USA > Nebraska > Adams County > Past and present of Adams County, Nebraska, Vol. I > Part 1
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DENLHLVU! 978.201 AD1BU v.1
Hattie Parmenter
from Mr. &Mrs. James Mc Relay
WILLIAM R. BURTON
PAST AND PRESENT OF
ADAMS COUNTY NEBRASKA
JUDGE WILLIAM R. BURTON SUPERVISING EDITOR
DAVID J. LEWIS ASSISTANT EDITOR
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME I
CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1916
1585317
FOREWORD
In presenting this history of Adams County I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to many who have kindly and competently assisted. To the supervising editor, Judge William R. Burton, I am indebted for frequent helpful suggestions as well as his own contribution, that portion of Chapter X that deals with the bench and the portion of Chapter XXI that deals with the homesteader and the homestead laws.
In Chapter XVIII are the contributions of Mrs. John II. Slaker and Mrs. William H. Fuller. Mrs. Slaker's contribution is a faith- ful and detailed record of the Woman's Club, an organization of ever growing importance in Hastings. Mrs. Slaker has also sketched the earlier cultural clubs of which it is the outgrowth. Mrs. Fuller has here preserved the record of Niobrara Chapter of the Daughters of The American Revolution.
Mr. A. H. Cramer's intimate acquaintance with early affairs and his clear recollections of them have proven of inestimable value in this compilation. If this volume shall in any measure enhance the appreci- ation of its readers of the community described, its growth and institu- tions, its possibilities, and of the men and women who have made it what it is. and will stimulate in them a desire to preserve the records of future developments- then the work shall not entirely have failed of its purpose.
DAVID J. LEWIS.
Hastings, Nebraska, December 15, 1916.
iii
NEBRASKALAND.
BY ADAM BREEDE.
Nebraskaland, Nebraskaland, The state of Sixty-Seven, No other place at man's command, Comes nearer being heav'n. It's rich beyond one's fondest dream, Has wealth beyond compare, There's untold gold in field and stream, There's wealth most anywhere.
Chorus
Nebraskaland, Nebraskaland, I love your waving fields; Nebraskaland, Nebraskaland I love your golden yields, It matters not where I may be, What foreign fields I roam, You'll always be most dear to me I love you, 'cause you're home.
How fertile are the fields today, What grandeur deeks the home, Where buffalo did sport and play, And red men free did roam. There's golden rod on hill and dale The flower of our state" In days gone by it marked the "trail," The pioneers relate.
The house of sod has had its day, It served its purpose well, Prosperity now holds full sway, As one can quickly tell. In education there's no flaw Nebraska's hard to beat. Equality before the law Deals justice that is meet.
No fairer skies in all the land, No softer zephyrs blow. No greener fields on ev'ry hand, Can any country show. That's why Nebraska stands out free, That's why I love her so And home to me 'twill always be, No matter where I go.
iv
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
GENERAL EARLY HISTORY. 1
CHAPTER II
14
ADAMS COUNTY SOILS AND CLIMATE.
CHAPTER III
26
ORGANIZATION
CHAPTER IV
COUNTY SEAT REMOVAL.
41
CHAPTER V
HASTINGS
60
CHAPTER VI .
HASTINGS AFTER COUNTY SEAT FIGHT.
77
CHAPTER VII
HASTINGS-MODERN DEVELOPMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
9.5
CHAPTER VIII
POLITICAL HISTORY 111
V
vi
CONTENTS CHAPTER IX
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 125
CHAPTER X
ADAMS COUNTY BENCH AND BAR 151
CHAPTER XI
NOTABLE ADAMS COUNTY TRIALS. 164
CHAPTER XII
PHYSICIANS AND VITAL STATISTICS. 187
CHAPTER XIII
BANKS AND BANKING. 198
CHAPTER XIV
FRATERNAL AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. 205
CHAPTER XV
G. A. R. ORGANIZATIONS. 238
CHAPTER XVI
SOME ADAMS COUNTY CHURCHES. 249
CHAPTER XVII
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND INSTITUTIONS. 273
CHAPTER XVIII
WOMEN'S CLUBS 288
CHAPTER XIX
BASEBALL AND ENTERTAINMENTS. 301
vii
CONTENTS CHAPTER XX
CHRONICLE OF COMPANIES K AND G. 316
CHAPTER XXI
THE HOMESTEADER-POPULATION AND STATISTICS. 326
CHAPTER XXII
RAILROADS AND NEWSPAPERS. 336
CHAPTER XXIII
INGLESIDE 345
CHAPTER XXIV
JUNIATA 351
CHAPTER XXV
KENESAW 366
CHAPTER XXVI
HOLSTEIN 383
CHAPTER XXVII
ADAMS COUNTY TOWNS 389
CHAPTER XXVIII
GREAT STORMS
408
CHAPTER XXIX
OREGON TRAIL AND LONE GRAVE.
