Nebraska

Nebraska, a central state of the American Union. It lies on the western bank of the Missouri between the fortieth and forty-third parallels of north latitude. The extreme western boundary of the state is near meridian 104. The width of the state from north to south is 208.5 miles. The length from east to west is 413 miles. The area is 77,510 square miles. The physical features of the state are remarkably simple. The surface rises gradually from the Missouri River westward. The extreme south-eastern part of the state is 842 feet above the sea level. Wild Cat Mountain, in Banner County, the highest elevation in the state, rises 5,038 feet above the sea. Aside from the Missouri, the chief river is the Platte, which flows from west to east throughout the entire length of the state. It was called by the Indians, Nebraska, meaning "shallow water." Platte is a French name having the same significance. Platte is a shallow, sandy river without rapids or falls. All the waters of the state find their way into the Missouri.

CHARACTERISTICS

The state has comparatively little mineral wealth. Lignite coal is found in workable quantities. There are also beds of peat. Limestone is quarried for building purposes. It affords excellent lime and Portland cement. The eastern edge of the state is covered with glacial drift. There is an extensive area of sand drifts or sand hills in the north-west. The bluffs and valleys of the east shelter forests of hard wood. The state is mostly prairie. The eastern part is fertile, comparing favorably with the productive parts of the Mississippi Valley. The west extends into the foothill region of the Rocky Mountains and is lacking in moisture. The entire state seems to be underlaid with an abundance of water which has entered the soil, no doubt, in the foothills of the Rockies. Artesian wells sunk to depths of from 200 to 500 feet seldom fail to reach water. The annual rainfall in the southeastern part of the state is about thirty inches. It falls off toward the northwest about an inch for each fifty miles. The extreme northwestern part of the state has about fifteen inches of rain. The winter is so dry that there is little snowfall. The extremes of temperature may be placed at 102' above and 40' below zero. The southeastern part of the state has the mildest climate; the northwestern the most severe. The mean annual temperature for the year varies from 52' to 46'. The average for July, the hottest month in the year, is about 78'.

AGRICULTURE

Nebraska is preeminently an agricultural state. In order of acreage, the chief field crops are corn, wheat, oats, wild hay, rye, timothy, alfalfa, sorghum, millet, barley, potatoes, clover and broom corn. An annual corn crop of 250,000,000 bushels is expected and about one-fifth as much wheat. The state takes high rank in dairy products. Extensive irrigation canals have been constructed in the western part of the state, aggregating about 3,000 miles in length. They water perhaps a million acres. Land previously considered too dry for agricultural purposes is now enormously productive. That part of the state east of the 100' meridian has acquired a reputation of late for fruit. Apples, plums and cherries do well. Peaches and grapes are raised successfully in the southeastern portion. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, currants and gooseberries thrive. Market gardening, especially in the vicinity of Omaha, is an important industry.

INDUSTRIES

There are extensive stock ranges in the west, on which cattle, find their own living the year through. As stated, Nebraska is noted for agriculture rather than for manufacturing. The annual value of manufactured products, however, represents the large total of $143,990,000. Half of this sum is to be credited to the immense packing establishments of South Omaha. Flour milling comes next. Car building, publishing and brewing follow in the order named. The soil has been found particularly well adapted to the raising of sugar beets. The output of beet sugar is about 25,000,000 pounds a year.

POPULATION

In 1920 the population was 1,296,372, an increase of 8.7 per cent during the decade. The rural population was 31.3 per cent of the whole as against 26.1 per cent in 1910. The density of the population per square mile in 1920 was 16.9 as against 15.9 in 1910. There was a decrease in the foreign born whites during the decade. Five cities have a population of over 20,000.

