Category Archives: Information Resources

The Missouri river has flooded many times in recorded history. Floods levels this year may exceed even the record flood of 1952.  Although floodwaters were not that high in the flood of 1881, significant damage was done and lives were lost.   These two photos show floodwaters inundating the lumber yard and Union Pacific rail yard in Omaha in April 1881.

According to this article  on the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources web site:
“The release of water, which was yellow with clay and debris from cornfields, trees, and houses, later flooded Omaha up to 9th Street. Several hundred yards of rip-rap “gave away like cheesecloth” before the floodwaters as they inundated the Union Pacific coal and lumber yards. The River reportedly remained high for several weeks and, during the height of flooding, was reported to have been five miles wide.”

This article from the April 11th 1881 Omaha Daily Bee Slowly Subsiding: The Demon of the Big Muddy Appeased records eyewitness accounts the morning of April 9th:
“At one o’clock this morning the water was rising gradually in the river and pouring into the basins surrounding the lumber and coal yards in overwhelming streams. The main current of the river seemed to diverge somewhat off its course ‘of the day before and to bear away toward the east shore. This was indicated by the action of the ice, which had heretofore pressed with dangerous force against the smelting works and government rip rap. The proprietors of the various lumber yards , the Chicago , Foster Gray and Hoagland , were on hand all night with gangs of men , endeavoring to construct booms around their yards … At six o’clock in the morning , the gauge showed an additional rise of nine inches above the measurement taken at twelve o’clock, making the total height above low water mark nearly twenty-three feet. By this time all of the lumber yards were filling rapidly ; the car shops and engine house belonging to the U. P. works were entirely surrounded and the aspect of affairs were most discouraging. Then , for some unexplained reason , the rise seemed to cease and it was hoped that the flood bad reached its limit. This condition of affairs continued for three hours , and the most active efforts were made to protect the pro0perty of the U. P. company , the smelting works and the lumber yards. At nine o’clock a rush came , and the side tracks which had up to that time acted as barriers to the progress of the flood began to show signs of weakness , and in a few minutes huge parts of the embankments had given away and the water was pouring into the last and remaining basins west of the smelting work . “

Click here to see more images in Nebraska Memories of the flood of 1881 in Omaha.

For more information about this year’s flooding visit this page on NebraskAccess.

Visit Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx  for more information, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.

This past May 29th marked the 100th anniversary of a deadly train wreck that happened at about 7 am a half mile west of Indianola Nebraska. There are two photos in Nebraska Memories that show the severity of this crash. Looking at these pictures it’s hard to image how hard these trains had to collide for the engines to be destroyed and to push one train car on top of another.

Over the years, as I’ve talked with people about Nebraska Memories, one comment I’ve heard multiple times is the desire to know more about the images in the collection. I completely agree unfortunately most of the time we don’t have any more then what is provided. When a photo is 100+ years old our knowledge is limited to the information that someone in the past has recorded. Maybe this desire to know more is the reason that I’m drawn to these two photos of the Indianola train wreck.

Surprisingly we know a lot about this particular crash thanks to The McCook Tribune and the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers project. This project is an effort to digitize newspapers from all U.S. States and territories and make them available online. Luckily for us one of the papers included in this project is the May 30th 1911 edition of The McCook Tribune. On the front page of this issue is a story all about the “Appalling Accident” near Indianola.

If you share the desire to know more, take the time to look at the images of the wreck in Nebraska Memories and read about this “Appalling Accident” that happened 100 years ago. You will learn a lot about the accident including the engine numbers of the trains involved, a list of people killed and even the names of people “not expected to recover”.

Visit Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories for more information, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.

The U.S. flag has been displayed for many different reasons and occasions. In Nebraska Memories, some photographs and postcards show flags on regular display both outside and inside buildings. An example is this colorful postcard of the “Old People’s Home, Fontenelle Boulevard, Omaha, Nebr.” from the Omaha Public Library collection. On some of the larger images of the flag, try counting the stars—many of these flags would have had only 46. Here are more images.

More photographs show the flag being used to decorate buildings, cars and floats for celebrations and special occasions. If one flag is good, more must be better, as in the “Decorated automobile” to the left, right? And, of course, you can always borrow the design, as the “Man and woman wearing flag print clothing” to the right have done. Both photographs are from the Nebraska State Historical Society collection. Also see these special occasion images.

The flag is also used for ceremonial purposes or solemn occasions by the military and other groups. Several Nebraska State Historical images show the American flag at Native American gatherings including “Tipis of chiefs” from 1911. See more ceremonial images.

