USA > Nebraska > Antelope County > A history of Antelope County, Nebraska, from its first settlement in 1868 to the close of the year 1883 > Part 11
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
stroke or a fainting fit just at the moment when he was wading the shallow water and in his struggles had gotten into the deeper part. The proper authorities at once appointed A. Warner to fill the vacancy on the county board caused by Mr. Clark's tragic death.
In March, 1873, A. J. Leach, county superintendent of schools, resigned and the board appointed B. C. Palmer to the office to fill the vacancy.
At the general election in the fall of 1873 the following county ticket was elected :
Clerk, W. W. Putney.
Treasurer, B. C. Palmer.
Judge, D. V. Coe.
Sheriff, Jeptha Hopkins.
County Superintendent, J. E. Lowes.
Surveyor, George H. McGee.
Coroner, J. C. Bradeen.
Commissioner Ist District, A. Warner.
These officers-elect all qualified, but all did not serve out the full term for which they were elected. B. C. Palmer, county treasurer, died in the fore part of November, 1874, and M. S. Bartlett, the publisher of the Oakdale " Journal," was appointed, November 17, to fill the vacancy occa- sioned by Mr. Palmer's death. J. E. Lowes, county super- intendent, resigned and Robert Wilson was appointed to fill that office November 24, 1874, and R. G. King was appointed county judge May 26, 1875, in place of D. V. Coe, who was absent from the county.
At the October election in 1874 only one county office had to be filled. L. A. Boyd's term of office, as county commissioner for district No. 2, expired, and S. S. King was elected to that position.
At a meeting of the county board September 1, 1874, a new precinct was established, called Taylor precinct, consisting of the southern part of Center precinct and being twelve miles long north and south and eight miles wide east and west. Some time prior to this last date a pre- cinct called Valley had been formed out of the northern
I37
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
parts of Twin Grove and Center precincts, but owing to the grasshopper raids it was nearly or quite depopulated, and on September 6, 1875, was discontinued by an order of the county board, the territory comprising it going back to the precincts from which it had been taken.1
On the 6th of July, 1876, the county board reorganized the county into five precincts as follows: Twin Grove, Elm Grove, Cedar, Center, and Mills. Twin Grove and Elm Grove precincts occupied the eastern third of the county, the division line between them being a zigzag line following as near as practicable the course of the Elkhorn River. All south of this line was known as Twin Grove, and all north as Elm Grove. Cedar and Center precincts con- stituted the middle third of the county, the division line between them being the north line of township 24, Cedar lying south, and Center north of this line. Mills precinct was left the same as before, being the west third of the county.
At the general election held October 13, 1875, the fol- lowing ticket was elected:
Clerk, Robert Wilson.
Treasurer, M. S. Bartlett.
Sheriff, Jeptha Hopkins.
County Superintendent, H. J. Miller.
County Judge, Wm. Lawrence.
Coroner, H. M. Cox.
Commissioner, 3d District, Robert Marwood.
At this election also a vote was taken throughout the state upon the adoption of the new state constitution. The vote in Antelope County resulted as follows: For the adoption of the constitution, 235; against the adoption of the constitution, 8.
Reuben C. Eldridge represented Antelope County in the constitutional convention which completed its work on the 12th day of June, 1875. The result of the vote in
1 The record showing the formation of Valley precinct was de- stroyed by fire at the burning of the court-house, but the record showing when it was discontinued is clear.
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
the state on the adoption of the constitution was as follows: For adoption, 30,202; against adoption, 5,474.
The county officials who were elected at this October election all qualified and served the full term for which they were elected, with the exception of H. M. Cox, who failed to qualify as coroner, and April 29, 1876, the board appointed E. M. Blackford to that position.
