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What We Found

Flashback Friday: A Gentleman’s Game: Nineteenth-Century Soccer in Omaha

What Americans call “soccer” is one of several sports that evolved from games played for centuries in Europe, loosely called “football.” The history of the sport in ...

Flashback Friday: Then The Burnings Began: Omaha’s Urban Revolts and the Meaning of Political Violence

In August 2014 many Americans were alarmed by the scenes of fire and destruction following the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Despite the prevalence of ...

Flashback Friday: The Shoulders of Atlas: Rural Communities and Nuclear Missile Base Construction in Nebraska, 1958-1962 – Nick Batter

On a Friday afternoon in October 1958, more than a thousand people gathered in Mead, Nebraska, for the opening of the Farmer's Union Co-op Grain Elevator. Flyers ...

Flashback Friday: “Everything Seems to be Going Backwards These Days”: The Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben in Omaha – Thomas M. Spencer

Like much of the nation, Omaha in 1895 was struggling in the doldrums of the Panic of 1893, one of the worst and longest economic downturns in the nation’s history. Some ...

Flashback Friday: Frank H. Shoemaker, Self-Made Naturalist and Photographer – Mary Ellen Ducey, Elaine Nowick, and Rebecca Bernthal

Frank Shoemaker ranks among important early Nebraskans who applied their interest in nature to learning more about the state and its environmental history. As an amateur ...

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: “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 ...

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 ...

Help Perserve and Share History

Become a Member

Being a member is the easiest way to be involved in our mission to preserve and share our state's rich history. Find out how!

Volunteer

Volunteers work with NSHS staff members to support our mission

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Interested in joining the NSHS team? Keep an eye on job listings!

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 Interim Director Cindy Drake. 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

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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.

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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.

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.