We’ve all seen them as we travel around Omaha and the state: historical markers, those pithy plaques that provide a brief history lesson about the who, what, where, why, and when of something significant that occurred on that specific site.
Those markers, though, don’t always tell the whole story.
“The history of Nebraska is so rich and so complex, and we’re not seeing all of it represented,” said Autumn Langemeier, Historical Marker Programs Coordinator for History Nebraska.
She is righting that representation by traveling the state to update Nebraska’s historical marker signs. This undertaking is no small feat, as the organization currently has around 580 of them. The overarching goal is to represent Nebraska’s history better by encompassing lesser-recognized events and marginalized communities.
Spearheading History Nebraska’s Marker Equity Program, Langemeier has been busy with this project for a few years. “In December 2021, I did an informal audit of all the markers we have across the state,” she said. “I read through the text of every marker, and I gave categories to the topics that were discussed, like civil rights history, arts, sports, WWII history, and so on.”
Langemeier discovered that around 60% of the markers mention westward expansion as the main topic, while only 4% are related to the arts and 3% are related to sports. For Langemeier, this begged the question: “What are we not covering?”
David Bristow, Director of Interpretation at History Nebraska and Editor for Nebraska History Magazine, said, “The state Historical Marker Program has been going since the early 1960s, and it’s one of the most popular things that we do.”
“This is a pretty new project, so it’s still a work in progress,” Langemeier added. “We’re working on developing a couple markers for the Latino community and the Japanese community, for example. By excluding information about them, we’re missing huge swaths of Nebraska history. Not to say that the ones that exist already are not important, but we are missing some of that wonderful depth.”
After Langemeier’s audit, the realization of large gaps in the markers came to light. “Some parts of central and western Nebraska aren’t as well represented,” Bristow commented. “It’s called the ‘Marker Equity Project,’ but ‘equity’ means a lot of different things in this case: groups, geography, time periods, and so on. The idea is that all Nebraskans will be able to look at these markers and find their own history there.”
One new marker that will be added, for example, will tell the story of Charles Jackson French, a name unknown to a lot of Nebraskans. A Black man who lived in Omaha, French joined the United States Navy shortly after the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor. Assigned to the USS Gregory destroyer, French served as a mess attendant, one of the only positions available to Black men at the time, since the military still enforced racial segregation. Japanese destroyers attacked the Gregory, and in an unexpected heroic feat, French saved the lives of over a dozen Navy soldiers by swimming through dark, shark-infested waters, pulling a raft of injured men through the dead of night.
This story tells a multifaceted tale that includes both military history and civil rights history, deftly merging the two. The marker dedicated to Charles French will be placed close to the Benson post office located near 62nd and Maple streets, which was renamed in his honor in September 2022. The timing for this marker is apt. In January, the U.S. Navy also announced that an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer will be named after French. The ship’s construction will commence in 2026, with a 2031 delivery date.
The program also aims to update existing markers to improve readability and ensure accuracy. One example includes a marker currently titled “TONWANTONGA,” regarding a village of the native Omaha Tribe who lived in the area in the late 1700s. History Nebraska recently posted a photo of this marker on its website and social media as part of its “Marker Mondays” initiative. The post grabbed the attention of representatives of the Native American community, because the village name is incorrectly spelled and does not feature the superscript in the native language. The marker will accordingly be updated to include the correct spelling: “Tonwongthon Tonga.”
This is just one meaningful representation of a revision that Langemeier is making. “There are several [markers] related to Native American history without interpretation from the respective tribes; we’re just allowing those communities to share their own history from their perspectives,” she said.
In terms of how History Nebraska determines adding new markers, Langemeier said of the process: “I’ve been taking a community-guided approach. I put together a FAQ packet that can be found on our website, where people can apply for a marker. For each application round, I pick four or five categories from my list of themes [that] we didn’t see a lot of, and I ask for stories specifically in those categories. We want communities to have power over their own history and drive what they want to see out there.”
For his part, Bristow ensures the new markers will be shared on History Nebraska’s social media platforms and their website to keep the public up-to-date as the project moves forward.
Langemeier encourages Nebraskans to get involved with this project and the Historical Marker Program in general. A great opportunity to learn more about the state’s history is through The Nebraska History Museum, which will host a summer workshop that runs June 1 through August 31. Called “Mystery in the Museum: Historic Markers,” the breakout box challenge invites participants to answer questions and solve puzzles related to historical markers.
To learn more about Nebraska’s Marker Equity Program and History Nebraska, visit history.nebraska.gov.
This article originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