Prior to the summer of 1875 there was no bridge over the Elkhorn River anywhere in Antelope County. The small streams in the county had been bridged on all the principal roads throughout the most thickly settled parts, but the bridging of the Elkhorn was a big undertaking for a new community that was already in debt for a set of county books and for the regular expenses to keep the county business in running order. A petition was pre- sented to the county board June 2, 1874, asking for a special election in Twin Grove precinct to vote bonds to the amount of four thousand dollars for the purpose of building a bridge at Snider's ford, in said precinct. The petition was granted and the election called for the 15th of July, 1874; the bonds were voted, but were never issued. The county board, having some doubt about the legality of the transaction, submitted the question on the 25th of July to E. A. Gerrard, of Columbus, attorney for the board of commissioners. Mr. Gerrard rendered an adverse opinion and the project had to be given up. On February 16, 1875, a special election was held, by order of the county board, to vote bonds for the construction of bridges at three different places across the Elkhorn River. These bonds were defeated by a majority of 157 votes.
The latter part of February, 1875, the citizens of Neligh held a meeting and decided to bridge the Elkhorn at that place, the funds to be obtained by subscriptions of labor, money, and material. A subscription was at once started and about everybody in Neligh and vicinity signed it. The following quotation is from a memorandum found among Mr. Lambert's papers: "After a sufficient sub- scription had been obtained to justify the commencement
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
of the enterprise, W. C. Gallaway and Company drove the piling while the ice was yet on the river, and quite a large amount of work was done by several parties who sub- scribed, when the work came to a halt, owing to the funds being exhausted. In July following W. C. Gallaway and Company finished the work at their own expense. This was the first bridge erected across the Elkhorn River in Antelope County, being also the first one west of Norfolk." This bridge was made entirely of home material and with- out cost to the county.
On the 6th of January, 1876, R. G. King and others filed a petition with the county board for a bridge across the Elkhorn at Snider's ford, in Twin Grove precinct. Snider's ford was near the south line of the southeast quarter of section 6, in Burnett township. The petition was granted, the board providing that three fourths of the road levy in road districts Nos. 1 and 2, for the years 1874 and 1875, could be used for that purpose. The work of building the bridge was to be left to the oversight of the road supervisors of these districts. The board also granted aid from the county to the amount of two hundred and fifty dollars with a proviso that the warrants should not be expended for less than seventy-five cents on the dollar. The remaining expense for building the bridge was to be paid by private subscriptions. The piling for this bridge was all hauled from the pine timber found along the banks of Long Pine Creek, in what is now Brown County, Ne- braska. The other timbers and the plank were cut from the timber growing along the Elkhorn and Cedar creek.
In October, 1881, a bridge was completed over the Elk- horn on the county line between Antelope and Madison counties, Antelope County bearing four hundred dollars of the expense. On June 18, 1883, the committee on bridges reported that the iron bridge across the Elkhorn, on road 48, near Clearwater, had been completed according to contract, and the bridge was accordingly accepted. Thus bridges had been built over the Elkhorn in four of the most convenient places in the county, but it took almost thirteen years from the first settlement of the county to accomplish it.
CHAPTER XXVI THE COUNTY SEAT WAR
A S was related in Chapter XXIV, the county seat was located at Oakdale at the general election held in October, 1872. The legality of this election was doubted by many, who took the view that since the county seat should have been located at the first general election held after the organization of the county, which election was held in October, 1871, and as this was not done, but went over by default, the county board had no right to order an election for the location of the county seat ex- cept upon the petition of the voters. The county board did, however, order that the question of locating the county seat should be voted upon at the election held October, 1872, without any petition being presented. It was also held by some of those who wanted the county seat at Neligh that there were other informalities or irregularities attending the election of 1872 that would render the location of the county seat at Oakdale of doubt- ful validity. Accordingly, on the Ist of September, 1874, a petition, signed by D. V. Coe and two hundred fifteen others, was presented to the board of commissioners pray- ing for an election to locate the county seat. This petition was granted and the election held. The friends of Neligh voted for the location of the county seat on the northeast quarter of section 20, township 25, range 6 west. This quarter section was named in the petition because as yet Neligh had not been fully surveyed and platted, nor had any plat been filed. Those favoring Oakdale did not vote at all.
Immediately after the election and before the votes were canvassed, the friends of Oakdale procured the fol- lowing injunction :
"Upon presentation of the within petition, and after
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
reading the same, and it appearing that there is a probable cause therefor, a temporary injunction is allowed, restrain- ing said defendant board of county commissioners from doing any other act or thing in furtherance of said county seat election, except upon and after a petition signed by twothirds of the voters of said, county is presented to them for action, on giving bonds for one thousand dollars with approved security.
