One morning after a night of one too many drinks, I gave in and passed my then 2-year-old daughter my phone to watch cartoons while I slept it off. When I woke up, Peppa Pig was nowhere to be found, but my kid had somehow managed to purchase a vintage Nebraska Territory map online. Well played, eBay one-click Buy It Now.

The previous night, I had rabbit-holed into the world of Nebraska yesteryear — and I don’t mean the Tom Osborne era. I was marveling at how big Nebraska used to be.

Established by Congress in 1854, the Nebraska Territory extended from the present-day state’s southeastern tip all the way to what is now the Idaho/Canada border in the northwest, the middle of North Dakota in the northeast, and to nearly the southwest corner of Wyoming. While sipping my amaro that night, I

See Full Page