Nebraska: Wagon Trails, Carhenge, and a Pitcher of Kool-Aid
State #37 | March 1, 1867
Nebraska is one of those states that is easy to think you already know.
Corn. Farms. Football. Lots of flat land.
And yes, Nebraska has all of those things. But it also gave us Arbor Day and Kool-Aid, helped guide thousands of people west, and has its own version of Stonehenge made entirely out of old cars.
Suddenly Nebraska sounds a little more interesting.
Unlike some of the states in our America 250 journey, we don’t have a personal Nebraska story. So this week, we’re discovering Nebraska right along with you.
Flat Water
People lived in what is now Nebraska for thousands of years before Europeans arrived.
The Pawnee lived across much of the region, while the Omaha, Ponca, Otoe, Missouria and other Native peoples also made their homes here at different times.
Even the name Nebraska comes from an Otoe word meaning “flat water,” referring to the wide, shallow Platte River that crosses the state.
That river would become one of the most important routes across the American West.
A Landmark That Told Travelers They Were Getting Somewhere
During the 1800s, thousands of people headed west across Nebraska.
They followed routes that became known as the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Mormon Pioneer Trail. The Pony Express later traveled through the region too.
One landmark told travelers they were making progress: Chimney Rock.
Its tall rock spire rises more than 300 feet above the surrounding landscape and can be seen from miles away.
For people who had spent weeks crossing the plains in wagons, seeing Chimney Rock must have been quite a sight. In fact, it was mentioned in more emigrant diaries than any other landmark along the Oregon Trail.
Today, Chimney Rock is a National Historic Site and remains one of Nebraska’s best-known landmarks.
Becoming State #37
Nebraska Territory was created in 1854, and Nebraska became the 37th state on March 1, 1867.
But statehood didn’t happen without an argument.
One of the biggest issues was voting rights for Black men. President Andrew Johnson and Congress were already battling over Reconstruction after the Civil War, and Nebraska’s admission became part of that larger fight.
Congress required Nebraska to remove racial restrictions on voting before it could enter the Union.
After plenty of political back-and-forth, Nebraska officially became a state.
Its state motto?
Equality Before the Law.
For a state born during such a divided time in American history, that motto carried quite a bit of meaning.
Nebraska Gave Us Arbor Day
Here’s something I didn’t know before researching Nebraska:
Arbor Day started here.
Nebraska’s wide-open prairie didn’t have many trees, and newspaper editor and politician J. Sterling Morton believed planting them would help provide shade, windbreaks, fruit and building materials.
In 1872, he proposed setting aside a day just for planting trees.
The first Arbor Day was held in Nebraska on April 10, 1872, and more than one million trees were reportedly planted.
The idea spread across the country and eventually around the world.
So the next time you hear about Arbor Day, you can thank Nebraska.
Oh Yeah! Kool-Aid Started Here Too
Now we get to one of my favorite Nebraska facts.
Kool-Aid was invented in Hastings, Nebraska.
Edwin Perkins was an entrepreneur who created a liquid fruit drink called Fruit Smack. There was just one problem: shipping bottles of liquid was expensive and bottles could break.
So Perkins figured out how to turn the drink into a powder.
In 1927, he introduced the product as Kool-Ade. The spelling was later changed to the Kool-Aid we know today.
That little packet of flavored powder eventually became an American icon.
Hastings still celebrates its Kool-Aid connection, and the Hastings Museum has an exhibit telling the story of Perkins and his famous invention.
Not bad for something that started because a Nebraska businessman wanted an easier way to ship a drink.
And Then There’s Carhenge
If you’ve ever looked at Stonehenge in England and thought, This would be better if it were made out of cars, Nebraska has you covered.
Near the town of Alliance stands Carhenge.
Yes. Carhenge.
It is a full-size tribute to Stonehenge made from old automobiles.
Jim Reinders and members of his family built it in 1987 as a memorial to his father. The cars are arranged to copy the shape and size of England’s famous prehistoric monument.
Some are even standing upright in the ground.
And because one giant circle of old cars apparently wasn’t enough, the site also has other sculptures made from cars and car parts.
It is strange.
It is creative.
And I would absolutely stop to see it.
What Would We Eat?
If we ever make it to Nebraska, there’s one food we’d need to try: a Runza.
Think of it as a warm bread pocket filled with ground beef, cabbage, onions and seasonings.
The first Runza restaurant opened in Lincoln in 1949, and the sandwich has become such a Nebraska favorite that you’ll even find people eating them at Cornhusker football games.
Honestly, beef and cabbage baked inside fresh bread sounds pretty good to me.
And naturally, we’d wash it down with Kool-Aid.
More Than a Drive-Through State
Nebraska may not get the attention of California, Florida or New York.
But that’s one of the things I’m enjoying about this America 250 project.
Every state has a story.
Nebraska helped carry people west. It gave America Arbor Day. A man in Hastings figured out how to turn a fruit drink into a little packet that became famous around the world.
And somewhere outside Alliance, a bunch of old cars are standing in a field pretending to be Stonehenge.
That’s Nebraska.
And in Brock’s World, that’s the truth—with just the right amount of twist. 🌽
