The Spirit of Nebraska’s Wilderness and Pioneer Courage Park was built as a tribute to the people who settled Nebraska and the west. According to the pamphlet, it is an homage to the bravery, courage and entrepreneurial spirit that defined a generation and left an indelible impact on the American character.
Combined the two parks contain more than 130 individual pieces integrated within a six block area. The sculptures are more than 1.25 times life size with the size intended to make them both approachable and heroic. It depicts a wagon train departing while startling buffalo and a flock of geese in the process.
In order to make them, the sculptures started out as clay models and enlarged using a computer before going through a series of steps involving foam, clay and wax before being turned to bronze. Since bronze alone couldn’t withstand the weight, the pieces required a stainless steel infrastructure.
Visitors are meant to interact with the sculptures and are encouraged to walk alongside them in order to envision what life must have been like as the pioneers journeyed across the country. It was a collaboration between Utah sculptors Blair Buswell and Edward Fraughton. Meanwhile sculptor Ken Ullberg’s Spirit of Nebraska’s Wilderness recreates that experience and the impact of Western expansion on its tranquil setting.
Located in downtown Omaha between 14th and 17th Streets and from Dodge Street to Capitol Avenue. The park was commissioned by First National Bank and is the largest installation of bronze and stainless steel works of art in the U.S. and among the largest in the world.
The first phase of the project was completed in 2002 with new pieces being added periodically. This includes a frontiersman asking three Native Americans for directions in 2019 and most recently in 2021 a Mormon family transporting their belongings using a pushcart rather than a wagon. Many of the Mormons heading west didn’t have mules or oxen so they resorted to pushcarts and similar items.
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