Nebraska celebrates 150th

Nebraska’s history
On March 1, 1867, Nebraska was granted statehood, but according to The US 50, which is a website that provides information about all 50 states with the help from US Governors’ Offices, State Departments of Tourism, Departments of Economics & Community Development, there is archaeological evidence of settlement that dates back much more than 150 years ago. More than 10,000 years ago Native Americans hunted big game in the area and the recorded history dates to the 1700s.
French traders and trappers, brothers Paul and Pierre-Antone Mallet were the first known white visitors to the state, and while here, they named the Platte River, in 1739. In 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition mapped the eastern boundary of Nebraska. In 1806, Lt. Zebulon M. Pike visited south central Nebraska as part of the exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. The Hunt party passed through in 1811 and Major Long’s expedition came through in 1819. Fort Atkinson army post was established in 1820 to discourage British encroachment. The first permanent settlement, Bellevue, was founded in 1823.
Fort Kearny was created to protect the gold seekers, Mormons and migrants who were traveling to California and Oregon between 1840 and 1860.
In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed, which created the Nebraska Territory.
From April 3, 1860, to Oct. 24, 1861, Pony Express riders carried mail across the area.
The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed settlers to claim 160 acres of land in eastern Nebraska, and former President Andrew Johnson signed a proclamation that granted statehood on March 1, 1867.
Also in 1867, the Union Pacific Railroad was completed across the state. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC went across most of the state by the mid-1880s.
Now, North Platte is home to Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard, which is the largest railroad classification yard in the world, according to Union Pacific’s website. The yard is named after former Union Pacific President Edd H. Bailey. It covers 2,850 acres, reaching eight miles. There are 17 receiving and 16 departure tracks and an average of 139 trains pass through each day.
Peru State College, Peru, was established in the same year, which makes it the oldest college in the state. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln was founded in 1869. Doane University, Crete, was created in 1872.
The first American Arbor Day was celebrated on April 10, 1872, in Nebraska City. On that day it is estimated that one million trees were planted.
By 1900, most of the land was settled and in 1904, the Kincaid Act was passed through Congress to increase homesteads from 160 to 640 acres.
According to The US 50 website, since Word War II, Nebraska’s development has been generally upward.
The Cornhuskers’ history
Nebraska is commonly known as the “Cornhusker” state, but many people do not know the origin of the name or how the state adopted it. Before the 1900s the football team at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln went by many different names such as the Old Gold Knights, but in 1892 the university adopted its scarlet and cream, which are used today. The only difference being that at the time they were the Bugeaters. The Bugeaters found success having winning seasons every year until 1899.
In 1899, the university had its first losing season in almost 10 years and decided they wanted to move on from being the Bugeaters but had no idea what they wanted to change the name to. Charles S. Sherman, who was a sports writer for the Lincoln Star Journal at the time, was tired of calling the team the Bugeaters and started a search of his own. At the time Iowa, who we now know as the Hawkeyes, were the Cornhuskers and the Hawkeyes, but leaned toward the Hawkeyes. Sherman loved the name and started calling the University of Nebraska-Lincoln the Cornhuskers and the 1900 team was the first to go by that name. Soon after the name went from just a college-team nickname to the official state nickname.
Cornhusking is the process of removing the husks from the ears of corn, now it can be done with a machine, in older times it had to be done by hand. The name is fitting for the state because Nebraska is one of the leading states in corn production. Nebraska’s 2016 corn production forecast was a record setting 1.75 billion bushels, which is three percent higher than last year’s according to cropwatch.uni.edu.
Celebrating the 150th
According to Nebraska Statehood 150’s website, the state planned a yearlong celebration to honor Nebraska’s birthday.
According to the website, the mission of the Nebraska Statehood 150th is, “We strive to create a celebration that will serve as a catalyst for a movement that goes beyond 2017—a strategic initiative that promotes a spirit of pride, growth, engagement and connection without our state by: bridging Nebraskans across different communities, perspectives and cultures; building a connection with every Nebraskan to the celebration and the state; and instilling in every citizen an even greater sense of pride.”
In Chadron there will be two events to celebrate. On March 5, there will be an event called Six Corners of Nebraska to honor Nebraska authors. On July 6-9, annual Fur Trade Days festivities will include a parade, film festival, softball tournament, rodeo, and more.