Bancroft in Cuming County, Nebraska — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
John G. Neihardt Center
Photographed by Craig Doda, August 31, 2018
1. John G. Neihardt Center Marker
John Gneisenau Neihardt (1881-1973), teacher, philosopher, and Nebraska Poet Laureate, moved to Bancroft in 1900. Here he first became acquainted with Indians, married, and began his major work, A Cycle of the West, a five-part epic poem "designed to celebrate the great mood of courage that developed west of the Missouri River in the 19th Century."
The John G. Neihardt Study Restoration Project was founded in 1965 by Evelyn Vogt to preserve Neihardt's one-room study in Bancroft. In 1967 the Study Restoration Project was incorporated as the John G. Neihardt Foundation for the purpose of constructing a building to house a museum, library, and research facility to preserve Neihardt's works and effects. In 1968, by gubernatorial proclamation, the first Sunday in each August was designated Neihardt Day in Nebraska.
In 1974 State Senator Blair Richendifer of Walthill introduced in the Nebraska Legislature L.B. 855, which appropriate the "sum of two hundred thousand dollars for the purpose of constructing the John G. Neihardt Center" to be adminisitered by the Nebraska State Historical Society in close cooperation with the
this page online
Erected by John G. Neihardt Foundation, Nebraska State Historical Society. (Marker Number 207.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Arts, Letters, Music. In addition, it is included in the Nebraska State Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1900.
Location. 42° 0.667′ N, 96° 34.6′ W. Marker is in Bancroft, Nebraska, in Cuming County. It can be reached from Elm Street just west of Nebraska Street, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 306 Elm St, Bancroft NE 68004, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Nebraska. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Corn Belt, and on the prairies. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what
Photographed by Craig Doda, August 31, 2018
2. Sculpture on the grounds
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 14 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: John G. Neihardt Study (within shouting distance of this marker); M60A3 Tank (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Bancroft (approx. 0.9 miles away); Lyons (approx. 7.1 miles away); Susan LaFlesche Picotte Memorial Hospital (approx. 10.6 miles away); a different marker also named Susan LaFlesche Picotte Memorial Hospital (approx. 11 miles away); Victor Colson Homestead (approx. 12½ miles away); Governor Frederick Valdemar Erastus Peterson (approx. 13½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bancroft.
Photographed by Craig Doda, August 31, 2018
3. Information plaque for the sculpture on the grounds
Photographed by Craig Doda, August 31, 2018
4. John G. Neihardt Center Marker
Photographed by Craig Doda, August 31, 2018
5. Sign at the entrance to John G. Neihardt State Historic Site
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 3, 2020, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 401 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 3, 2020, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. 4. submitted on January 31, 2022, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. 5. submitted on December 3, 2020, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