Before “The Star-Spangled Banner” became the U.S. national anthem in 1931, other patriotic songs were also written using our flag as a rallying point to protect “the republic for which it stands”. The musical score, “The Memory of You Will Be a Flag, Dear” from the Polley Music Library collection, is one of several available in Nebraska Memories.

Visit Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/nebraskamemories/ for more information, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.

To celebrate the beginning of June, a traditional month for weddings, take a look at some of the images of weddings in Nebraska Memories. The celebrations range from large family gatherings to small wartime ceremonies, and they show how wedding customs have changed over the years.

This 1902 portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Emmett Duffek is one of many wedding portraits taken by Harvey Boston, a photographer in David City. William Wentworth, an Omaha photographer, also took many wedding photographs in the 1940s, including this one at the Kelly wedding.

Visit Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/nebraskamemories/ for more information, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.

In 1862, the United States Congress passed the Homestead Act, which turned over large amounts of public land to private citizens. Homesteaders were able to claim 160 acres of land and were required to make improvements to the land, which included building a house on it within six months. On the Great Plains, where trees were scarce, many homesteaders built homes out of sod, which was jokingly called “Nebraska marble.” For more information on sod houses, explore these resources from the Smithsonian Institution or NebraskaStudies.org.

The house on the homestead of Herman Staberg is one example of a residence made of sod. Sod was not only used for houses, but for other buildings as well. This school in Cheyenne County and this church in Funk were both made out of sod.

More images of sod buildings can be seen in Nebraska Memories.

Visit Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/nebraskamemories/ for more information, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.

Spring is here and many folks are busy working in their flower gardens. If you need a bit of inspiration for your garden maybe some photos from the early 1900’s can help.

One source of inspiration is Hanscom Park in Omaha. Hanscom Park was donated to Omaha in 1872 and is one of city’s oldest parks. The 58 acre park is still in existence today and is located in the area of 32nd and Woolworth Ave. If you have a large yard maybe you want to consider adding a fountain and some flower beds. If that’s not your style how about creating you’re own rose bower or “Lovers lane” as one person noted on a postcard.

In addition to the images of the park there are also images of some smaller gardens. The Nye residence in Fremont had a formal garden complete with a gazing ball. The Christensen home, also in Fremont, had two circular flower plantings in the yard. There was even a flower garden in front of South Hall on the Union College campus. If you would rather keep your garden simple you could always take inspiration from J. F. Rosenfield Peony Gardens and just plant twenty-five acres of peonies.

If you are not into gardening and the heat of summer you can always wait for the snow to fly turning Hanscom Park into a winter beauty.

Visit Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/nebraskamemories/ for more information, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.

The practice of honoring mothers has been around for centuries, but Mother’s Day was not an official holiday in the United States until President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation in 1914 establishing the date as the second Sunday in May.

Some people buy cards, flowers, or jewelry to honor their mothers. Others have said it with music, as in this piece, “Sweet Little Mother.” This score and other Mother-related musical materials can be found in the Polley Music Library collection.

Cherished photographs bring back memories of mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and more, like this photograph of four generations in Clara Zellinger’s family from the Butler County Gallery collection. Nebraskans must be a hardy bunch as other photographs in Nebraska Memories show multiple generations. Formal and informal photographs of mothers with their children and family groups show a variety of family combinations. And check out the size of some of those families in past years. In comparison, the Census Bureau reports that the average number of births per woman in the United States had dropped to two in 2009.

Visit Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/nebraskamemories/ for more information, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.

When Omaha was founded, it looked very different from the city we know today. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the streets of Omaha underwent a series of re-grading projects that drastically changed the city’s landscape. The level of the streets was lowered in some areas and raised in others. For example, in the late 1800s, at 17th and Farnam, the streets were lowered by 45 feet, and the dirt from this area was used to raise the grade between 20th and 24th Streets. Most buildings in the affected areas were moved to the new street level. Among the reasons for the re-grading, particularly in the later projects, was the need to make it easier for automobiles to navigate the steeply graded streets. In 1917, Dodge Street was re-graded from a 12% to a 7% grade so that cars would be able to more easily reach the top of the hill at 24th and Dodge Streets. (Source: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for The Logan)

The Falconer residence, located at 1821 Douglas Street, was one of the buildings affected by street re-grading in the late 1800s. This series of photographs shows several images of the movement of the house, including a picture of it settled in its new position. Several other photographs of street re-grading work can be viewed in Nebraska Memories.

Visit Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/nebraskamemories/ for more information, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.