History Nebraska is an agency whose mission is to collect and preserve pieces of the past. Despite its location in Lincoln, the historic archives are now being shared nationwide.

"It means that more people can also use it because in the past, the archives, you'd have to come to Lincoln to look at them," History Nebraska Digital Archivist Lindsey Hillgartner said.

Since its rebranding in 2018, the agency is taking history to the web. Hillgartner stresses the importance of the platform. 

"As we've digitized these things, we're allowing people across the state and the country to really understand what kind of history we have here."

Recently, History Nebraska has uploaded maps made in the 1800s.

"As you're going through these maps one by one, you do notice things, here and there," Nebraska State Surveyor Casey Sherlock said. "I know on several occasions I was like, 'what is that little town, I've never heard of that?'."

Though the online archives can be accessed quickly, the digitizing process takes time.

"If you can imagine we had about 100 boxes," Sherlock said. "So I just sat there at the computer and I'd probably do five boxes a week. I guess it probably took me 20 weeks maybe."

Not only is History Nebraska able to share the state’s organs, but also helps people find their own.

"Anybody that has genealogy research that comes back to Nebraska, can certainly look at these and see where in the section or where in the township that their family settled," said Sherlock.

The agency is also digitizing old newspapers, Hillgartner says it’s one of her favorite projects:

"I think they just provide so much information about everyday life in Nebraska. I think they're the most interesting."