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"People who come to Nebraska
are often amazed by what they find. They arrive with expectations as varied and
as vast as the weather, and they leave having learned that Nebraska itself is
just as unpredictable. Whatever your interests and wherever your travels may
take you in this great state, you'll discover that the possibilities truly are
endless...
Although Nebraska is an Indian
word meaning "broad, flat water," early white explorers once described
this area as the Great American Desert. Little did they realize Nebraska would
become the breadbasket for the nation and much of the world. Nebraska is
fortunate to have fertile land and an abundant supply of underground water known
as the Ogallala Aquifer.
Previous to the history of our
people is the history of the land which has shaped our destiny. Through study of
our state's underlying rock formations and fossil remains we can determine that
at first the area underlying the state was a seabed. This seabed gradually rose
and became a high plains area which hosted mammoths, prehistoric rhinos and
horses. Then at some point in prehistory a gigantic volcanic eruption to the
southwest buried much of the state in volcanic ash, killing its wildlife
populations. The state was gradually repopulated with buffalo, antelope and deer
as we know them today.
The very first
"pioneers" in Nebraska were prehistoric Native Americans who hunted
big game on the prairies over 10,000 years ago. Later, tribes of Native
Americans raised corn, sunflowers and other vegetables. When American recorded
history began, from about 1750 to 1800, the Otoe, Omaha, Ponca and Pawnee tribes
were settled in the east and northeast and consisted of permanent earth lodges.
They raised corn and hunted buffalo. More nomadic tribes like the Sioux,
Cheyenne, Arapahoe and Potawatome lived in portable skin tepees and followed the
buffalo herds across the central and western plains. Approximately 40,000 Native
Americans are thought to have lived here in relative peace and cooperation when
the first white settler arrived. Map of Native American Tribal Lands before
European Settlement
Trails were blazed across
Nebraska by fur traders and explorers who used the Platte River Valley, Chimney
Rock and Scotts Bluff as markers in their trails west. Many of these same trails
were used by huge wagon trains with settlers on their way to Oregon and
California. In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by the United States
Congress. This act allowed settlers to claim land which had previously been
reserved for Native American Tribes. In 1863, the Homestead Act allowed settlers
to claim 160 acres for free in eastern Nebraska. Map of 10 Trails Across
Nebraska
By the early 1900's all of the
prime farming acreage except for reservation land was taken. Nebraska Senator
Moses Kincaid introduced an act in Congress which would permit homesteads in
western Nebraska to be 640 acres instead of only 160 acres. This allowed
settlers to make a living by raising cattle in the Sand Hills. Statehood was
finally granted on March 1, 1867 and signed into law by President Andrew
Johnson.
Today, Nebraska covers 77,407
square miles and is divided into 93 counties. Nebraska is 387 miles across from
east to west. The diagonal measurement from the northwest to southeast measures
459 miles. About 23 million acres is cultivated cropland and 20 million acres is
range and pasture land. Approximately 1,700,000 residents call Nebraska home.
This is Nebraska, our home state.
Much time, energy, sweat and tears have gone into her history. This information
is an attempt to explore in a graphic way some of the unique features of the
place we call home."
- From the visitnebraska.org
website
To learn more about Nebraska visit http://www.visitnebraska.org/
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