Archeological survey of 1860s Nebraska homestead is underway

STANTON COUNTY, Neb. (KTIV) – Archeologists with the Nebraska State Historical Society are digging at the site of an 1860s Stanton County homestead.

The Sharp Homestead, located near Pilger at the intersection of Nebraska Highway 15 and U.S. Highway 275, started Nov. 21, 1865, when Charles F. Sharp submitted a homestead application to the Nebraska Land Office in Nebraska City.

Sharp built a 16-by-24-foot, one-and-a-half-story, three-room house by 1872. It also contained a stable, a granary and a cellar below the house.

The 2014 Pilger tornado uncovered historical artifacts at the site, which led to further investigation. Architectural debris like brick, metal hinges and glass were later discovered.

Additionally, items like stoneware and flatware, a set of pliers, an old horseshoe and other unidentifiable metal items were found.

Nolan Johnson, an archeologist with the Nebraska State Historical Society, has been working on the Sharp Homestead project since 2016.

Johnson said the Sharp Homestead is a significant site due to its age and could help scientists understand the evolution of farming practices in Nebraska.

“The archival record from the 1860s-1880s is scant and archeology is an important tool for filling in those gaps in our understanding of how people lived in Nebraska in the past,” said Johnson.

Over the next six to eight weeks, four state archeologists and two technicians will excavate several one-meter square grids by hand to recover artifacts and hopefully find evidence of building foundations.

Most of the recovered artifacts will be collected for cleaning, processing, analysis and storage at the State Archeology Office in Lincoln.

A comprehensive project report will be released detailing the excavations and providing results of the team’s findings once the analysis is complete.

The historical society is working with the Nebraska Department of Transportation to make way for a 10-mile expansion of U.S. Highway 275 from Norfolk to Omaha Expressway.

The expressway is planned to be expanded from two lanes to four lanes beginning 8.5 miles east of Norfolk and extending to the intersection of Nebraska Highway 15 and U.S. Highway 275.

The Sharp Homestead archeological work is the largest project the Nebraska State Historical Society and the Nebraska Department of Transportation have partnered on in more than 20 years.

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