hall of Fame Inductee

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

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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.