Nebraska Trivia & Tidbits - Page 13

Looking for Nebraska trivia? Try our list Nebraska little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

In the 1870s, the Burlington Railroad expanded westward from Crete (pop. 6,028), laying out towns every eight miles and naming them in alphabetical order: Dorchester, Exeter, Fairmont, Grafton, Harvard, Inland, Juniata, Kenesaw, and Lowell.

first appeared: 8/11/2002

A 70-mile stretch of the Niobrara River, east of Valentine (pop. 2,820), was designated a National Scenic River in 1991 because of its scenery and biological diversity.

first appeared: 8/4/2002

The area’s many acres of wild roses inspired the naming of Roseland (pop. 242) in 1875.

first appeared: 7/28/2002

Named after the Oglala Sioux Indian chief, the town of Red Cloud (pop. 1,131) was founded in 1871 on a homestead land claim filed by Silas Garber, who served as Nebraska governor from 1875 to 1879.

first appeared: 7/21/2002

The state’s smallest incorporated village is Monowi (pop. 2). Residents Elsie and Rudy Eiler own the only business, Monowi Tavern, where they post legal notices and hold town meetings. Rudy is chairman; Elsie is clerk-treasurer.

first appeared: 7/14/2002

Guide Rock (pop. 245) derived its name from its high rocky bluff, a landmark for pioneers, on the Republican River.

first appeared: 7/7/2002

The Cornhusker State is the nation’s second-largest cattle producer. Texas is first.

first appeared: 6/30/2002

Chimney Rock near Bayard (pop. 1,247) was a popular landmark for travelers on the California-Oregon Trail. The chimney-shaped rock rises 325 feet from the valley of the North Platte River.

first appeared: 6/23/2002

Two 1860s Pony Express stations still stand in Gothenburg (pop. 3,619). The city relocated one in 1931 to Ehmen Park, and the other is on private property along the Oregon Trail.

first appeared: 6/16/2002

Raynold Promes of Wynot (pop. 191) pulled the state’s record blue catfish—100 pounds, 8 ounces—from the Missouri River on Nov. 29, 1970.

first appeared: 6/9/2002

Built in 1908, The Little Church in Keystone (pop. 247) was the answer to prayers of all faiths. A Catholic altar is at the north end, a Protestant lectern at the south end, and reversible pews have hinged backs.

first appeared: 6/2/2002

Cozad (pop. 4,163) is situated on the 100th meridian, where the humid East meets the arid plains.

first appeared: 5/26/2002

Beatrice Foods was founded in Beatrice (pop. 12,496) in 1894 when George Haskell and William W. Bosworth purchased a small churn and began producing butter from milk provided by local farmers.

first appeared: 5/19/2002

At age 14, Johnny Carson appeared as “The Great Carsoni,” a magician-comedian, at the Rotary Club in his hometown of Norfolk (pop. 23,516).

first appeared: 5/12/2002

Measuring 140 feet, Nebraska’s tallest flagpole is in Legion Park and Living Memorial Gardens in Sidney (pop. 6,282).

first appeared: 5/5/2002

David Letterman claims Wahoo (pop. 3,942) as the “home office” of his late-night television show. Proud townspeople proclaim it, too, on a billboard.

first appeared: 4/28/2002

With a magnitude of 5.1 on the Richter scale, Nebraska’s most powerful earthquake cracked the Platte County Courthouse walls in nine places on Nov. 15, 1877.

first appeared: 4/21/2002

Though largely ceremonial in nature, the Great Navy of landlocked Nebraska has appointed thousands of admirals—including Johnny Carson, Gerald Ford, Bob Hope, Arnold Palmer, and Queen Elizabeth II—since the organization’s inception in the 1930s.

first appeared: 4/14/2002

Actor Henry J. Fonda was born in Grand Island on May 16, 1905. He starred in classic films such as The Grapes of Wrath and On Golden Pond.

first appeared: 4/7/2002

Eliza Suggs of Orleans (pop. 425) is believed to have been the first African-American woman to publish a book in Nebraska. In 1906, she published a 70-page history of her family, titled Shadow and Sunshine.

first appeared: 3/31/2002

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