Near Ellsworth in Sheridan County, Nebraska — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Mari Sandoz, 1896-1966
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 2, 2021
1. Mari Sandoz, 1896-1966 Marker
This is the country of Mari Sandoz historian, novelist, teacher who brought its history and its people to life in her many books, articles and stories. She was born in Sheridan County, Nebraska. Although she lived much of her life in the East, she is buried here in her own West.
Mari Sandoz was first famed for Old Jules (1935), the story of her father and other settlers who came to the upper Niobrara region in the late nineteenth century. Her greatest achievement is the series of six related books on life as it developed with Indian and white men in the trans-Missouri country: The Beaver Men, Crazy Horse, Cheyenne Autumn, The Buffalo Hunters, The Cattlemen and Old Jules. In these and a dozen other volumes she presented the drama of man on the Great Plains more completely, accurately and vividly than anyone before her had done.
Mari Sandoz was internationally known as a chronicler of the West and as an expert on Indian history. Her own aim was to understand all of life by understanding this one part of it: how man shaped the Plains country, and how it shaped him.
Erected by Nebraska Centennial Commission; and Historical Land Mark Council. (Marker Number 085.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music
this page online
Location. 42° 22.386′ N, 102° 12.106′ W. Marker is near Ellsworth, Nebraska, in Sheridan County. It is on Mari Sandoz Sandhills Trail (State Highway 27) 24 miles north of State Highway 2, on the right when traveling north. Marker is located in a rest area on the east side of the highway. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ellsworth NE 69340, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Nebraska Panhandle. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Corn Belt, on the prairies, on the Great Plains, on the Northern Plains, and specifically on the High Plains. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least one other marker is within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Japanese Balloon Bombs (approx. 8½ miles away).
Also see . . .
1. Mari Sandoz. Wikipedia entry:
In 1942 her monumental biography of the great Lakota leader Crazy Horse was published. It is entitled Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas. Sandoz proved to be ahead of her time by writing the biography from within the Lakota world-view, using Lakota concepts and metaphors, and even replicating Lakota patterns of speech. Some critics consider it her greatest work.
via Wikipedia, unknown
2. Mari Sandoz
2. Mari Sandoz Society. Website homepage:
Mari Sandoz wrote more than 20 books some of the most memorable and realistic accounts about pioneers and American Indians ever written. With keen attention to detail, compelling topics, and blunt, accurate, compassionate descriptions, Sandoz created vivid stories of the last days of the American frontier. (Submitted on September 3, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 2, 2021
3. Mari Sandoz, 1896-1966 Marker
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 2, 2021
4. Mari Sandoz Sandhills Trail Sign
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 2, 2021
5. Mari Sandoz Memorial Drive Sign
Credits. This page was last revised on March 6, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 3, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,031 times since then and 80 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on September 3, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 2. submitted on March 6, 2026, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 3, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
