From the Childhood Home of Wright Morris
The Lone Tree Literary Society is dedicated to preserving the childhood impression of novelist-photographer Wright Morris. To achieve this aim we seek to preserve and restore segments of the Platte Valley landscape which were imprinted on Wright Morris as a young child. The acquisition and restoration of the Wright Morris Boyhood Home, the Cahow Barbershop, and the Patterson Law Office are the primary focus of the society.
Who Is Wright Morris
Wright Morris was born January 6, 1910 at Central City, Nebraska to Will and Grace Osborne Morris, and spent the first nine years of his boyhood in this community.
Six days after his birth his mother died and was buried in the Chapman Cemetery beside a son and her own mother. Will Morris was employed by the Union Pacific Railroad as a depot agent. He eventually left his job and drifted from one disastrous entrepreneurial idea to another. By the time he was nine years old, Wright Morris, an observant, inquisitive boy, and his listless father would move on to Omaha and ultimately, Chicago where the younger Morris would reach his manhood.
However, the author’s impressions were shaped by the community he observed in those formative boyhood years. Many people and places that appear in his works have their origins in Central City and the surrounding area.
Wright Morris is regarded as one of America’s most gifted novelists and photographers. Internationally recognized, he received the National Book Award in 1957 for The Field of Vision and the American Book Award in 1981 for Plains Song. With other thirty books and numerous short stories to his credit. Morris has utilized the Nebraska and his plains boyhood as themes numerous times. Books by Morris include The Inhabitants, The Home Place, God’s Country and My People, Will’s Boy, The Man Who Was There, The Works of Love, Ceremony in Lone Tree, Fire Sermon and A Life.
Wright Morris died April 25, 1998 at the age of 88 years. He is buried in the Chapman Cemetery.
The Buildings That Made Wright Morris
Boyhood Home
The Wright Morris Boyhood Home at 304 D was the residence of Will Morris and his son for five years before they moved to Omaha in 1919.
Barber Shop
The Cahow Barbershop is on the south side of Main Street in Chapman, Nebraska, and has been restored. It was through this barbershop window that William Henry Morris first laid eyes on the beautiful Grace Osborn.
Law Office
The Lone Literary Society occupies the former John Patterson Law Office at 1517 18th Street. It was built in 1872, and it is the Resource and Archives Center for the Society.
Wright Morris Image Galleries
Wright Morris’ Images
Wright Morris combined the art forms of writing and photography to build the world he wanted his readers to see in his books. The use of black & white photography and the simple subject matter combine to form powerful images of life on the Great Plains. Experience some of his seminal works along with the writing that furthers the power of his photographic images.
Location Images
Take a tour of the places in Central Nebraska that made Wright Morris who he was. This gallery features photos from many of the historic places in and around Central City, NE, where Wright Morris grew up.