After 1854 the Oto and Missouri Indian village and agency were located near here. For many years the two tribes had been living along the lower portion of the Platte River, but when Nebraska became a territory they relinquished all claims to . . . — — Map (db m78011) HM
Across this footbridge you can walk through 100 acres of restored tallgrass prairie. As each year passes, this piece of ground will look more and more like what Daniel Freeman saw when he laid claim to a 160-acre homestead here in 1863.
As you . . . — — Map (db m47586) HM
These rambling acres of grass and greenery might not look like a carefully planned landscape. Yet they are part of an ongoing restoration effort begun in 1939 to undo the effects of 76 years of farming, restoring agricultural fields to a diverse . . . — — Map (db m47519) HM
I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag
We Answered the Call
United We Stand
Keepers of Freedom
[And Other Mottos]
[Honoree Plaques]
Dedicated May 30, 2005 — — Map (db m48227) WM
April 12, 1861: Fort Sumter, South Carolina was fired on by Rebel forces. On the 18th of May, Nebraska Territory Governor Alvin Saunders issued a proclamation calling for volunteers to either answer the call from President Lincoln for service in . . . — — Map (db m48286) HM
Organized as a local militia, the Paddock Guards were named in honor of Nebraska Senator Algernon S. Paddock. Established June 9, 1875 to protect Beatrice from outlaws and bandits, the Guard furnished their own equipment; city residents furnished . . . — — Map (db m48375) HM
The fenceless plains were vast and open when early homesteaders first came here. But the very nature of homesteading - the possibility of an individual owning 160 acres - meant that somebody had to legally divide and define limits for the land. . . . — — Map (db m47577) HM
Soldiers
of the Civil War 1861-1865
[and]
Spanish War, 1898-1901.
[Honor Roll of Names]
Rawlins Post No. 35.
Department of Nebraska
Grand Army of the Republic
Organized in
Fraternity, Charity & Loyalty
A.D. 1879
Rawlins . . . — — Map (db m47656) HM
George W. Palmer built this log cabin in 1867 in Logan Township, Nebraska, some 14 miles from Beatrice. He used oak, ash, and other hardwoods cut from the banks of Bear Creek for his cabin walls. He made the brick in the gable ends by hand. . . . — — Map (db m47527) HM
President Harry S. Truman established a policy of containing Communism that was followed by succeeding presidents until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Beatrice's residents served in Germany, protected the U.S. borders, and fought in the . . . — — Map (db m48231) HM
Daniel Freeman
Born Preble Co. Ohio Apr. 25, 1826
Filed on First Homestead in U.S.A.
Jan. 1, 1863 and lived on it until
his death Dec. 30, 1908
Soldier, Doctor, Sheriff & Farmer
A True Pioneer. . . . — — Map (db m47585) HM
The most important part of a living prairie is something you can't see without taking a shovel in hand. The dense, interlocking roots of prairie grasses make an underground structure unlike anything seen in the woodlands of the East. The insects, . . . — — Map (db m47596) HM
There’s a good chance you do – Homesteading reached three of every five states. Is yours among them?
The Homestead Act of 1862 offered people 160 acres of free land – if they were willing to live on it, farm it, and build a home. . . . — — Map (db m47512) HM
June 25, 1950, Communist North Korea invades South Korea and the Korean War begins. The United Nations asks member nations to aid South Korea. President Truman sends U.S. air and naval forces to South Korean defense. Regular Army troops move from . . . — — Map (db m48232) HM
Dedicated to the Citizens of Beatrice
for all their efforts put forth in the
Beatrice Centennial Celebrations of 2007
Beatrice, Nebraska Territory
Founded on this site July 4, 1857
Time Capsule to be opened on July 4, 2057
200 . . . — — Map (db m47616) HM
The United States Congress officially ended the draft in September 28, 1971. Since then, volunteer armed forces have been called to protect freedom throughout the world.
