Julius Sterling Morton, noted politician and together with Robert Furnas the co-founder of Arbor Day, was born in New York state and educated in Michigan. Morton and his bride, Carolyn Joy, set out for Nebraska territory on their wedding day in the fall of 1854. They soon settled in Nebraska City where he became the editor of the Nebraska News. His life-long interest in writing and publishing began in his grandfather's newspaper office in Michigan.
In the fall of 1855, 23-year old Morton was elected from Otoe County to the territory's 2nd Legislative Assembly and was re-elected in 1857. President James Buchanan appointed him secretary and acting governor of Nebraska Territory 1858-61. Morton was nominated for governor by the Democratic party in 1867 but was defeated by David Butler, who became the first state governor.
During the years between 1867-1882, Morton dropped out of politics and promoted agriculture. He served on the state board of agriculture and was a member of the state horticultural society, advocating improved farming methods, conservation programs, and tree planting.
The State Board of Agriculture, in 1872, adopted Morton's
resolution setting April 10 as Arbor Day. This day was to be set aside to plant trees, and to offer a prize to the person who properly planted the most trees. Governor Robert Furnas issued a proclamation in 1874 asking Nebraskans to observe Arbor Day. In 1885 Morton's birthday, April 22, was designated as Arbor Day by the state legislature, and it became a legal holiday in Nebraska. Arbor Day was observed on April 22 until 1989, when by legislative action the holiday was changed to the last Friday in April.
After several unsuccessful campaigns for governor and for the U.S. Senate between 1882 and 1893, Morton was appointed U.S. secretary of agriculture in 1893 by President Grover Cleveland. Morton was the first cabinet member appointed from west of the Missouri River.
Morton served four years as secretary of agriculture, then returned to Nebraska City where he published a weekly journal, The conservative. Arbor Lodge, the name given to MOrton's home west of Nebraska City, grew from a four-room farm house into a fifty-two-room mansion, surrounded by a large grove of trees.
Most of these trees were planted by Morton and his wife. In 1923 the Morton family donated the house and grounds to the State of Nebraska as a monument to Morton. Today Arbor Lodge is a state historical park. A bronze statue of Morton, cast by Rudulph Evans, and financed by school children and other friends, was erected in 1905.
Morton's statue stands in the National Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C. He was named to the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement in 1918. Morton was inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame in 1975. In 1987 he was made a member of the Agricultural Hall of Fame at Bonner Springs, Kansas. Morton was elected president of the Nebraska State Historical Society in 1891 and was serving in that office at the time of his death on April 27, 1902 at Lake Forest, Illinois.