415
CHAPTER XXX
THE ENTRYMEN
423
Past and Present of Adams County
CHAPTER I
GENERAL EARLY HISTORY
The history of the Adams County we know spans but a brief period of time, and is characterized by activities we can understand with a fair degree of comprehension. While the progress of develop- ment has been rapid and of a kind that may well awaken pride. yet it would seem abrupt and unconnected with the story of man were we not upon occasion to recall that this very territory upon which we stand has been linked with the destinies of men and nations beyond the sea; its fate indeed has hung upon the issues of battles and there- fore upon the cause of battles.
In common with the remainder of the soil embraced within the boundaries in Nebraska, Adams County was a portion of the Louisi- ana Territory and therefore was successively under the dominion of Spain and France. It was in the spring of 1541 that Ferdinand de Soto is said to have first seen the Mississippi River. He crossed the river far to the south of the latitude of Nebraska and carried his explorations northwestwards. That he penetrated the unknown country as far as Nebraska is doubtful; some writers, however, con- tend that he did. It is true that portions of old Spanish armor and equipment have been found within the state and this probably is the foundation for the belief that De Soto's expedition reached this state.
Whether or not this expedition reached Nebraska it is certain that it was fruitful of practically no result, else a definite impression would have been left upon the history of the region. By right of discovery, however, Spain laid claim to this territory, but it did nothing towards its development.
Vol. 1-1
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
In April, 1682, La Salle completed the exploration of the Missis- sippi River and at its mouth erected a column, inscribed: Louis le Grand, Roi de France et de Navarre." The Frenchman took pos- session of the territory through which he had passed for his country and named it Louisiana in honor of his king, under whose authority he carried on the exploration.
Unlike Spain nearly a century and a half previous, the govern- ment of France at once took steps to hold the vast territory added to her dominions by the explorations of La Salle. This territory, comprising about one million square miles, remained in the posses- sion of France until following the conclusion of the Seven Years' War in Europe, when Louisiana Territory was ceded to Spain. This was in 1762.
Spain's retention of the inland empire was short lived. By 1800 Napoleon Bonaparte at the head of the French army had placed the monarchies of Europe in danger, and in that year Spain was com- pelled to yield to the conqueror and the Louisiana Territory once more came into the possession of France.
Napoleon was fully alive to the value of the great American possession and actually began the fortifying of the mouth of the Mississippi. While as yet the Monroe Doctrine had not been pro- mulgated, yet the United States protested vigorously the action of Napoleon, foreseeing the endangering of the right of navigation of the river. The circumstances of Napoleon at that time were favor- able to his heeding the protest of the Jefferson administration. The conqueror's treasury was low and he undoubtedly sensed that the supe- riority of the English navy would eventually overcome the French sea forces, in which event the territory would become the property of England through conquest.
To avert this eventuality was desirable from Napoleon's point of view, hence the cession of the territory to the United States was negotiated with comparative ease. On April 30, 1803, the arrange- ments for the transfer were completed by the agents of the two coun- tries. The price paid by the United States for the important terri- tory was $11,250,000. In addition, by a separate convention. the United States agreed to pay a sum not to exceed, inclusive of interest, $3.750.000 which was owed by France to American citizens. Con- gress ratified the treaty, sealing the transaction between the two countries March 9, 1804. Bonaparte received in payment 6% bonds, payable fifteen years after date, and with the stipulation that he would not dispose of the bonds at a price degrading to the credit of the American Government.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
It is not without interest to note what distant events had to do with the disposition of the soil of Adams County, and to speculate what might have happened had settlements been otherwise than as they were. Napoleon might have failed to see the destruction of his sea power and the territory might have become a part of the English dominions. Another war with the British concerning this territory might have resulted, and inasmuch as the following period afforded times when England was unoccupied with continental enemies, she might have been able to contest this territory with greater vigor than that characterizing other contests with the United States. At any rate the territory of which Adams County formed a part passed through some momentous and precarious stages.
