The cry was FREE LAND!! 

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 a chance to live the American dream.

In my research of our family homesteads I found Susan Amanda Bates Birth 14 OCT 1859 • Chester, Vermont , Death 27 FEB 1895 • Lillian, Nebraska,  to be one the two million that made claims of 160 acre parcels of land. Also some other notable female homesteaders in Nebraska include the Chrisman sisters, who took claims in Custer County, and 

Lucinda Tann Stone, a Canadian immigrant who homesteaded in Dawson County. Another is Mary Longfellow, homesteaded in her sod house in Broken Bow. 

These women were often single, widowed or divorced, this was unprecedented territory as women could not even get a mortgage without a man legally until 1974. 

Widows of Union Soldiers could deduct their Husbands' service time from the five-year residency requirement. Other widows used homesteading as a financial opportunity not readily available elsewhere.

 [1, 2, 3, 4]

Special Presentation - Women Homesteaders and the 19th Amendment

Homestead National Historical Park-The link below 

https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm%3Fid%3D818FFBF1-CF08-FBAD-77B33C16C2EBA388

 

Female Homesteaders in Nebraska

  • The Chrisman Sisters: Harriet, Elizabeth, Lucy, and Jennie Ruth, were four unmarried sisters who claimed land in Custer County in the 1880s,

  •  taking advantage of homestead and timber claim laws. Read more at https://www.nebraskalife.com/blog/post/frontier-matriarchs?srsltid=AfmBOooSjlju_iq5Xe6aAG8CVOOeyrORUAupuRjSPX2kcPI6G2PsY450.     

  • Lucinda Tann Stone: A Canadian immigrant who built a life in Dawson County in the 1880s, successfully overcoming racial and gender barriers.

  • Mary Longfellow: Known for her resilience and independence, she is the subject of a famous photograph standing next to her sod house in Broken Bow during the 1880s.

  • Essie Davis: A successful female rancher in the Sandhills, she was the first woman in Nebraska to receive the Master Farmer Award in 1939.

  • Mary Meyer: Thought to be the first female homesteader in the United States, she filed her claim in Brownville, Nebraska, in 1860.

  • Ann Schleiss: A young Bohemian woman who claimed land near Beatrice in 1870 and established her homestead by cultivating crops and beginning to build a new home.

  • The Tombrinck Sisters: Two teachers and a dressmaker who were homesteaders in Grant County in the early 1900s. Their experience highlights the dangers faced by female homesteaders. 

  • [1, 2, 3, 4]           

https://www.nebraskalife.com/blog/post/frontier-matriarchs

https://history.nebraska.gov/collection_section/chrisman-sisters-women-homesteaders/

https://nebraskastudies.org/1850-1874/

https://www.walvoordhistory.com/destinations/the-homestead-act-of-1862/


October Quilt Show- A little History of Quilts in Central Nebraska

Quilts came to Nebraska with the earliest settlers. In territorial times, quilting was both a practical and an aesthetic activity for those who made their home on the plains. Not only did it create warm bedcovers, it provided a creative outlet for women whose time was spent largely on the time-consuming daily work of keeping house, raising a family, and working alongside their husbands in the family business. https://history.nebraska.gov

The history of quilting, the stitching together of layers of padding and fabric, may date back as far as 3400 BCE.[1] For much of its history, quilting was primarily a practical technique to provide physical protection and insulation. However, decorative elements were often also present, and many quilts are now primarily art pieces.

Quilting appears on more than just quilts, it is also found at fashion week, upcycled quilts are now being used for clothing and jackets. History of quilting - Wikipedia

Some Links to check out

Saving Memories: Quilts - Nebraska State Historical Society

"Nebraska Quilts, 1870-1989: Perspectives on Traditions and Change" by Patricia Cox Crews and Wendelin Rich

International Quilt Museum - Lincoln, NE

 CCHS has 30 quilts on exhibit for the Month of Oct.

 

You're invited to join the Custer County Historical Society in the journey to save local history.

Gift Planning

Donation

Support an event

Membership

Volunteer

 Custer County Museum- 308-872-2203

Butcher on the Road: Tractor Stories by CCHS

We have been gathering information on some area tractor enthusiast that have a story to tell on their tractors. Have you ever wondered why one tractor is special to a person or family? Please view the videos on several community members that took the opportunity to speak and show their tractors.