In 2001, the Beatrice National Guard was deployed to Kuwait with the 1-167 . . . — — Map (db m48228) HM
To honor all men and
women who honorably
served their country
in the Armed Forces
of the United States
Dedicated
November 11, 1995 — — Map (db m47654) HM
Abraham Lincoln was called the Great Emancipator because his proclamation of 1862 gave freedom to the slaves. In that same year, he signed another extremely important document that gave land to free men. No single act had more effect on the Middle . . . — — Map (db m228353) HM
The Homestead Act of 1862 was one of the most significant and enduring events in the westward expansion of the United States. By granting 160 acres of free land to claimants, it allowed nearly any man or woman the chance to live the American dream. . . . — — Map (db m47619) HM
Look around you. The impact of the Homestead Act is clearly visible. Grain elevators, fertilizer plants, housing developments, state highways, modern farms – these and other features are tangible evidence of the Homestead Act’s success in . . . — — Map (db m47518) HM
Barbed wire proved invaluable for marking boundaries on the open prairie. Soon after its invention in 1874 there were over 570 different patents and thousands of variations. You can examine dozens of them on the fence nearby.
Why so many? Early . . . — — Map (db m47523) HM
Railroads played a key role in the development of the Heritage Highway corridor. Trains brought settlers and goods west to the new towns and took farm products back to market. As times have changed and transportation has evolved, many railroad . . . — — Map (db m47620) HM
With the faith and courage of
their forefathers who made
possible the freedom of these
United States
The Boy Scouts of America
dedicate this copy of the
Statue of Liberty as a pledge
of everlasting fidelity and
and loyalty . . . — — Map (db m47617) HM
Many Heritage Highway communities began as river settlements. Beatrice was founded in 1857 near the bend of the Big Blue River. The first building, known as Pap Towle's cabin, was constructed just north of the present Gage County Historical Society . . . — — Map (db m47627) HM
You are standing on an old road trace, lined with cottonwood trees, where freight was hauled by wagon. The ability to get goods to market is yet another reason Daniel Freeman homesteaded here, four miles from the town of Beatrice.
Freight roads . . . — — Map (db m47584) HM
Here, in the middle of this restored prairie, you can imagine what homesteaders experienced when they first came to their land - listen to the birds and insects, smell cottonwood in the air, feel the richness of the soil, see the variety nature has . . . — — Map (db m47580) HM
Byway 136 was designated the Heritage Highway in part because of the many historic trails that are now part of it. You are standing on the historic De Roin Trail. The De Roin Trail began at the Missouri River port town of Brownville on the eastern . . . — — Map (db m47623) HM
The Homestead Act of 1862 affected millions of lives in the United States and across the world. Homestead National Monument of America exists to document and present these powerful stories of transformation.
The Homestead Heritage Center keeps . . . — — Map (db m47513) HM
Originally dedicated 1934
Rededicated 2000
Symbolism of the Mural
Just as our own Nebraska natives left their homes to fight wars on foreign soil, the use of Endicott brick represents native earth that brings all of us back to our . . . — — Map (db m48234) HM
What was it like to be a homesteaders? To get an idea, take a walk. The flags around the parking lot enclose an acre.
It may not seem huge. But plowing an acre meant walking about 10 miles. Over uneven soil. Driving a team of oxen. In sun or . . . — — Map (db m47514) HM
In Beatrice, industries pooled resources to obtain defense contracts by creating Homestead Industries, Inc. This "war production pool of industries" included Dempster Industries, Store Kraft Manufacturing, W.M. Haith Tank Works, Beatrice Steel . . . — — Map (db m48270) HM
World War I began in Europe in 1914. The United States stayed neutral for the first three years. Only after German submarines sank a record number of U.S. merchant ships did the U.S. enter the war.
Called up for duty on the Mexican Border in . . . — — Map (db m48267) HM
December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States declared war. On December 11, 1941, the United States declared war on Germany and Italy. Gage County residents served in Europe and in the Pacific. They fought in major battles, . . . — — Map (db m48279) HM
Robert Taylor was born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley on August 5, 1911 and was raised in Beatrice. He appeared in 80 films from the 1930’s to the 1960’s and hosted the television series “Death Valley Days” in the 1960’s. Taylor . . . — — Map (db m47510) HM
From October 1862 until March 1863 stagecoaches of the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express passed near here along the Oketo Cutoff. The cutoff diverged from the Ft. Leavenworth to Ft. Kearny Military Road northeast of Marysville, . . . — — Map (db m238213) HM
