Paxton, William A.
William A. Paxton, rancher, cattleman, and early Omaha businessman, was born in Kentucky in 1837 and moved with his family to Missouri at the age of twelve. Soon ...
Nebraska State Fair
What We Found
The Search for Better Babies
"If better live stock, why not better babies?" asked a member of the Grange in the pages of the Farm Journal (Philadelphia) in December of 1913. It was a natural ...
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 ...
County and State Fairs
In 1889 Chase County farmer C. L. Brainard, Sr., earned top honors at the first Chase County Fair and then at the Nebraska State Fair in Lincoln. Brainard, who also ...
1888 Nebraska State Fair Bands
Bands have been a tradition at the Nebraska State Fair for almost as long as the fair has existed. The September 4, 1886, Daily Call of Lincoln, on microfilm at the ...
Hickman Gets the Fair
Lancaster County's agricultural exhibit at the Nebraska State Fair in the 1880s. NSHS RG3356-2-33
August and September are traditional months for county fairs in ...
Photo Finish: Harold Mauck’s Stock Car Racing Collection
Harold Mauck & wife Tina pose with Harold's stock car #89, ca. 1960 (RG5705.PH2-8) (Right).
My name is Jenna Rhodes and I am an intern at the Nebraska State ...
The Search for Better Babies
Third premium ribbon from a Better Babies contest at the 1940 Nebraska State Fair. NSHS 13161-9
“If better live stock, why not better babies?” asked a member of the ...
Timeline Tuesday: Better Baby Contests
Caption: Photographer Emanuel Wolfe depicted several finalists in a Nebraska better baby contest, each wearing a prize ribbon. NSHS RG2836.PH0-532
"If ...
J. Sterling Morton’s 1874 State Fair Appeal
J. Sterling Morton really wanted to spice up the 1874 State Fair. His solution? A massive exhibition of crops.
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150 Nebraska State Fairs
By David L. Bristow, Editor; video by Josh Beeman
In 2019, Nebraskans celebrated the 150th Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island. Here are some of our favorite state ...
What Are Legitimate Features of the Fair?
Sideshows have become institutions at most fairs–it just wouldn’t seem like the fair without “the amazing two-headed calf.” More than 125 years ago, when Nebraska ...
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