Spanning from 1803 to 1867, the area that would become Nebraska changed significantly during this time. The territorial era encompasses the slow progression of exploration and settlement that eventually culminated in the granting of statehood in 1867.

Beginnings Thomas Jefferson became the third president in 1801. He had longed dreamed of expanding the nation westward as a means of providing land for farmers. In 1803, he commissioned his friend and protégé, Captain Meriwether Lewis, to explore western lands. Lewis gathered and trained men in Philadelphia and set out from Pittsburgh that summer. Upon reaching Louisville, Kentucky, Lewis was joined by his friend William Clark. Later that year, Jefferson approved of the purchase of the…

Nebraska has long been a natural corridor for transportation thanks to the Platte Valley. Follow along the many trails that have criss-crossed this state, and learn more about the hopes and hardships of these travelers.

Learn more about Native Americans in Nebraska by following the thousands of years of their history covered by these markers.

The "Cowboy Line" was once a rail line established in the late 1870s. After the line was fully abandoned in the early 1990s, the railroad's right of way was purchased and donated to the state of Nebraska. Nebraska Game and Parks has developed the one-of-a-kind Cowboy Trail, one of the largest rail-to-trail projects in the United States. This tour highlights the historic markers along the Cowboy Trail.