Seward, 4th of July City

The first celebration was small. On July 4, 1868, residents planted a flagpole in the middle of the public square, and the town's women made a banner of stars and stripes and raised it. Squire Ward, the town's justice, gave the oration to a crowd of about twenty, the entire population of the town, and the festivities ended at midday. Governor J. James Exon signed the state proclamation on March 27, 1973. On May 20, 1979, Senator Edward Zorinsky proclaimed Seward the National Fourth of July City, Small Town U.S.A.

What the plaque says

Seward, 4th of July City Since 1868, Seward has, with but few interruptions, sponsored a yearly 4th of July celebration which has gained national attention. This square, the original site of the festival, is today its focal point. Special trains once brought revelers here on the Fourth; today tens of thousands arrive by auto. With community young people having provided impetus for the celebration, Governor Exon in 1973 designated Seward "Nebraska's Official 4th of July City." In 1976 American Revolution Bicentennial officials cited Seward for its patriotic observances. Named Greene in 1858, this county was re-christened in 1862 for Civil War Secretary of State William H. Seward. Platted in 1868, the city of Seward became the county seat in 1871. It is located at the con- fluence of the Big Blue River, Plum Creek, and Lincoln Creek. The Neo-classical Revival Courthouse was built in 1905 under supervision of architect George Berlinghof. Eastern farmers first settled the area, but beginning in the 1870's the population became infused with German and Czech elements. The fertile countryside is a diversified farming and livestock feeding area. Concordia Teachers College was established in Seward in 1894. City of Seward Seward 4th of July Committee Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Nebraska State Capitol — 22 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

• Plum Creek Prairie Historic Site — 0.7 mi
• The Big Blue River — 6.3 mi
• Standing Bear and the Ponca Tribe — 6.3 mi
• Tall Grass Prairie — 6.9 mi