Nebraska City, home of Arbor Day, is located in Southeast Nebraska on the banks of the Missouri River. When European settlers first arrived, trees were scarce. Amongst those early settlers were Julius Sterling Morton, age 22, and his young bride. They had moved to Nebraska from Michigan where trees were plentiful. Together, they purchased 160-acres on the edge of what would become Nebraska City. The industrious J. Sterling (as he was known) became the editor of a local newspaper and had various business interests. He became active in politics, eventually becoming acting governor of the Nebraska Territory. He was adept at developing strong social connections. His love of trees led him to plant hundreds of trees on his 160-acre estate. Not satisfied with that, he used his social and political connections to organize the first Arbor Day, April 10, 1872. For that first Arbor Day, one million trees were planted in Nebraska.
His estate was eventually donated to the state of Nebraska to become a state park. As you enter the park, the drive winds its way through hundreds of mature trees and lovely gardens. When you arrive at Morton's 52-room mansion, you are impressed. It greatly resembles the White House. You can take a tour of the home, carriage house and stroll the grounds. It is a lovely place to spend an afternoon.
A highway, a middle school and a college are all named in honor of J. Sterling Morton. The state of Nebraska even created a bronze statue of Morton to be placed in National Statuary Hall in 1937. J. Sterling Morton was a Democrat in the lead up to the Civil War. Since he edited a newspaper and was a politician, his racist pro-slavery views were well known. In 2023, the state of Nebraska wisely decided it would be better to have a statue honoring Nebraska author, Willa Cather, at the U.S. Capitol instead of Morton. However, a massive bronze statue of J. Sterling Morton is featured in a garden on the grounds of the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park. History is complicated, filled with good and bad deeds, sometimes within the same person, and that is what makes it so interesting.
Take a walk with Birkenstock.
