36 Nebraskaland • April 2022
ebraskans participated eagerly in the bicycle craze of
the 1890s, which began when the new "Safety" bicycle
became widely available.
Why was it called this? With a chain drive and two
wheels of equal size, the new bicycles kept the rider close to
the ground, no longer perched atop the high-wheel bicycles
of the 1870s and 1880s.
The high-wheel bicycle, shown below, was built by the
By David L. Bristow, History Nebraska
N
A resident of Osceola, Nebraska, owned this high-wheel
bicycle circa 1886-1895. History Nebraska 3197.
The bike has a kerosene lantern for riding after dark. Such
low placement better illuminated the road.
To modern bicyclists, the bike's leather seat looks familiar
but the handlebars seem odd.
From High-Wheel
to Safety
Bicycle
Right: Louise Pound with
her fi rst bicycle, circa
1895. Pound went on to
a noteworthy career as
a linguist and folklorist
at the University of
Nebraska. History
Nebraska RG909-10-6.
Far right: Louise Pound's
century pin. History
Nebraska 7134-30
