James H. Pratt
James Hervey Pratt, rancher, farmer, land speculator, and freighter, was a frontier entrepreneur of the post-Civil War era. Born in Plainfield, Massachusetts, in 1825, ...
Sidney
What We Found
Sidney, 1877
Sidney in Cheyenne County was laid out in the fall of 1867 at the time of the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad. Though prosperous as a frontier town, it had a ...
The Considerate Robbers
Thanks to dime novels, movies, and television, stage coach robbers have a significant place in the cast of characters we think of as part of the history of "the West." ...
Buffalo at Sidney, 1872
Thousands of buffalo still roamed the plains of Nebraska as late as 1875. As the prairies filled with homesteaders, the buffalo inevitably came into conflict with them, ...
…Talk About the Drought! President Roosevelt Visits Nebraska Panhandle
In an earlier post we we recalled the effects of the 1890s drought in Nebraska. Unfortunately, it would not be the last. In 1936, Nebraska farmers were facing similar ...
Flashback Friday: Why Cowboy Gun Battles Were Often Shots in the Dark
Sidney, Nebraska, circa late 1870s. NSHS RG3315-40
Associate Editor and black powder enthusiast Jim Potter wrote this blog post. One staple of TV or movie ...
Marker Monday: Cheyenne County
Marker Text
Note: The term “Indian” is used instead of “Native American” or “American Indian” as it was the common usage of the time this marker was ...
Sidney, 1877
Sidney, Nebraska was prosperous enough when it was laid out in 1867. But once gold was discovered in the Black Hills, hundreds of people descended on the town, bringing ...
Nebraska airmail in the 1920s
Early airmail pilots flew open-cockpit biplanes, navigating by landmarks and simple maps, and landing in grassy airfields. But by 1930 their facilities and technology ...
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