At the bottom of our front page of our website, we have posted a link to follow and view these Green, Orange or Red (and a couple of others) tractors to learn their stories.

0r click on this link: https://khoblyn.wixsite.com/tractorstories

Enjoy history.

CCHS, Tammy

CusterCountyMuseum.ORG rather than .COM for CCHS

CusterCountyMuseum.ORG- is our new address for the History of Custer County Nebraska. CCHS in Broken Bow Nebraska, we have updated our WebSite address. We have a large bunch of information on the folks that have been in Custer County over the hundred plus years. Our web has obits, births, citizenships, marriages, homesteads and cemeteries. Plus a few of the photos of Museum and Solomon D. Butcher photos, too. Please check us out.

Aug 30 -Water/ Ways program NRD staff

Larry Schultz will present on the Water Management of Today. This will cover some interesting ideas.  Larry is with the Natural Resource District our of ORD. The is an educator for the NRD. He will have a water table for display.

We will also have Jim Jones of the South Loup River area tell of his early water rights that he has that has been KEPT up over the years FROM pioneer days.

Speaker with WATER/WAYS exhibit

Thursday Aug 16th, 2018 will be Mr. Taylor and Mr. Nelson.

Loren Taylor of Sargent Pipe, will have a presentation on our Water of Today and the Future of Water. And a detailed talk on the Aquifer. As well as showing a few photos of the early well drilling (by Solomon Butcher).

Rick Nelson of Custer Public Power District, will present a program on the Power to get water, that includes the Hydro Power that is already in use for some of our area.

Founding Fathers of Custer County Nebraska

Are you a part of a family that organized Custer County in 1877.

There are several families that had a part of the forming of the county in it's early years.

In the early years, folks had to go to Plum Creek (Lexington), Kearney, Loup City, or Grand Island to get supplies like a window for their sod house. Was your family member an early officer that made the lawless land civilized. 

The names vary a bit, but here is a listing of some that took part:

ABLE, Anton ------------------ALLEN, Virgil------------BOBLITS, E.J. ---------BRADNEY, A.B. --------------CHILD, I.O. ---------------DOUGLASS, J.J. -------- DuFrand, Phillip -------------FILER, Emmett V. --------FRITT, Denman ----------FULLER, Nate -----------------GASMANN, James ------JAMESON, T.M.. ----------KILGORE, W.H. --------------McKEE, Reginald --------O’BRIEN, Patrick W. -----PAXTON, James ---------------STUCKEY, Henry C -----STUCKEY, Samuel C ----TUCKER, William T.H. ------WAMBSGAN, LOUIS -----WATTLES, W.W. ------WISE, Albert H. ------------WOOD, Joshua -------------YOUNG, Frank H. -------YOUNG, Milo

Grand Re-Opening and Summer Open House

GRAND RE-OPENING

AND

Summer Open House

 

Monday, May 21st, 2018

10:00 am - 5:00 pm (open all day)

1:00 pm Ribbon Cutting with BB Chamber

 

 

New Layout, New Displays in the antique cabinets, New Colors & just a New Look!

 

Come In &Take A Look

Browse the new displays in the entire museum!

 

CUSTER COUNTY MUSEUM

445 S. 9th Street • Broken Bow, NE

Summer Hours: Mon - Sat • 10 am - 5 pm

308-872-2203        CusterCountyMuseum.com

 

Open To The Public!

Jim McKee (Dec 17) Presentation on Nebr State Capital HIstory- Humanities Nebraska

Come to the Custer County Museum, Dec 17, 2017 at 1:30pm, to take in the History of the Nebraska State Capitol.

This will be a slide-illustrated program tells the story of Nebraska’s two territorial capitol buildings in Omaha and three state capitols in Lincoln.

Nebraska’s present capitol, built between 1922 and 1932, is discussed in detail from the design contest ultimately won by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, through its being named one of the ten most beautiful buildings in the world, one of the ten best built buildings in the world to one of the 50 most memorable works of architecture in the world.

