The Sandhills

The rarest thing in these hills grows where the grass fails. Blowout penstemon lives on the bare, wind-scooped craters called blowouts, a pioneer that holds the moving sand before grass returns. Ferdinand Hayden collected it in 1857; a Harvard curator described it in 1891. It was thought extinct by 1940 and found again in 1968. As ranchers controlled fire and changed grazing, the blowouts healed over, and in 1987 it was listed as endangered, Nebraska's only federally endangered plant. Its blue to purple flowers open in June and July with a scent likened to white chocolate.

What the plaque says

The Sandhills The Sandhills, Nebraska's most unique physio- graphic feature, cover about one-fourth of the state. The sandy soil acts like a giant sponge, soaking up rain and forming a vast underground reservoir. Hundreds of permanent lakes are found here. However, the same sandy soil makes the area un- suitable for cultivation. Grasses flourish, making the Sandhills ideal cattle country. Although the Sandhills were long considered "an irreclaimable desert," cattlemen had begun to dis- cover the Sandhills' potential as range land by the early 1870's. Huge ranches were established here. Unsuccessful attempts at farming were made in the Sandhills region in the late 1870's and again around 1890. The Kinkaid Act of 1904 allowed home- steaders to claim a full section of land, rather than the quarter-section previously allowed. Nearly nine million acres were successfully claimed by "Kinkaiders" between 1910 and 1917. Some of the Kinkaiders attempted to farm, but most of these attempts failed. Many of the largest ranches broke up about the same time due to regulations against fencing federal range. Today the Sandhills contain many ranches, but none so large as those of the past. Historical Land Mark Council

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Nebraska National Forest, Bessey Ranger District — 13 mi
  A pine forest planted by hand on the Sandhills from 1902 to prove a botanist's theory, still raising seedlings at its nursery and still recovering from the Bovee Fire of 2022.

More markers nearby

• The Haumann Sisters: Lost in the Sandhills — 1.9 mi
• Village of Halsey — 15 mi