Nebraska Railroads and Population Growth

Arbor Day Established

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On April 10, 1872, J. Sterling Morton established Arbor Day in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Morton had moved from Detroit, Michigan to Nebraska Territory in 1854 and became a newspaper editor. He promoted settlement in the Territory, but the lack of trees proved an obstacle to enticing new settlers to the region. He began planting orchards and windbreaks in earnest, and encouraged his neighbors to follow suit. At a meeting of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture, Morton proposed a day for residents to plant trees statewide and increase awareness of the their importance. Morton's first Arbor day proved a huge success, with more than a million new trees planted. The state held another Arbor Day in 1884, and the following year Nebraska made it an annual legal holiday. Following Nebraska's example, states across the country began to observe Morton's tree planting holiday, and by 1894, every state celebrated Arbor Day.
Start Date:	1872/04/10
End Date:	1872/04/10
Citation:	Digital Resource, www.arbor-day.net

Location Information

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City:	Nebraska City
State:	Nebraska
County:	Otoe

North Platte Founded

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By late fall 1866, the Union Pacific Railroad had completed more than 280 miles of track west out of Omaha, but in November work ground to a halt due to fear of local Indians. A camp emerged at the confluence of the North Platte River and the head of the line's advance and the settlement of North Platte emerged. In a short time, more than 3,000 railroad employees inhabited the village, but when work on the line resumed in July, 1867, the camp moved west and less than 150 people remained. The Union Pacific's managers thought the location advantageous, however, and constructed machine shops, a ten stall roundhouse, and hotel to service the railroad and its employees, boosting the economy and drawing residents to the area. Five years later, on December 28, 1873, the settlement officially became the city of North Platte, and a year later, the seat of Lincoln County.
Start Date:	1873/12/28
End Date:	1873/12/28
Citation:	Digital Resource, http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/nphistry.shtml and http://www.nque.com/North-Platte/yester.htm

Location Information

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City:	North Platte
State:	Nebraska
County:	Lincoln

Rocky Mountain Locusts Plague the Great Plains

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In late July, 1874, huge swarms of Rocky Mountain Locusts-Melanophus spretus-darkened the sky. They destroyed laundry on clotheslines, ate saddles and bridles, chewed on shovel handles, and gnawed the wool off of live sheep. For ten days, a 198,000 square mile (twice the size of Colorado) swarm covered the region, devouring everything in its path. The Guinness Book of World Records calls the swarm the "greatest concentration of animals" ever recorded, and estimates it contained "at least 12.5 trillion insects with a total weight of 27.5 million tons.'' They plagued the region throughout the 1870s, but twenty years later they disappeared, driven to extinction. The causes of their demise remain controversial.
Start Date:	1874/07/29
End Date:	1874/07/30
Citation:	Digital Resource, http://www.denver-rmn.com/millennium/0622mile.shtml

Location Information

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City:
State:	Nebraska
County:

Nebraska Adopts New State Constitution

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In 1871, four years after Nebraska became a state, delegates attended a convention to frame a new state Constitution. This convention, held from June 5 to August 19, 1871, drafted a document that went up for popular vote, but on September 19 the people rejected the new proposal. During the summer of 1875, Lincoln, the state capitol, hosted a second Constitutional Convention and delegates drafted a new version. The public voted in favor of this document on October 12, 1875, and it went into effect on November 1 of that year.
Start Date:	1875/10/12
End Date:	1875/10/12
Citation:	Digital Resource, http://www.rootsweb.com/~neresour/OLLibrary/Johnson/jhne047.html

Location Information

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City:	Lincoln
State:	Nebraska
County:	Lancaster

Crazy Horse Surrenders

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On May 7, 1877 Crazy Horse and 889 of his Lakota followers surrendered at Camp Robinson, Nebraska. After their victory over General George Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn the previous year, Crazy's Horse's people fell under constant pressure by United States Army forces, including those commanded by General Nelson Miles. General Miles pursued Crazy Horse and his Oglala Sioux people throughout the winter of 1876-77, causing them great hardship. With little food remaining and few buffalo left to hunt, Crazy Horse led his starving people to Camp Robinson to surrender.
Start Date:	1877/05/07
End Date:	1877/05/07
Citation:	Digital Resource, http://www.nebraskahistory.org/sites/fortrob/timeline.htm and http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/bookinfo/3993.html

Location Information

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City:	Camp Robinson
State:	Nebraska
County:	Dawes

Creighton College Opens

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On September 2, 1878, Creighton College in Omaha, Nebraska opened with 120 students. Edward Creighton, the College's namesake, had moved to Omaha, Nebraska Territory in 1854. An industrious man, Creighton initially worked as a telegraph surveyor and later expanded his business enterprises to include freighting, ranching, and banking. He amassed a considerable fortune and became an influential citizen in Omaha. With his death in 1874, his wife, Mary Lucretia Creighton, inherited his fortune. She passed away two year later, leaving a $100,000 endowment to establish a school in Omaha "of the class and grade of a college" in memory of her husband. Her estate executors, which included John Creighton, Edward's brother, purchased 6.2 acres of land in Omaha and erected a school building. They transferred the land, building, and securities to the Bishop of Omaha in July, 1878, and Creighton College opened in September.
Start Date:	1878/09/02
End Date:	1878/09/02
Citation:	Digital Resource, http://www2.creighton.edu/aea/institutionalresearch/factbook/pastpresent/universityhistory/index.php

Location Information

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City:	Omaha
State:	Nebraska
County:	Douglas

