publications

Trester’s Travels, 1869

Milton L. Trester (1843-1903), a pioneer resident of Lancaster County, was a native of Indiana. He first sought work in Nebraska in 1869 when travel and accommodations for travelers were far different than they are today. Trester’s brief autobiography, written in 1898, is now at the Nebraska State Historical Society.



Trester recalled in 1898 that he “passed through Chicago to Omaha reaching the latter place April 1, or 2, 1869. I worked at house carpentering in Omaha about two months at $3.50 per day. . . . On a Saturday I went to Fremont, Nebraska, and stayed over Sunday, taking the train on Monday morning back to Elkhorn station to get the stage to Lincoln.



“When the train pulled out and left me standing with my trunk on the side of a high embankment and I looked for the town, all of it to be found was a desolate looking one-room cottonwood shanty. When I presented myself at the door and inquired for the stage office, the only occupant, a very much in earnest Irish lady, informed me that the stage office is ‘right here, Sorr.’ When I asked where the stage was she said it had gone, but it would go again to Lincoln the next day. I went back up on the railroad fill, sat down on the rail and thought of the desolation of man even if there was a woman around. But after a while I concluded, as there was no sociability in the lady at the foot of the fill, I would start on a walk for Lincoln and save the $5.00 stage fare. The population of Elkhorn unanimously agreed to send my trunk the next day, and I struck out.



“I got dinner at a farm house near Forest City [in Sarpy County]. I pressed on and about three o’clock overtook the stage stuck fast in a quicksand bar, over which they had to drive to get onto the ferry boat to cross the Platte River. After the horses floundered a while in the quicksand, the men finally got them onto the boat and hitched them to the wagon rope. Then the horses and the six or eight men with an ‘altogether pull, boys,’ brought the wagon on the boat. The ferryman asked for no fare from me and as I thought I had paid my way pulling the rope, I said nothing about it either. . . .



“I reached Lincoln the next day, June 2, at about three o’clock, having stopped for dinner at a Mr. Moran’s near the mouth of Stevens Creek. I offered him a five dollar bill, and as he had no change he gave me a look which said, ‘You are a rascal and could give me a quarter if you wanted to.’ Whereupon I gave him my name and told him he would find one man honest enough to send him his pay by mail for this dinner. This I did very soon. As I said before, I reached Lincoln about three P.M. June 2, 1869, and my trunk came about a week later. It took a five dollar bill to get the trunk out of the stage office.”



Trester’s problems didn’t end with his arrival in Lincoln. He noted, “I found board and lodging at the old Pioneer House on the corner of 9th and Q Streets, . . . [where] I found it almost necessary to lock my door and lash myself to the bedstead to keep the bugs from carrying me away.”

Become a Member!

Our members make history happen.

Join Now

Other Publications

The Bachelors’ Protective Union of Kearney

When the Bachelors' Protective Union gave a gala reception for two of its newly married, former members and their brides in March of 1890, the social club for young, ...

U.S. Weather Bureau in 1890s Nebraska

The U.S. Weather Bureau was established by an act of Congress on October 1, 1890. It took over the weather service that had been established in the office of the Chief ...

Canning the Way to Victory

During American participation in World War I the U.S. Food Administration, under the direction of Herbert Hoover, launched a massive campaign to persuade Americans to ...

The Shoemaker’s Ashes

"Edward Kuehl, one of the most peculiar characters that ever lived in Omaha, or anywhere else, was found dead in his bed last night in the back room of his place of ...

Crazy Horse Surrender Ledger Foreward

Red Dog, an Oglala Lakota who lived at the Red Cloud Agency, Nebraska, 1876-77 (Nebraska State Historical Society RG2955.ph).   In the summer of 1876, following the ...

Darryl F. Zanuck

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl F. Zanuck (1902-1979), a native Nebraskan, produced some of Hollywood's most important and controversial films. He helped found 20th Century Fox ...

The Burlington’s Profitable Pork Special

Nebraska railroads were much concerned with developing an adequate economy in the areas they served. The Burlington, for example, had a long history of caring for the ...

Bungalow Filling Stations

After the giant Standard Oil Company was broken into thirty-four separate companies in 1911, the newly independent Standard Oil of Nebraska dominated the state's market ...

The Bull Fight

This is the perfect time of year for a visit to the old fishin' hole. But a group of fisherfolk from Plainview discovered that this bucolic pastime sometimes has ...

Buffalo Soldiers West

African-American soldiers on the western frontier are the focus of an exhibit at the Nebraska History Museum in Lincoln. Buffalo Soldiers West, on loan from the Colorado ...

Protection for Buffalo

The extermination of the buffalo on the Plains occurred largely between 1870 and 1885. The Nebraska State Journal of Lincoln on February 1, 1874, editorialized in vain ...

Buffalo Hunting

In late October 1877 young Rolf Johnson and three friends left their homes in Phelps County, Nebraska, for a buffalo hunt in northeastern Colorado. The hunt was not very ...
About History Nebraska
History Nebraska was founded in 1878 as the Nebraska State Historical Society 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 History Nebraska from a state institution to a state agency. The division is headed by Interim Director and CEO Jill Dolberg. They are assisted by an administrative staff responsible for financial and personnel functions, museum store services, security, and facilities maintenance for History Nebraska.
Explore Nebraska
Discover the real places and people of our past at these History Nebraska 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 History Nebraska members.

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

History Nebraska'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

History Nebraska Research and Reference Services help connect you to the material we collect and preserve.

Support History Nebraska
Make a cash donation to help us acquire, preserve, and interpret Nebraska’s history. Gifts to History Nebraska help leave a legacy and may help your taxes, too! Support the work of History Nebraska by donating to the History Nebraska Foundation today.

Volunteers are the heroes of History Nebraska. 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.