During this remote period of its history it may be recalled that the rulers of Adams County, in common with the great territory, bore strange names. Under France were the following viceroys:
Robert, Cavalier de La Salle 1682-1688
Marquis de Sanville 1689-1700
Bienville 1701-1712
Lamothe Cadillar 1713-1715
De L'Epinay
1716-1717
Bienville 1718-1723
Boisbriant
1724
Bienville
1732-1741
Baron de Kelerec
1753-1762
D'Abbadie 1763-1766
Under Spain are recorded the following semi-military governors:
Antonio de Ulloa 1767-1768
Alexander O'Reilly 1768-1769
Louis de Unzago 1770-1776
Bernardo de Galbez 1777-1784
Estevar Miro 1785-1787
Francisco Luis Hortu, Baron of Carondelet . 1789-1792
Gayoso de Lemos 1793-1798
Sebastian de Casa, Calvo y O'Farrel 1798-1799
Jean Manual de Salcedo. 1800-1803
Are they not queer sounding names to have had authority over the soil of Adams County?
As historians delve more deeply into the early history of the United States it is being discovered that the western plains figured
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
much more in the activities of the early explorers than was for a time realized. This information is being dug out from the lumber rooms of wealthy Spanish and French families. Letters, journals and reports found in the national libraries of Paris, Madrid and Mexico are revealing that the location and character of the region of which Adams County was a part was known with a fair degree of accuracy before settlements were made along the Atlantic coast.
In the library of St. Mary's College in Montreal only a few years ago was found a map executed by Father Marquette in 1673. Schol- ars who have examined it believe that the map is authentic. Upon this map Nebraska is delineated with remarkable accuracy. The general course of the Missouri is given to a point north of the north- ern boundary of Nebraska; the course of the Platte River is shown with but little deviation from accuracy and among the Indian tribes mentioned are Panasac Panas, Mahas and Otontantes, which differ but little from the Pawnees, Omahas and Otoes that we know.
Inasmuch as it is believed that Coronado in his march from Mexico to the Platte River entered Nebraska at a point somewhere between the western boundary of Gage County and the western boundary of Furnas County, it follows as a possibility of consider- able interest that he traversed Adams County. At all events the course of the cavalier's march on his quest for the land of Quivera was so near the county that there is strong relation of interest and the traditions rightfully belong to the region.
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado was appointed governor of a province of northern Mexico by the Spanish viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoco. He was born in Salamanca, Spain, and belonged to the aristocracy. His education was comprehensive, such as became a Spaniard of noble birth.
Although a well educated man Coronado was actuated to make the long journey from Mexico to the Platte River by reasons which seem in this day chimerical in the extreme, but which none the less enrich our history and yield a pleasing background of tradition. Coronado set out on the expedition early in the spring of 1540. His force was composed of 300 Spaniards and about eight hundred Indians. The object of the expedition was not exploration but the finding of the cities of Cibola-the seven cities of the buffalo, which were reported to exist far to the north and to be fabulously wealthy. Each of the seven cities was described as rivaling the City of Mexico in population and magnificence. In these cities gold and silver were said to be in such enormous quantities that the natives did not regard them highly, although whole streets blazed with the shops of gold-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
smiths and silversmiths who wrought the shining metals into orna- ments and utensils of common use.
The rumor of these cities had been brought first to the Spaniards by a Texas Indian, a slave of the governor of New Gallia preceding Coronado. In search of them Stephen the Moor had lost his life in Indian towns to the northward. Whether the Indian played upon the credulity of the Spaniards, knowing their love of gold, hoping to gain favors himself, or whether Indian towns visited in his youth had grown in his imagination can not be known. Coronado, at least, believed the story of the Indian and hoped to gain gold and honor through the discovery of the cities of Cibola.
