When settlers arrived in Nebraska in the 1800s, they found a vast prairie with almost no trees. The Great Plains stretched for hundreds of miles with only grass and wildflowers. Without trees, farmers had no wood to build fences, barns, or fuel for cooking. Wind swept across the flat land with nothing to slow it down. J. Sterling Morton, a newspaper editor who had moved to Nebraska from Michigan, believed trees could transform the landscape. He proposed a holiday dedicated to planting trees. On April 10, 1872, Nebraskans planted an estimated one million trees in a single day. The idea spread quickly. By 1882, Nebraska had made Arbor Day an official state holiday. Other states followed, and by 1920, more than forty-five states celebrated it. Trees changed Nebraska's geography in real, measurable ways. They blocked wind, reducing soil erosion during storms. Their roots held moisture in the ground. Rows of trees planted along farm fields, called windbreaks, protected crops from drying out. Nebraska earned the nickname "The Tree Planter's State." Today, over fifty countries celebrate Arbor Day.