Featured Stories
The Savidge Brothers, Aviation Pioneers
Near here was the scene of some of Nebraska's earliest experiments with flight in a heavier-than-air vehicle. Sometime before late 1907, Martin P. Savidge's sons set out to construct a flying machine.
They began by studying hawks, then…
Tecumseh
Tecumseh, the county seat of Johnson County, was incorporated in 1856. It was first called Frances in honor of the wife of Colonel Richard M. Johnson, for whom the county is named. In 1857 the town was renamed for the famous Shawnee Indian chief,…
The Alliance Army Air Field
In the spring of 1942 the U.S. Army selected a site one mile south of here for an airfield. The dry climate and open landscape afforded ideal flying conditions. Ample water, cheap land, and Alliance's new power plant, new hospital, and railroad…
Random Stories
The Calamus Valley
The source of the Calamus River is spring-fed Moon Lake, 60 miles northwest of here. The river was named after a common marsh plant eaten by muskrats. Archeological evidence indicates that prehistoric Indians camped in the valley as early as 3,000…
Tonwantonga
An important Omaha Indian village called Tonwantonga (Large Village) by the Omaha stood on Omaha Creek in this area. Ruled by the great chief Blackbird, an estimated 1,100 people lived in this earthlodge town about 1795 and it played an important…
Captain William Clark and Private Reuben Field
On July 27, 1804, Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery left their "White Catfish" camp and proceeded up the Missouri River. After traveling some distance, Clark "took one man R. Field and walked on Shore with a View of Examoning…
Old Dodge School - World War II POW Branch Camp
A branch camp of the Atlanta Prisoner of War Camp was located in Grand Island during World War II. Over 300,000 Axis prisoners of war were held in America during World War II. In accordance with the Geneva Convention, these prisoners were often…
Conflict of 1867
Near here are graves of pioneer whites caught up in the conflict between native Americans and white settlers. On July 24, 1867, Indians attacked the home of Peter Campbell near here. Campbell and his eldest son were helping a neighbor with his…
Ash Hollow
Although some wagon trains continued to follow the South Platte, most crossed at one of several fords in this area and took a northwesterly route toward the North Platte River. The trail then followed the North Platte Valley through the remainder of…
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Explore Nebraska History
A project by Nebraska State Historical SocietyExplore Nebraska History is a free app that shares the heritage of Nebraska at your fingertips. Learn more about the interesting stories and fascinating people highlighted by our Nebraska Historical Marker program. Travel across our beautiful state in person or via your device with curated historical tours. The stories provided in this app expand upon our historical markers with each point on an interactive GPS-enabled map that includes historical information about the location, images and media from archival collections and links to additional publications.
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