The rich and diverse history and heritage of the state of Nebraska as told through its often secluded historical monuments and markers is the subject of a Kearney Public Library presentation for Tuesday, December 7, at 7:00 p.m. This presentation is made possible by Humanities Nebraska, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and Kearney Public Library as part of the HN Speakers Bureau. It is free and open to the public.
Marking Nebraska: Our (Mostly) Hidden Historical Monuments by historian Jeff Barnes is a review of the state’s earliest historical markers, from setting its borders to marking its trails to honoring its people. Drawing from his site visits and photographs collected from across the state, Barnes shares some of the more interesting, colorful, and even controversial ways Nebraskans told their stories through boulders, tablets, plaques, and statues.
The presentation is in conjunction with Barnes’s book, Cut in Stone, Cast in Bronze: Nebraska’s Historical Markers and Monuments, a recent winner of the Nebraska Book Award for nonfiction. Sponsored by the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation, the book is a full-color, comprehensive guide to the nearly 300 monuments, statues, markers, and plaques erected and placed across the state from Territorihood to the 1967 Centennial in commemoration of historical events, places, and people. In addition to the photographs of the markers and the history behind them, Barnes has included the locations and GPS coordinates to allow for site visits.
Kearney Public Library is located at 2020 1st Avenue, Kearney, NE.