" SAMUEL MAXWELL, Judge. "October 10, 1874."
This was the beginning of the county seat war, a war that lasted until the special county seat election of Octo- ber 2, 1883, when the county capital was finally removed to Neligh.
There was no politics in this county seat fight. Men still continued to vote the party ticket for President and members of Congress, also for state officers and for mem- bers of the state legislature. For all the county offices, however, no questions were asked as to a candidate's politics. "Is he a Neligh man or is he for Oakdale?" The answer to this question nearly always decided the matter for the voter.
This county seat question was always a burning, living issue. It was always with us. It might quiet down for a time, but it would break out again and rage as violently as our Nebraska blizzards in the early days. Oakdale had the county seat and meant to keep it. Neligh wanted it - knew she would get it sometime, and felt as if she could not wait for that time to come. Both towns re- served a block for the county buildings, and a little frame court-house had been built in the spring of 1874, on Court House Square, in Oakdale, at a cost to the county of seven hundred and fifty dollars. The county seat ques- tion quieted down after this for a while, only to be revived again in the fall of 1875.
On the 7th of May, 1874, Mr. M. S. Bartlett had started the publication of a newspaper at Oakdale, called the
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
Oakdale "Journal," it being the only newspaper published in the county. On November 17, 1874, as previously stated, Mr. Bartlett was appointed county treasurer to fill vacancy, and in October, 1875, was elected for the full term of two years. The friends of Neligh now took a new tack on the county seat question. About October 1, 1875, they induced Mr. Bartlett to move his printing press to Neligh and to continue the publication of the paper as the Neligh "Journal," leaving Oakdale without a newspaper. As soon as this became known it created a great commo- tion at Oakdale. On October 6, 1875, Bartlett was burned in effigy at Oakdale, and that night parties unknown set fire to the court-house and burned it to the ground with all it contained.
On the 13th of October the county board came together and made an examination of the county records and papers. They reported that no portion of the commissioner's records could be traced prior to July 25, 1874, that since that date a part could be traced. That the clerk's tax list was at the clerk's residence and was unharmed, that the treasurer's books were at the treasurer's residence and were unharmed. Nearly everything else was de- stroyed by the fire.
Like every other rash or unwarranted act, the burning in effigy of M. S. Bartlett did not help the cause of Oak- dale. The act was condemned generally by Oakdale's friends and was made use of by her enemies, to Oakdale's disadvantage. The people of Neligh then proposed that to any of the business men of Oakdale who would remove to Neligh they would provide transportation for their effects without cost to the owners. One business man did accept this proposition, his building being taken to pieces and erected at Neligh and his stock of goods removed, all without cost to himself. However, he remained there only a short time when, not being satisfied, he came back to Oakdale again.
The question of relocation of the county seat now rested rather quietly until the spring of 1876, when, on the
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
petition of John W. Getchell and others, the board ordered an election to be held on the 6th day of June which resulted as follows:
For relocation of the county seat at Neligh 182
Against relocation of county seat I3I
For relocation of the county seat I
Total 314
Oakdale, having received more than two fifths of all the votes cast, was declared to be the county seat. The matter of the removal of the county seat was now allowed to rest until the fall of 1878. On October I of that year a petition, signed by B. R. Barnes, and others, was presented to the board. On the 7th of October the board acted upon the petition and ordered a special election to be held on November 14, 1878, which resulted as follows:
For relocation of the county seat at Neligh 270 Against relocation of county seat . 18I
For relocation of the county seat at Frenchtown I For relocation of the county seat at the geographical center of the county I
Total. 453
The vote necessary to relocate at any specified place was 272, therefore, Neligh lacked two votes of having the required three fifths. But three fifths of the whole num- ber cast were for relocation. It was therefore the duty of the county board, under the laws then existing, to pro- ceed to call another election. Before this could be done the Oakdale people sued out a temporary injunction in the county court, Judge S. D. Thornton presiding, restraining the county board from calling another election. This injunction was dissolved by Judge E. K. Valentine of the district court, but another election was not ordered. The
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
question came up before the board of commissioners, but was postponed from time to time for about two years, when it was finally dropped. Oakdale was afraid to have the election called lest they would lose, and Neligh was afraid to have it called lest they might not win - so it was a drawn battle and the final decision was postponed.
