Public Holidays
Arbor Day originated in Nebraska in 1872, when the State Board of Agriculture adopted J. Sterling Morton's resolution that April 10 of that year be set aside for tree ...
J. Sterling Morton
What We Found
Should the Government Plant Trees?
The question of government support for tree planting projects was one which has frequently arisen since the inception of Arbor Day in 1872. J. Sterling Morton, founder ...
Arbor Day
J. Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day, wrote to the Omaha Herald on the occasion of the first celebration of the day in 1872. Discussing trees and their relation ...
Arboreal Bureau
J. Sterling Morton, the father of Arbor Day in Nebraska, and a longtime member of the Nebraska State Historical Society, early recognized the devastating effects of ...
The Squatter Governor’s Inaugural Address
Times may have been rough in Nebraska's territorial days, but settlers tried to find humor in adversity. Then as now, politics were sometimes a laughing matter. In 1857, ...
The 1874 State Fair: A Time to Show Off (Updated August 2018)
These days, fairs promote entertainment, but when Nebraska was a new state, fairs were mostly seen as a way to promote Nebraska by demonstrating its potential for ...
Touring Nebraska Orchards in 1872
Well before the emergence of Arbor Day as a state holiday dedicated to tree planting, southeast Nebraska had a number of thriving orchards. The Nebraska State ...
Gubernatorial Race in Nebraska, 1892
Nebraska's gubernatorial race in 1892 was a four-way contest. The candidates were Republican Lorenzo Crounse, Democrat J. Sterling Morton, Populist Charles H. Van Wyck, ...
Morton and the Public Printer
J. Sterling Morton served as secretary of Nebraska Territory from April 30, 1858, until May 19, 1861. For five months of that time (December 5, 1858, to May 2, 1859), he ...
Morton and Wilson, Nebraska Territory’s Ghost Counties
Today many Nebraskans live in counties known by different names than they were during Nebraska's territorial years. The first eight counties in the state were Douglas, ...
Morton as Secretary of Agriculture
J. Sterling Morton was appointed secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the beginning of President Grover Cleveland's second term in 1893. The job had been ...
Morton, J. Sterling
Kate Winslow Davis (1852-1935), whose father was hired by the J. Sterling Morton family at Arbor Lodge in 1863, included in her later reminiscences many details ...
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