It was the treeless plains of Nebraska that spawned the first Arbor Day in the 1800's. J Sterling Morton and his wife were nature lovers- the plains, lakes and rivers. When they moved from Detroit to the then rustic desolate state of Nebraska they started planting trees, shrubs and flowers in their yard.

Morton, who was also a journalist, became the editor of Nebraska's first newspaper and his used it to spread the agricultural information and his passion for trees. He not only promoted public tree planting but civic groups to pitch in as well. Morton's passion was to promote the state of Nebraska for immigration.

The lack of trees in the plains of America was a real detriment to this immigration. At that time the Great Plains of North America - both the United States and Canada had been described as the "Great American Desert." The tall grass prairie that covered much of Nebraska at that time could provide rich farmland, but the wood provided by native trees, house building as well as the fuel to heat homes, few found it convenient to settle there.

Immigration to the plains was to be from the eastern seaboard of the United States as well as from Europe. The draw to the European settlers was the promise of free land – if worked on by the settlers. The allotment of free land to settlers was known as “The Homestead Act”. The Homestead Act was copied in the Dominion of Canada as well in the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. His messages were well received. Morton was promoted secretary of the Nebraska Territory m which provided further opportunity to advocate the importance of trees.

On January 4, 1872, Morton first proposed a tree planting holiday to be called “Arbor Day” at a meeting of the State Board of Agriculture, and it was officially proclaimed by the governor on March 12, 1874. In 1885, Arbor Day was named a legal holiday in Nebraska and April 22, Morton's birthday was selected as the date for its first permanent observance.

The first celebrations were chronicled in the Nebraska City News as the city gathered for a massive parade and to hear Morton speak. Students from every grade at the local schools gathered to plant a tree, one for each classroom, to be cared for throughout the school year.

Arbor Day eventually spread nation across the United States nationwide in 1882. Arbor Day has spread as a celebration and a promoter of tree planting and conservation as well as the naturalist movement throughout the world touched and influenced other countries and cultures far beyond its humble Nebraska prairie roots.