Trial of Chief Standing Bear

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On September 23, 1875, the Ponca Tribe signed an agreement with the U.S. government to relocate from their land along the Niobrara River in Nebraska to Indian Territory. Ten Ponca chiefs traveled to Indian Territory to examine their new land, but found it unfavorable. Despite the Ponca Tribe's objections, on April 16, 1877, the United States Army forced Chief Standing Bear and his people to leave for Indian Territory. After overcoming bad weather and disease, they arrived to find unproductive land and no way to make a living. After two years of hardship, in which many Ponca died, including Standing Bear's son Bear Shield, the Chief decided to return to Nebraska. In late winter, Standing Bear and thirty others left for Nebraska, arriving on March 4, 1879. The U.S. government had not authorized their return to Nebraska, and General George Crook arrested Standing Bear and his followers. The United States Secretary of the Interior ordered Standing Bear returned to Indian Territory, but General Crook allowed them a rest to regain their strength before undertaking the journey. During this time, Omaha World-Herald reporter Thomas Tibbles heard of their plight and he, along with two lawyers, John L. Webster and A. J. Poppleton, petitioned the court for Standing Bear's release. On April 30, 1879, Judge Elmer Dundy ruled that Native Americans were "persons within the meaning of the law" and had the rights of citizenship. He set the incarcerated Ponca, including Standing Bear, free. Later, a government commission appointed by President Rutherford B. Hayes investigated and found that the Ponca had received unjust treatment. They were allowed to leave Indian Territory and received their own land along the Niobrara River in Nebraska.
Start Date:	1879/04/30
End Date:	1879/04/30
Citation:	Digital Resource, http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0600/frameset.html and http://net.unl.edu/swi/guide/stbear.html

Location Information

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City:	Omaha
State:	Nebraska
County:	Douglas

Broken Bow Post Office Opens

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In early 1879, two young boys, Fred and Edwin Hewitt, wandered down to Muddy Creek in central Custer County, Nebraska, not far from their father's dugout house. Near the creek bank they discovered five pieces of an old Pawnee bow, and a broken arrow. They took the pieces to their father, Wilson Hewitt, who had been trying to think of a name for the post office he planned to open near his settlement. A short time later, he submitted "Broken Bow" as the name of his proposed post office and on November 4, 1880, the Broken Bow post office opened in Hewitt's dugout.
Start Date:	1880/11/04
End Date:	1880/11/04
Citation:	Digital Resource, http://www.brokenbow-ne.com/welcome/history.htm

Location Information

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City:	Broken Bow
State:	Nebraska
County:	Custer

Omaha Labor Strike

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On February 27, 1882, employees of James Stephensen, a grading contractor for the Burlington & Missouri Railroad, went on strike. They demanded a wage increase of $.25 per day-from $1.25 to $1.50. Stephensen claimed he could not afford the increase and attempted to secure new laborers. Just before 7:00 a.m. on March 1, more than 200 strikers gathered at the Burlington & Missouri work site to prevent any workers from working for less than $1.75-their new daily wage demand. The men marched from the site and into town, forcing 25 sewer workers to stop their work as well. The Mayor arrived with a police escort and ordered the crowd to disperse, and a scuffle ensued. Police officers arrested several ringleaders, but they were released without charges. The next day the strikers held mass meetings, during which they created the Omaha Labor Protective Union, with Edward Walsh elected President. The group held daily marches and demonstrations until March 8, when a large crowd gathered for a parade. Workers from across the city joined in, and an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 men participated in the march. On March 10, Governor Albinus Nance petitioned the President of the United States for assistance to quell the uprising, who in turn instructed General George Crook into Omaha to keep the peace. Two day later, during another demonstration, soldiers bayoneted a 60-year-old man resisting arrest, but no other violence occurred. On March 16, the grand jury indicted 25 ringleaders of the Union for, among other crimes, assault with intent to kill, and they were arrested. The leaders were eventually released, but the strike's novelty had worn off. Workers returned to their jobs, the military left the city, and Omaha's labor strike ended.
Start Date:	1882/02/27
End Date:	1882/03/16
Citation:	Digital Resource, http://www.rootsweb.com/~neresour/andreas/douglas/douglas-p10.html#strike

Location Information

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City:	Omaha
State:	Nebraska
County:	Douglas

Buffalo Bill's Wild West, Rocky Mountain and Prairie Exhibition Opens

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On May 17, 1883, William "Buffalo Bill" Cody's Wild West show made its debut at the fairgrounds in north Omaha, Nebraska. Cody's show featured trick riding, Indian battles, wild animals, and gunfighting reenactments. His show's success led to years of touring the United States and Europe, earning Cody worldwide fame.
Start Date:	1883/05/17
End Date:	1883/05/17
Citation:	Digital Resource, http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/timeline/buffalo_bills_wild_west.htm

Location Information

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City:	Omaha
State:	Nebraska
County:	Douglas

Belva Lockwood Visits Lincoln, NE

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On January 31, 1885, Belva Ann Lockwood, the first woman to run for President of the United States, visited Lincoln, Nebraska and delivered a lecture. Lockwood, a woman of many firsts, made the front page of the Nebraska State Journal for her visit. In addition to running for President in 1884 as a member of the National Equal Right Party, Lockwood became the first woman to graduate from a national law school and the first admitted to practice law before the United States Supreme Court (1879). Lockwood's bid for the Presidency only two months before made her presence in Lincoln a newsworthy event. Lockwood ran for President again in 1888, receiving far fewer than the 4,000-plus votes she received in her first campaign.
Start Date:	1885/01/31
End Date:	1885/01/31
Citation:	Digital Resource, http://www.stanford.edu/group/WLHP/papers/lockwood.htm#I.%20INTRODUCTION and http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/timeline/lockwood_belva_in_lincoln.htm

Location Information

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City:	Lincoln
State:	Nebraska
County:	Lancaster