It was not very long before it dawned upon the expedition that the wealth of the cities of Cibola was a dream. They concluded that it was very probable that the simple Indian villages they encountered from time to time were the foundation for the rumor of the wealthy and populous cities. Nevertheless they persisted with their inquiries among the natives. The latter desiring Coronado and his host to be well out of their country were not slow to tell of another province, where the population and wealth were great and the inhabitants peaceable. This land, according to the natives, lay 250 miles to the eastward and thither Coronado led his force. The territory he reached is now identified as the eastern portion of New Mexico, the region which had been previously visited by Stephen the Moor and where he was killed by the Indians who resented his treatment of them in return for the kindness with which they had received him.
Coronado and his forces were no more acceptable to the natives of these regions of New Mexico than had been Stephen the Moor, and it is believed by latter day students that the relating to Coronado by a native of a description of the great kingdom of Quivera was a ruse perpetrated to induce the Spaniards to move on. Although so many of the rumors had proven to be false, yet Coronado was impressed by the great minuteness with which the native described Quivera. The native said that he had visited this kingdom, which lay far to the northeast. The ruler of the kingdom was said to be the long bearded, gray haired Tatarrax who "took his noon day sleep in a garden of roses, under a huge spreading tree, to the branches of which were suspended innumerable golden bells, which sounded in exquisite harmony when shaken by the wind."
The description of the land of Quivera so minutely described by the native narrator convinced Coronado that there must be some foundation in fact. Accordingly, on May 5, 1541, the expedition crossed the Pecos River and after a short march emerged from the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
hills and came out upon the vast uncharted prairies occupying the area now known as Oklahoma and Kansas. In all probability, these were the first white men to look upon the vast extending western plains. They continued on their northeastward journey for about eight hundred miles, or until they came to a great river now believed to have been the Arkansas.
On this long journey the Indian who had told the Spanish cava- lier of the land of Quivera acted as guide. Long before the river was reached, however, Coronado had grown suspicious as to the truth- fulness of the narrative of the guide. It had been noticed that if bands of Indians encountered on the way had first been in conference with the guide, invariably they corroborated his story, but if they were seen first by other members of the party they appeared to know nothing of a kingdom to the eastward. Generally they spoke of a land to the northward.
By the time he reached the Arkansas Coronado had become con- vinced that he had been deceived by the Indian guide and he resolved to continue the journey north. The diminishing of the stock of pro- visions determined the explorer to turn back the greater number of his party toward the Pecos River. This was done and the northern journey across the Kansas prairies was begun with thirty mounted men and six foot soldiers. The small party crossed Kansas in July and eventually crossed the southern boundary of Nebraska. This was in 1541, in the same year that De Soto discovered the Mississippi.
Coronado spent twenty-five days exploring the land of Quivera. It has been noted by the students of these early days that the reports of this expedition made to the viceroy of Mexico tally so well with the descriptions of Nebraska that they might serve as a catalogue of the natural resources of the state. Other places far distant claim the distinction of having been the location of the land of Quivera, but the clains of Nebraska have been fairly well authenticated. In his report to the viceroy Coronado says: "I have reached the fortieth parallel of latitude." The flora and fauna described in the explorer's report correspond to those afterward found to be characteristic of Nebraska. One of the chroniclers of the expedition says: "Quivera is on the fortieth parallel of latitude. It is a temperate country and hath very good waters and much grass, plums, mulberries, nuts, melons and grapes, which ripen very well. There is no cotton and they apparel themselves with bison hides and deer skins."
It is on this expedition that the white man first became acquainted with the prairie dog and the buffalo. The buffalo were described as
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
"Oxen of the bigness and color of our bulls. They have a great bunch on their foreshoulders, and more hair on their fore part than on their hinder part, and it is like wool. They push with their horns, they run, they overtake and kill a horse when they are in their rage and anger."
It is pleasing to reflect sometimes that our Adams County is so closely related to the ancient kingdom of Quivera and the discoveries of the renowned cavalier Coronado. Our history is more ancient than we are prone to realize. Summing up the investigations that have been made of the records of Coronado, Hon. James W. Savage, when judge of the Third Judicial District, addressing the State His- torical Society on April 16, 1880, said: "I purpose to collect and present a few of the reasons we have for believing that, fourscore years before the Pilgrims landed on the venerable shores of Massa- chusetts; sixty-eight years before Hudson discovered the ancient and beautiful river which still bears his name; sixty-six years before John Smith, with his cockney colonists, sailed up a summer stream which they named after James the First of England, and commenced the settlement which was afterward to be Virginia; twenty-three years before Shakespeare was born, when Queen Elizabeth was a little girl, and Charles the Fifth sat upon the united throne of Germany and Spain, Nebraska was discovered; the peculiarities of her soil and climate noted, her fruits and productions described, and her inhab- itants and animals depicted."
