The Big Blue River

Downstream, the river leaves Nebraska. The Big Blue runs about 359 miles from central Nebraska into Kansas, past Seward, Crete and Beatrice, and ends as the largest tributary of the Kansas River at Manhattan. Its name comes from the Kanza, who lived at its mouth from 1780 to 1830 and called it the Great Blue Earth River. Just above Manhattan it fills Tuttle Creek Lake, a flood-control reservoir. Under an agreement between the two states, Nebraska may use the water freely except from May 1 to September 30, when a variable flow must pass into Kansas.

What the plaque says

The Big Blue River Except for the occasional Indian or white hunting parties, the scenic valley of the Big Blue River was seldom visited prior to 1860. The establishment of the Nebraska City-Fort Kearny Cutoff in 1861 brought through the region thousands of overland freighting outfits, which crossed the river several miles south of here. Road Ranches were soon established along the trail, and scattered settlement began shortly thereafter. The Big Blue River played an important role in the history of the area and provided the necessary power for numerous water mills used in grinding grain for pioneer farmers. In the early years of the 20th Century, its waters provided energy for the first primitive electric plants. While spring floods are common in the area damage is usually minimal due in part to the limited drainage of the river. This pleasant, rural valley is only twenty miles west of Lincoln, the state capital of Nebraska. Those traveling east will soon see Nebraska's Capitol, the "Tower of the Plains," designed by Bertram Goodhue and recognized as one of the architectural masterpieces of the world. Little more than a cluster of homes on the prairie when chosen as the state capital in 1867, Lincoln has developed into a major Nebraska cultural and population center. Department of Roads Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Nebraska State Capitol — 19 mi
  Bertram Goodhue's 400-foot tower on the prairie, built in four phases from 1922 to 1932 and paid off on completion, home of the only one-house legislature in the country.

More markers nearby

• Standing Bear and the Ponca Tribe — steps away
• Tall Grass Prairie — 5.8 mi
• Plum Creek Prairie Historic Site — 5.8 mi
• Seward, 4th of July City — 6.3 mi