Nebraska

The farmer adjusted the brim of his cap, pointing toward the faded blue and white farmhouse nestled atop of the hill. "Rose and Arnold first moved here from Lincoln. In 1913, a tornado completely levelled their first home. Rose never much cared for the area and had been homesick since she left her family home. Arnold went back to Lincoln, measured her parent's house inch by inch, and then built an exact replica for her on the hill, making sure she was comfortable in her new home.'? The porch swing groaned in the breeze. Even though Rose and Arnold have long passed, their farm remains. Home is where you feel safe enough to reveal your true self. Everything begins and ends in the home; it's where you raise your children and grow old with your spouse. Like the families who deserted them, each home has a tale to tell and they are all unique. Every loss and triumph is absorbed within the splintered walls. Their gaping windows stare across the countryside searching for their lost residents. Trish Eklund's personal experiences and the stories of those associated with the locations accompany the author's enchanting images.

I remember when … the three words surface as a splintered, sun-bleached farmhouse looms on the horizon. I remember when the light poured from the vacant windows, and a tractor rumbled through the fields. I remember when the house was full of life. These are the words uttered by the souls who once lived and worked in abandoned communities and homesteads, places that once pulsed with laughter. Though the people have moved on, the remnants of their lives remain, left for us to wonder what once was.

The Nebraska countryside is rich with history, from the dilapidated houses near the Fort Robinson area where Crazy Horse was killed, to the near deserted village, Monowi--population of one. Abandoned Nebraska: Echoes of Our Past is a photographic adventure through the hauntingly beautiful neglected places of Nebraska, including schools, asylums, colleges, factories, churches, countless farmhouses, and even entire towns. Trish Eklund's personal experiences with the places, and stories of those associated with them, accompany the author's enchanting images.

If you have ever driven past an old farmstead or building and wondered why it was left to waste away, then you know the rush abandoned explorers get with every new place they come across. That intrigue never really goes away; in fact, it can grow into an obsession of capturing the memories that once were.

Nicole Renaud has wandered all over Eastern Nebraska to capture the best parts of the weathered, decayed, and crumbling buildings that hold memories for many, such as Prairie Peace Park, Devils Nest ski resort, and a massive slaughterhouse. Eastern Nebraska is also filled with schools, churches, factories, countless homesteads, and entire towns that have been forgotten.