EDUCATION

The public schools are in charge of a state superintendent of public instruction with county superintendents in each county. The support is provided by a state school fund, a state tax and local taxes. The amount voted for public school purposes in 1920 was $24,935,000. There are over one hundred consolidated school districts in the state. Instruction in agriculture is given in the high schools as is instruction in manual training and domestic science. For these purposes textbooks are provided by the state. The University of Nebraska and the State Agricultural College at Lincoln are at the head of the educational system. Normal schools are maintained at Chadron, Kearney, Peru and Wayne. There are numerous institutions of higher education under the direction of various universities; all are coeducational. Among these are Bellevue College at Bellevue; Cotner University at Bethary; Doane College at Crete; Grand Island College at Grand Island; Hastings College at Hastings; Union College at College View; University of Omaha at Omaha; Nebraska Wesleyan University at University Place; and York College at York.

The University of Nebraska, at Lincoln, was established by an act of territorial legislature in 1869 and opened in 1871. It comprises a graduate school, a college of literature, science and arts, an industrial college, which includes the schools of agriculture, mechanic arts and domestic science and college of law. A college of medicine is located at Omaha and a school of music and a summer school. The school of agriculture and an experiment station are located on a farm about two miles east of Lincoln. A second school of agriculture is at Curtis, and there are experiment stations at Culberson, North Platte, Scotts Bluff and Valentine, all of which are under the supervision of the university. In 1920 the faculty included 289 members and the enrollment in all departments was 8,200.

INSTITUTIONS

The charitable and correctional institutions are under the direction of a state board. The school for the blind is at Nebraska City; there is an industrial school for juvenile delinquents at Kearney; an institute for the deaf and dumb at Omaha; asylums for the insane at Lincoln, Norfolk, Ingleside and Hastings; industrial schools for girls are maintained at Geneva and Milford; there is a soldiers' and sailors' home at Milford and Burkett; and the penitentiary is located at Lincoln.

GOVERNMENT

The present constitution was adopted in 1875 and has been liberally amended.

The legislative department comprises a senate and house of representatives; the former cannot exceed 33 members and the membership of the latter is limited to 100; elections are biennial.

The executive department comprises a governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, attorney-general, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction and commissioners of public lands and buildings, all elected for terms of two years.

The judicial department includes a supreme court, district courts, county courts and courts of justices of the peace, with provisions for the establishment of local and inferior courts in accordance with the law.

HISTORY

Some suppose that Coronado visited the region now included in Nebraska early in the 16th century, and that Marquette touched upon the territory in 1673 but the latter supposition is without foundation. The first settlement was made in 1807, when a fur trading post was established at Bellevue. In 1819 Stephen Long explored the Platte across the state. His report of the region was such as to give rise to the idea of the Great American Desert. Following the settlement at Bellevue the American Fur Company established posts at Omaha and Nebraska City. Previously to 1821 the region had been a part of Missouri Territory. When Missouri was admitted to the Union, Nebraska was left without a government and was reserved for the Indians. However, whites soon encroached upon the land and the region was crossed by thousands on their way to California after the discovery of gold in that section. A provisional government was organized in 1853 and, from that time to the outbreak of the Civil War, the region was the scene of a struggle between the pro-slavery forces in Kansas and the anti-slavery settlers in Iowa. In 1854 Stephen A. Douglas introduced in Congress his famous Squatters' Sovereignty Bill, which created the Territory of Nebraska, extending its boundaries from the Missouri River to the summits of the Rocky Mountains. Attempts at statehood were prevented by the Civil War, but in 1867 an act for admission of the state into the Union was passed. Since that date the history of the state has been one of steady progress.

During the World War, Nebraska furnished 49,641 men for service and $6,264,760,000 in Liberty and Victory loans and war charities. Forty-nine per cent of her population held membership in the Red Cross.

STATISTICS

The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources:

Land area, square miles 76,808

Water area, square miles 702

Irrigated area, acres 442,690

Forest area, acres 100,000

Population (1920) 1,296,372

White 1,279,219

Negro 13,242

Indian 2,888

Foreign born 149,652

Chief cities:

Omaha 191,601

Lincoln 54,948

Hastings 11,647

Rev 2002-06-22