Again the question came up in the winter of 1880. On December 21 of that year a petition containing 583 names was filed with the county board by Thomas O'Day. Both parties were ably represented before the county board on this occasion. It was contended by Oakdale that many of the names were not signed by the owners, and they brought witnesses to endeavor to prove this. Also that many of the signers were non-resident. The county board, after taking ample time to examine and consider the matter, rejected 54 names, for the reason that these men lived in Boone and Wheeler counties. After rejecting these they found that the petition contained more than three fifths as many names as the voters at the last general election. They accepted the petition and called an election for February 1, 1881. The votes cast were as follows:
For relocation of the county seat at Neligh 746 Against relocation of county seat 519
Total vote . 1,265
Necessary to relocate. 759
And so Neligh lost again.
There were some queer things about this election. First, the total population of the county by the census of 1880, then recently taken, was 3,953, and a vote of 1,265 showed that 32 per cent of the population voted at this election. This was a very large ratio of actual voters, without counting those that stayed at home. Secondly, the peo- ple of Neligh knew that a large number of fraudulent votes were cast in Twin Grove precinct, and could easily have
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
proven it, but they were timid about contesting the elec- tion, for their own polling list would not bear inspection. There was a good deal of talk, but no action. It was a repetition of the old story of the pot and the kettle.
Things were quiet again until the summer of 1883, when petitions were filed by the board of commissioners to call another election to relocate the county seat. These pe- titions contained the names of 984 electors, giving name, age, place of residence, and length of residence in the county. The election was held on the 2d of October, 1883. The electors of Neligh held a public meeting about two weeks before the election, at which time they chose a committee of five to confer with a like committee from Oakdale, to devise measures to have an honest vote and an honest count. The committees held a joint meeting, at which they arrived at a definite conclusion as to the best method of attaining the desired end. An agreement was made in writing, which all the members of the joint committee signed, substantially as follows: The Neligh committee chose O. R. Elwood and A. J. Leach of Oak- dale to guard the polls at Oakdale, and to challenge on behalf of the Neligh people every vote that was offered that was suspected of being illegal. The committee from Oakdale chose F. H. Trowbridge and Charles Fisher of Neligh to perform a like duty at Neligh for the people of Oakdale. Illegal voters were to be arrested on the spot at both places, and complete arrangements were made to have the program fully carried out. The election passed off all right, and very few, if any, doubtful votes were cast. The result was:
For relocation of the county seat at Neligh 1,061
Against relocation of county seat. 573
For relocation of the county seat at Clearwater I
For relocation of the county seat. I
Total vote. 1,636 Necessary to relocate at Neligh 982 Neligh therefore had seventy-nine votes to spare.
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
The following is the vote for Oakdale and Neligh by precincts :
PRECINCT
NELIGH
OAKDALE
Center ...
224
I
Twin Grove
5
223
Burnett.
I8
80
Cedar
II
73
Harmony
44
33
Clay Ridge
24
47
Mills .
89
I6
Frenchtown
9+
3
Sherman
55
9
Royal .
5I
I
Verdigris.
58
9
Eden.
43
25
Gurney
55
O
Custer
76
I
Bazile .
49
33
Willow
IO5
3
Elm Grove
57
I6
1,061
573
The board of commissioners ordered the county offi- cials to remove the county records to Neligh on January 1, 1884. This was done, and the war was over.
CHAPTER XXVII
THE SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY CONTINUED-THE CENSUS, 1874 TO 1883 INCLUSIVE - THE CENSUS BY PRECINCTS IN 1880 - ATTEMPTS TO INDUCE IMMIGRATION - CONDITIONS UNFAVORABLE TO THE SETTLING OF THE COUNTY - ELECTIONS 1876 TO 1883 INCLUSIVE
A FTER the county first began to be settled, in the fall of 1868, it continued to fill up rapidly during 1869, 1870, 1871, and the spring and early summer of 1872. Then the grasshoppers came in the summer of 1872 in such numbers as greatly to discourage and retard settlement. The trouble with the Indians in the fall of 1870, and their horse-stealing raids in subsequent years, no doubt kept many away who otherwise would have located here.