The facts of Coronado's expeditions rest upon his own reports and have been brought into prominence through the compilation of Ternaux Compans. The account is independently corroborated in several works on Mexico and the Indians of the Southwest.
SURVEYS AND TOPOGRAPHY
Adams County was established as a county by an act of the State Legislature approved February 16, 1867. The boundaries as fixed by that act were as follows: "From the point where the east line of range 9, west, crosses the Platte; thence up the river channel to the intersection of the river with the west line of range 12; thence south to the southwest corner of township 5, range 12; thence east to the southeast corner of township 5. range 9; thence north to place of beginning. The location outlined in the foregoing description is the same as the present boundary lines except upon the north. Instead of the Platte River being the boundary, that line is now the north line of township 8, north.
The field notes of the surveyors, which are preserved in the office
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
of the county surveyor, show that the county was surveyed before there were any settlers. The surveyors were Charles W. Pierce and Nathan P. Cooke. These two surveyors, however, established the township lines only; that is, they established the lines that divide the county into sixteen squares, the sides of each square being six miles in length. It was not the business of the surveyors as they worked to locate a particular county. They established the lines with which counties might be designated as they were formed by acts of the Legislature. The field notes show that the township lines of Adams County were surveyed beginning July 16, 1859, and were completed September 10, 1860.
Surveyors obtained contracts from the National Government to survey certain designated districts, and their work was under the supervision of the surveyor-general. The contracts for surveying the territory in which Adams County lies were obtained by Pierce and Cooke on April 29, 1859, and August 6, 1860, and were numbers 270 and 280.
The surveying into sections was not done at the time that the township lines were laid. Sectionizing was a separate survey, although in Adams County it was done at about the same time that the township lines were established. This work too was let by con- tract and the field notes show that several had contracts for work in Adams County. The greater part of the section lines were laid in 1860. Those in Denver Township, in which Hastings was located, were surveyed in 1860, the work being done between September 27th and October 3d. Henry James was the name of the surveyor. The laying of section lines in Cottonwood Township was not completed until 1867. In this township William Hardin established the section lines. The surveyors lived in camps, camp being established at some spot that would be central to the work for a while. Their appearance was the beginning of the county life that we know.
Adams County, like all the public lands of Nebraska, was sur- veyed after the system which is generally credited to have been devised by General William Henry Harrison. The basis of this system is a plan of imaginary lines, definitely located, and called base lines and meridians. First the meridians are established. These run due north from a fixed geographic landmark and are intersected by base lines running east and west.
In the land surveys of the West there are six principal meridians. The first runs from the mouth of the Miami River, in Ohio; the second, from the mouth of the Little Blue River, in Indiana; the third, from the mouth of the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois; the fourth.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
from the mouth of the Illinois River; the fifth, from the mouth of the Arkansas River. Upon the sixth principal meridian, with its base line the fortieth parallel of latitude, is arranged the system of surveys for public lands in Nebraska and Kansas.
Beginning with the fortieth parallel of latitude, that is, running east and west, standard parallels are run at intervals of twenty-four miles, the width of four townships, on the north side of the base line: that is, the fortieth parallel. On the south side of this base the inter- vals are thirty miles, or the width of five townships.
Guide meridians are next established at distances of eight town- ships, or forty-eight miles, east and west of the principal meridian. By this plan parallelograms. 48 miles by 24 miles, are formed, whose limits are the base line, principal meridian, standard parallel and guide meridian, and these lines are the basis of the land surveys. In numbering the townships, east or west from a given meridian, they are called ranges: in numbering north or south from a base line they are called townships. Townships are divided into tracts called sec- tions, which are a mile square, and these are the units of land surveys.
The sixteen townships of Adams County are the following, the first four named being the eastern tier and the following groups of four being the successive tiers west, beginning with the northern townships: West Blue, Blaine, Hanover. Little Blue; Highland, Denver, Ayr, Zero; Verona, Juniata, Roseland, Silver Lake; Kene- saw, Wanda, Cottonwood and Logan.
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