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History Timeline

Decade filters from the archive — 11 markers across Nebraska time.

All1840s1870s1880s1900s1920s1930s1940s1970s1980s

  1. 1870s · 1872 · Nebraska City, NE

    Arbor Day Founded in Nebraska City

    J. Sterling Morton proposed the first Arbor Day — over one million trees planted in Nebraska that day. The holiday spread worldwide from a single Nebraska county.

  2. 1870s · 1877 · Crawford, NE

    Crazy Horse Killed at Fort Robinson

    Oglala leader Crazy Horse was killed at Fort Robinson during an attempt to imprison him. The fort is now a state park — the stories echo.

  3. 1880s · 1880 · Platte River, NE

    Sandhill Crane Migration on the Platte

    600,000+ sandhill cranes stage along the Platte every spring — the largest concentration on Earth. The river is two miles wide and one inch deep here.

  4. 1920s · 1927 · Hastings, NE

    Kool-Aid Invented in Hastings

    Edwin Perkins invented Kool-Aid in his mother's kitchen. Nebraska is the official state of Kool-Aid.

  5. 1930s · 1937 · Lincoln, NE

    Only State with One-House Legislature

    Nebraska voted to abolish its Senate — George Norris championed the change. Still the only unicameral legislature in America.

  6. 1940s · 1949 · Lincoln, NE

    Runza Opens in Lincoln

    Sally Everett opened the first Runza drive-in — German-Russian meat-and-cabbage pockets. Now 85+ locations.

  7. 1980s · 1987 · Alliance, NE

    Carhenge Built in Alliance

    38 vintage cars arranged as Stonehenge in a wheat field — nearly demolished before becoming a beloved landmark.

  8. 1840s · 1843 · Morrill County, NE

    The Ghosts of Chimney Rock

    Oregon Trail diaries mention wagon wheels and voices at night. A woman in a bonnet spotted since the 1890s. Lakota tradition: the dead linger between worlds here.

  9. 1970s · 1974 · Sandhills, NE

    Sandhills Cattle Mutilations

    Cattle found with surgical cuts, no blood, no tracks. FBI investigated. Never solved.

  10. 1930s · 1932 · Lincoln, NE

    Capitol Masonic Symbols

    Saturn, The Sower, Thunderbirds — Goodhue and philosopher Hartley Burr Alexander both studied esoteric traditions. Coincidence?

  11. 1940s · 1948 · Bellevue, NE

    Offutt: Where America Hides Secrets

    Strategic Air Command HQ during the Cold War. On 9/11, President Bush flew here first. Official answer: central location.