NH speaker at Custer County Museum- Nov 19, 2017- STORYTELLER- Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History

This program is stories about women who left footprints on history by stepping out of place.

Consider Ann Eliza Young, Brigham Young’s 19th wife, who was instrumental in getting polygamy outlawed.

“Baby Doe” Tabor, sometimes called The Silver Queen.

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, the only female to be awarded our nation’s Medal of Honor.

Nebraska’s Tad Lucas, lady bronc rider, was the only person inducted into all three Cowboy Halls of Fame.

Nebraska also claims Susan LaFlesche Picotte, the first Native American woman to become a physician.

If you’ve never heard of Helga Estby, who walked across America in 1996, it’s probably because her achievements were hidden by her family. Her story segues into a discussion of Tillie Olsen’s views about ways that creative women are often silenced.

Speaker Lyn Messersmith is a third generation rancher in Cherry County Nebraska, newspaper columnist and free-lance writer who has earned her spurs and hung them up, but hasn’t sold her saddle or cows. Lyn hangs her hat at the home ranch as well as her husband’s home place in Sheridan County, and lives part time in her pickup, traveling with Deb Nolting to present writing workshops and historical programs for the Nebraska and South Dakota Humanities Councils. She doesn’t much care what else you say about her as long as it is something her mother would have liked to hear.

Dedication of TWO historical markers in Custer County Nebraska

Dedication of  two new Nebraska Historical Markers by the Custer County Historical Society, on Saturday, August 5, 2017.  These historical markers, in addition to the exhisting 530+ across the state, tell the sometimes forgotten stories of Nebraska’s history that are worth knowing. 

The first ceremony will be at 10:00 AM for the MITCHELL AND KETCHUM HOMESTEADS MARKER located six and one-half miles east of Westerville on Nebraska Highway 70 at Road 459.  The marker tells the 1878 story of a deadly showdown between settlers and cattlemen.  The homesteads of Luther Mitchell and Ami Ketchum were located a mile south of the marker.  Join us for more of the story, refreshments and the dedication.

The second ceremony will be at 3:00 PM for the ETNA MARKER located nineteen and one half miles south of Arnold near the intersection of Highway 47 and Drive 780. The historical community of Etna had a Post Office, general store, school and a telephone company.  Please join us for refreshments, Etna stories, and the dedication. 

We are grateful to the Nebraska State Historical Society, members of the Custer County Historical Society, and for the generosity of our marker fund donors.

Custer County Historical Museum 308-872-2203

2017 Pie & Ice Cream Social at CCHS

Our annual social is open to the public and is like a community business after hours. We would invite you to come in and see what is new at the Custer County Museum in Broken Bow Nebraska. We have wonderful pie of all sorts and sizes. You can get Ice Cream on top or on the side if you like.  We will have a donation jar to add to the funds for the front room updates.

Come in and browse the museum and see our new LED lighting, wow they sure brighten up the front room. This was made possible with donations and a very nice grant to update to save energy.

The Summer Travel Season

Summer is just around the corner now and travelers with be on the road to a new adventure.

Last summer Custer County Museum was a passport stop and our neighbor in one of the stops this 2017 season. Be sure to stop next door and see us again. Our hours are Monday to Friday 1 to 5 pm until Memorial Weekend and then we have change to our summer hours (Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm). We have a few new artifacts to check out.

Research can be done on your family genealogy that was in Custer County. We have an amazing research center here and is indexed and your history can be easily found.

Does your group need a community service project? We are a volunteer location for the Nebraska 150 impact. Check us out to see if your group can help out. We continue to scan items into the computer for archiving the many papers and we can use some help with this project.

Research your heart out in Custer County, Nebraska

We have bunches of information listed on our web page for researching your family in Custer County, Nebraska. Our research center has been used by all ages, from beginners to advanced. We have seen the college paper being worked here to just getting the answer to a community question.

You can search for history of a community or history of a business. You may also find some interesting story about your home.

With our electronic gadgets we can record almost anything for the preservation of history.

We are open year around and what a great way to spend time to yourself or with your family by looking into the past. What stories can you add to the archives here?

Experience the history of Custer County, NE.

Visit our museum →