On March 1st of each year, The Corn Husker State gains recognition for its wide-open spaces and scenic byways.

Nebraska, which was admitted to the union as the 37th state on March 1, 1867, two years after the end of the American Civil War, contains some of the nation’s best ranchland and farmland.

Nebraska joined the union as the 37th state on March 1, 1867. Pioneers migrating westward along the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails would mark on their journey by the sights they could recognize along the way. One such landmark was Scotts Bluff.

“A Pioneer should have imagination, should be able to enjoy the idea of things more than the things themselves.” ~ Willa Cather, O Pioneers!

Those who put down roots in Nebraska likely homesteaded thanks to the Homestead Act of 1862.  Nebraska’s landscape contributes significantly to the ranching and farming industry still today.

Here are some interesting facts about the great state of Nebraska.

1. Nebraska was once called “The Great American Desert”.
2. The state insect is the honeybee.
3. State motto: Equality before the law.
4. In 1927, Edwin E. Perkins of Hastings invented the powered soft drink Kool-Aid.
5. J. Sterling Morton founded Arbor Day in Nebraska City in 1872.
6. Spam (the canned meat) is produced in Fremont.
7. The state nickname used to be the “Tree Planter’s State”, but was changed in 1945 to the “Cornhusker State”.
8. The goldenrod was declared the state flower on April 4, 1895.
9. The Naval Ammunition Depot located in Hastings was the largest U.S. ammunition plant providing 40% of WWII’s ammunition.
10. The Lied Jungle located in Omaha is the world’s largest indoor rain forest.
11. Nebraska is the birthplace of the Reuben sandwich.
12. Nebraska has the U.S.’s largest aquifer (underground lake/water supply), the Ogalala aquifer.
13. Nebraska has more miles of river than any other state.
14. The Union Pacific’s Bailey Yards, in North Platte, is the largest rail classification complex in the world.
15. Nebraska is the only state in the union with a unicameral (one house) legislature.
16. Nebraska was the first state to complete its segment of the nation’s mainline interstate system, a 455 mile stretch of a four-lane highway.
17. Nebraska is both the nation’s largest producer and user of center pivot irrigation.
18. Nebraska’s Chimney rock was the most often mentioned landmark in journal entries by travelers on the Oregon Trail.
19. The 911 system of emergency communications, now used nationwide, was developed and first used in Lincoln, Nebraska.
20. Nebraska has more underground water reserves than any other state in the continental U.S.
21. Marlon Brando’s mother gave Henry Fonda acting lessons at the Omaha Community Playhouse.
22. Lincoln County is the origin of the world’s largest “Wolly Mammoth” elephant fossil.
23. Weeping Water is the nation’s largest limestone deposit and producer.
24. Mutual of Omaha Corporate headquarters is a public building built with 7 floors underground.
25. The Nebraska Cornhuskers have been to a record 27 consecutive bowl games and 27 consecutive winning seasons
26. The University of Nebraska Cornhusker football team has produced more Academic All-Americans than any other Division I school.
27. In Blue Hill, Nebraska, no female wearing a ‘hat that would scare a timid person can be seen eating onions in public.
28. The world’s first college course about radio personality Rush Limbaugh is taught at Bellevue University in Nebraska.
29. Origin of Nebraska’s Name: From an Oto Indian word meaning flat water
30. Nebraska’s Motto: Equality Before the Law
31. Nebraska’s State Gem is the Blue Agate
32. The largest porch swing in the world is located in Hebron, Nebraska and it can seat 25 adults.
33. The world’s largest hand-planted forest is Halsey National Forrest near Thedford, Nebraska
34. The world’s only museum dedicated to Fur Trading is located at Fort Atkinson near Blair.
35. The famous architect, Edward Durrell Stone, designed the Stuhr Museum near Grand Island, Nebraska.
36. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln weight room is the largest in the country. It covers three-fourths of an acre
37. Chevyland USA near Elm Creek, Nebraska is the only museum dedicated to a single line of cars.
38. The largest Kolache Festival in the world is located in Prague, Nebraska
39. Cozad, Nebraska is located on the 100th Meridian where the humid east meets the arid west.
40. In Nebraska in 1986 for the first time, ever two women ran against each other for the governorship of a state.
41. The cost of the Nebraska Capitol building was $ 9,800,440.07 in 1932. The construction job came in under budget and the building was paid for by the time it was completed.
42. Dr. Harold Edgerton of Aurora, Nebraska is the inventor of the strobe light.
43. Kearney, Nebraska is located exactly between Boston and San Francisco.
44. Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska in 1917.
45. Union Pacific Railroad’s museum is headquartered in Nebraska.
46. Buffalo Bill Cody held his first rodeo in North Platte, Nebraska July 4, 1882.
47. In 1950, Omaha became the home of the College World Series.
48. There are five army forts open to the public in Nebraska: Atkinson, Kearny, Hartsuff, Sidney, and Robinson.
49. Sidney, Nebraska was the starting point of the Black Hills Gold Rush.
50. Antelope and Buffalo are counties in Nebraska named after animals.