Origin of state's name: Name based on an Oto Indian word that means "flat
water," referring to the Platte River
A banner for the State of Nebraska shall consist of a
reproduction of the great seal of the state, charged on the center
in gold and silver on a field of national blue.
Entered Union: March 1, 1867; 37th State
Capital: Lincoln
Motto: Equality before the law
Flower: Goldenrod
Bird: Western meadowlark
Tree: Cottonwood
Song: Beautiful Nebraska
A LITTLE HISTORY
Spanish and French explorers and fur traders visited the area prior to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Lewis and Clark passed through in 1804-1806. The first permanent settlement was Bellevue, near Omaha, in 1823. Many Civil War veterans settled under free land terms of the 1862 Homestead act; struggles followeed between homesteaders and ranchers.
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FACTS AND TRIVIA ABOUT NEBRASKA
The Union Pacific began its transcontinental railroad at Omaha in 1865.
In 1937, Nebraska became the only state in the Union to have a unicameral
(one-house) legislature. Members are elected to it without party designation.
Nebraska is a leading grain-producer with bumper crops of rye, corn, and
wheat. More varieties of grass, valuable for forage, grow in Nebraska than in any
other state in the nation.
The world's largest porch swing is located in Hebron, Nebraska. 25 adults can sit
in it at one time!
The world's largest Kolache Festival is located in Prague, Nebraska.
The 911 system of emergency communications, now used nationwide, was developed and first used in
Lincoln.
Research and development of air ambulance services began in Nebraska.
The U.S Strategic Air Command is headquartered at Bellevue.
Boys Town, a world-famous community for disadvantaged youth, is located near Omaha.
The world's best known tractor testing laboratory is at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Nebraska has more usable water than any other state, with 11,000 miles of flowing streams and the large
underground Ogallala Aquifer.
The nation's first authorized off-premise banking was developed in Lincoln with teller machines at grocery
store courtesy counters.
The Platte River Valley has the largest springtime population of sandhill cranes in the world.
Fort Atkinson, located north of Omaha, was the first military fort and had the first school west of the
Missouri River (1820-27).
Nebraska led the Prairie States Forestry Project in planting more than 4,000 miles of trees for shelterbelts
during the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s.
Visit Dirk Visser's Holland Bulbs Today
The world's largest elephant fossil was found near Wellfleet in Lincoln County.
The first paved transcontinental highway in the U.S. (Route 30) was built through Nebraska.
Nebraska was the first state to complete its segment of the nation's mainline interstate highway system, a
455-mile stretch of four-lane highway.
The University of Nebraska was the first land grant college west of the Missouri River to offer graduate course
work.
America's first rodeo was held by Buffalo Bill at his Scouts Rest Ranch to celebrate the 4th of July in 1882.