As before stated, the settlements were chiefly confined to the valleys of the Elkhorn River and its tributaries, and the Willow and Bazile creeks. The various branches of the Verdigris creek also began to be settled in the spring of 1873, and by 1876 there were settlers scattered all along the different branches of the Verdigris both in Sherman and Verdigris precincts. South of the Verdigris and the Bazile, however, there were no settlers, excepting on Willow Creek, until the settlements adjacent to the Elk- horn were reached. A similar statement also applies to the southwestern part of the county known as the Clay Ridge country. Crawford township was all vacant land until the year 1878, when the first settlers came in. Gar- field, Lincoln, and Stanton were not settled until the sum- mer of 1879 and Ellsworth in 1880. It is true also that the greater part of Custer and Blaine, a large portion of Willow, Clearwater, Eden, Royal, Verdigris, and Sher- man were vacant up to about the year 1880. There was also at this last date more or less government land in
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148 HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
some of the older settled parts, such as Elgin, Neligh, Oak- dale, and Ord townships.
Prior to the year 1885 the assessors were required to take a census of the population in their several assessor's districts. It is probable that the assessors did take the census in Antelope County in 1872 and 1873, but if so, the returns were burned at the burning of the court-house in 1875. It is also a fact that very many papers relating to census reports, election returns, and other matters that have occurred since the burning of the court-house and prior to 1883, and that should be on file, cannot now be found. In some way they have been lost. This is to be regretted as in many cases exact figures and dates as to certain matters of interest cannot be given. The writer, however, in the year 1886 examined the census reports then on file in the office of the county clerk, for all years that could be found, from 1874 to 1885 inclusive, to be used in the brief history that was read at the Pioneers' reunion in September, 1886. This was published in the Oakdale "Journal" of October 22, 1886, and is copied here- with, up to and including 1883, as follows:
POPULATION OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
Year
Population
Loss
Gain
1874.
. .
1,387
. . . .
..
1875.
1,289
98
. .
1876
1,303
ยท
I4
1877
1,036
267
1878
1,575
539
1879
2,178
. . .
603
1880
3,953
. . .
1 775
1882
5,239
1,286
1883.
6,407
1,168
.
The year 1880 is taken from the United States census. These show that there was no material increase in popu- lation from 1874 until 1878. In 1877 the loss of 267 should be attributed probably wholly to the fact that Holt
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
County was organized December 26, 1876. The part of Holt County lying west of Antelope County had been attached to Antelope, and prior to 1877 its inhabitants had been enumerated with Antelope County.
The United States census report for 1880 shows the popu- lation of the county by precincts as follows:
Cedar precinct. 5.30
Center precinct 864
Elm Grove precinct and Bazile, which were taken to- gether. . 892
Mills precinct. 534
Sherman precinct 295
Twin Grove precinct 838
Total. 3,953
In the year 1878 an effort was made to induce immi- grants to settle in the county. At a meeting of the board of county commissioners held April 2, 1878, the following resolution was offered by L. A. Boyd and unanimously adopted :
"Whereas, Antelope County being desirous of securing a portion of the immigrants now pouring into Nebraska, and also her just portion of the immigration that may come to our state in the future, we feel such immigration cannot reasonably be expected without some effort on the part of Antelope County through her officers and citizens: "Be it therefore resolved, that R. Wilson, county clerk, be instructed to contract with the Pen and Plow Co. for one thousand copies of a certain pamphlet written by A. J. Leach for gratuitous distribution, and that said R. Wilson be instructed to prepare one or two folios of statistics showing the number of acres of different kinds of grain raised, the average yield per acre, etc., etc.
" Resolved, that we also agree to furnish a guide free of charge, to land hunters seeking homesteads or preemptions, to assist them in finding suitable locations.
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
"Be it further resolved, that we appoint three men in different parts of the county, to-wit: One man in Twin Grove precinct, one in the vicinity of Neligh, and one in the vicinity of Frenchtown, to act as guides to those parties seeking homes in Antelope County, to be paid at the rate of $3.00 for each head of a family that they actually locate on government land."
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