Great Plains Welsh Heritage Centre, Wymore, Nebraska
+1 402-432-3656

COVID-19 INFORMATION: In compliance with state and CDC guidelines, the Welsh Heritage Centre is currently open BY PRIVATE APPOINTMENT ONLY if staff are available. Appropriate measures to ensure social distancing and personal protection will be taken. Please call 402-432-3656 for details. We look forward to reopening on our regular schedule (Sundays through Labor Day) once we are permitted.

Carreg Cennen Castle, with the Black Mountain escarpment behind How's that for some stunning fall color? #fridayfunfromwales

You are invited to join us for the virtual version of Pitt's Celtic Culture Celebration, from the comfort of your own home! We have a fantastic program lined-up..., featuring poetry, folk tales, puppetry, Welsh quilting handicraft, and a history chat from author Jane Blank. Please use the following link to register for the event, which will be live-streamed from 3:00-5:00 PM on Saturday, October 24: https://pitt.zoom.us/web/register/WN_2iVU83alQBGew8eDcDoSuA You can also register for the Irish and Scottish portions of the event using the following link:s: Irish: https://pitt.zoom.us/web/register/WN_AjhKqwP0T5inJQi_hc7E8w Scottish: https://pitt.zoom.us/web/register/WN_2E8NaufbRYy6VoYDgKJS1g

Swansea woman Jessie Donaldson who bravely fought slavery in America around 170 years ago is to be honoured by her home city. A blue plaque is to be put up outs...ide the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s (UWTSD) Dynevor building in the city centre to celebrate the actions of the campaigner. This blue plaque nomination was submitted to Swansea Council by Swansea cultural historian and UWTSD Professor of Practice Jen Wilson, founder of Jazz Heritage Wales which is based in the city’s Dylan Thomas Centre as part of UWTSD. Read more here https://www.uwtsd.ac.uk//anti-slavery-campaigner-to-be-hon

The Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington was opened October 9th 1888. Halfway up, there is a stone which was donated by the people of Wales. ... Its inscription reads; Fy Iaith, Fy Ngwlad, Fy Nghenedl. WALES. Cymry am byth. (My Language, My Country, My People. WALES. The Welsh Forever). The Washington Monument was built to commemorate George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and the first American president, who once declared "good Welshmen make good Americans". Construction of the monument, made of marble, granite and bluestone gneiss, began in 1848 and was completed in 1884. At the time, it became the world's tallest structure and it is still, both the world's tallest stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk. A unique feature of the Washington Monument is the 193 memorial stones that adorn the east and west interior walls of the monument. The Washington National Monument Society invited countries, states, cities and patriotic societies to contribute Memorial Stones. to pay tribute to the character and achievements of George Washington.

Following on from our last post, this bible in our archive was published in Welsh in London in 1717. If you are wondering why it was printed in Englandthe first permanent, legal printing press in Wales was not established until 1719.

We have quite a few Welsh bibles in our archive, many belonging to 19th-century immigrants and one dating to the early 18th century.

Did you know that we have microfilms of the Welsh-American newspaper Y Drych, starting in 1851, in our archive? With this and other resources we can assist you with genealogical or historical research and translation. As part of this year’s virtual North American Festival of Wales, here is an excellent discussion of the Welsh-American periodical press in the nineteenth century from Dr. Jerry Hunter of Bangor University. https://vimeo.com/452090229/97ad5625b9

Rowland Ellis (1650 19 September 1731) was a Welsh Quaker leader, who emigrated in 1686 to Pennsylvania. The town of Bryn Mawr there is named after his home f...arm near Dolgellau. Along with many inhabitants of Dolgellau, Jones became a Quaker following the visit of George Fox in 1657 and as a result of religious persecution after the English Civil War (16421651), many members of dissenting Christian groups emigrated. In 1688, Ellis briefly returned to Wales to set his affairs in order, but returned Pennsylvania and in 1700, was elected to represent Philadelphia in the provincial assembly.

A Welsh American you may not have heard of before.

Dydd Owain Glyndr Hapus! Today we commemorate the day in 1400 when Owain Glyndr was named Prince of Wales, leading a revolt against English rule and establishing Wales’ first parliament.

On Saturday 15th September 1984, a memorial stone was unveiled by a Prifardd (chaired or crowned bard) to mark the site in the churchyard at Talley where a deep...ly-rooted tradition asserts that the poet Dafydd ap Gwilym (c.1315 - c.1350) lies buried. However, for many centuries, the rival claims of Talley and Ystrad Fflur have been debated as his burial place. It is generally regarded that he was born at Brogynin, Penrhyn-coch (Llanbadarn Fawr parish), Ceredigion. He is regarded as one of Wales' foremost poets and was responsible for popularising the metre known as the 'cywydd'. His main themes were love and nature, with his work full of his own feelings and experiences and the troubadour poetry of Provençal, seen as a significant influence on his work. Around one hundred and seventy poems of his have survived, although many later ones are attributed to him.

Hey, Saturday, September 12 is the day we celebrate Elvis. No, not the King of Rock and Roll! This Elvis.

A fascinating video about a Welsh mining town in Australia.

We hope you enjoy this short lecture about the Welsh on the Great Plains and our organization. See more lectures as well as music and poetry at the North American Festival of Wales online. https://vimeo.com/452634449/440b54d8b6