Nebraska State Historical Society

Publications

Who We Are

The Nebraska State Historical Society publishes works that explore Nebraska history and culture. Our readers range from professional historians to history buffs to curious people who simply find that learning about the past helps them better enjoy living and traveling here. We all share a passion for well-crafted historical writing.

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Our members make history happen.

"Nebraska Timeline" Columns

From 1992 – 2019, the Nebraska State Historical Society wrote a series of articles for newspapers titled “Nebraska Timeline.” Below you can browse or search through those articles and discover interesting stories from Nebraska’s History.

Cherry County Stories

"In the early eighties a colony of homesteaders from Sullivan, Indiana, under the leadership of a young Methodist minister, Rev. Scamahorn, came to Gordon and settled in ...

Cherry Creek Gold

The discovery of gold in 1858 at Cherry Creek, near what is now Denver, Colorado, attracted miners in large numbers. Nearly 100,000 people went to the region, but more ...

Cherry Day at the Watson Ranch

In 1888, H. D. Watson established the historic Watson Ranch, at one time containing 8,000 acres, reaching from the fertile Platte Valley on the south to the rolling ...

Cholera

Cholera was the most dreaded disease of overland travelers passing through the state in 1849 and the 1850s, and its possible recurrence was dreaded for decades ...

Christmas

Early Nebraska newspapers sometimes published special holiday editions, consisting of seasonal stories, essays, and poems, with competition between rival papers to put ...

Christmas at Creighton, 1876

According to the Niobrara Pioneer of December 28, 1876, local weather was appropriate for the Yuletide season. Snow on Christmas Eve "made Christmas appear more as if ...

Christmas at Fort Robinson, 1880

The Army and Navy Journal, a publication for officers and enlisted men, often published letters by correspondents from military posts throughout the West. Occasional ...

Christmas at Fort Robinson, 1882

Fort Robinson provides the following holiday story of devotion and courage. It can be found in A Frontier Army Christmas, a new book published by the Nebraska State ...

Christmas for a Nebraska Soldier

Andrew S. Wadsworth in 1898 went with the First Nebraska Regiment to the Philippines as a soldier in the first phase of the Spanish American War. He had previously been ...

Christmas in 1905

Although the most popular toys for the current holiday season are electronic, more than a century ago the toys in Santa's pack were likely to be mechanical. The Lincoln ...

Christmas on a Sherman County Homestead, 1884

Amos Edwin Donnell, Sherman County homesteader, left a record of his activities between 1884 and 1888 in the form of letters written to his parents in Missouri. The ...

Christmas Parade, 1893

By the 1880s the arrival of Santa Claus marked the opening of the holiday shopping season in Omaha department stores. The Hayden Brothers store sponsored an annual ...

Contact Us

David Bristow | Publications
Nebraska State Historical Society
1500 R St
Lincoln, NE 68508
402-471-4748
[email protected]

Information Services:
Looking for research help? Contact Library/Archives, the Museum, or Education. The Publications division is an editorial office; we don’t have archival collections or reference staff here.

News and Events:
Looking for research help? Contact Follow the Nebraska State Historical Society on Facebook for event news, cool historical photos, and fascinating stories from the Nebraska State Historical Society blog. Members receive Nebraska History News.

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.

Explore Nebraska

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

Upcoming Events

View our new and upcoming events to see how you can get involved.

Become a Member

The work we do to discover, preserve, and share Nebraska's history wouldn't be possible without the support of NSHS members.

NSHS Education

Learn more about the educational programs provided at our museums, sites, and online.

Education Digital Learning Resources

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.

Listen to our Podcast

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.

Our YouTube Video Collection

Get a closer look at Nebraska's history through your own eyes, with our extensive video collections.

Additional Research Resources

NSHS's Research and Reference Services help connect you to the material we collect and preserve.

NSHS Services

Digital Resources

Find all of our digital resources, files, videos, and more, all in one easy-to-search page!

Support The Historical Society

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.