The Nebraska State Historical Society was founded under the leadership of former governor Robert W. Furnas in 1878 to "encourage historical research and inquiry, spread historical information . . . and to embrace alike aboriginal and modern history." It became an official state institution in 1883 and then a state agency in 1994. The society’s current headquarters, located in the city campus of University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was designed by Lincoln architect Ellery Davis and was opened in 1953. The building is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The following inscription can be found in the entrance of the building:

THE SPIRIT OF A PEOPLE LIVES IN ITS HISTORY
HERE OPEN TO ALL IS THE HISTORY OF THIS PEOPLE