Nebraska has been great since the beginning of time – we all agree on that, right? These vintage photos take us back to times long gone – from hardscrabble pioneer life to the major changes that took place in the mid-20th century.

A Family in Front of Their Sod House (Complete With a Windmill on the Roof of an Outbuilding), Coburg, 1884 or 85
Library of Congress
A Hay Bale House in Lexington, 1938
Library of Congress
An Eli Windmill on George Stuckenolz's Farm, Near Nebraska City, Date Unknown
Library of Congress
A Group Posing in Front of the Holland and McDonald Hardware Store, Broken Bow, 1886
Library of Congress
A War Veteran Selling Pencils in Omaha, 1938
Library of Congress
Directors of the Union Pacific Railroad Standing at the 100th Meridian, Later to Become Cozad, 1866
Wikimedia
St. Benedict's Catholic Church, Nebraska City, 1934
Wikimedia
A Storage Cave in Falls City Farmsteads, 1936
Library of Congress
"Photographing the Baby in a Sioux Village," Rushville, 1908
Library of Congress
A Barber in Front of His Shop, Omaha, 1938
flickr/pingnews.com
A Home Made of Old Freight Cars, Box Butte County, 1936
Library of Congress
Cars Parked on an Omaha Street, 1938
Wikimedia
Kids Holding Sugar Beets on a Farm in Hall County, 1940
Wikimedia
Chimney Rock in 1904
Wikimedia
Homesteaders With Their Covered Wagon During the Great Western Migration, Loup Valley, 1866
Wikimedia

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Cyclone in Alliance, August 4, 1911
Library of Congress
Main Street in Mitchell, 1910
Wikimedia
Eagle Fruit Store and Capital Hotel, Lincoln, 1942
Wikimedia
Emmanual Lutheran Church, Dakota City, 1934
Wikimedia
Workers Breaking Concrete on the North Platte Project, Bayard, 1940
Wikimedia
First Street in Hastings, Circa 1944
Wikimedia
Frederic Shreyer's Sod House, Custer County, 1880s
Wikimedia
Gustav Rohrich's Sod House, Bellwood, 1934
Wikimedia
A Lincoln Street in 1942
Wikimedia
A Little Girl Carrying Her Father's Lunch Box in South Omaha, 1938
Wikimedia
The Destruction After the 1913 Tornado, Omaha
Wikimedia
Children Going Into Their One-Room Schoolhouse in Seward County, 1938
Library of Congress
"Old Reynor Sod House," Custer County, 1904
Wikimedia
A Crowd of People Running to Meet Taft on His Campaign Tour, De Witt, 1908
Library of Congress
Scotts Bluff, Circa 1899
Library of Congress

These vintage photographs provide a whole new look at life in Nebraska going way back to the early days of photography. Some readers might even recognize some of the more recent scenes. How did you like this glimpse into the past? Let us know in the comments!

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