Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties, Part 15

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co.
Number of Pages: 820

USA > Nebraska > Adams County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties > Part 15
USA > Nebraska > Clay County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties > Part 15
USA > Nebraska > Hall County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties > Part 15
USA > Nebraska > Hamilton County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties > Part 15

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

been sheltered here since its organization, and the State oil inspector has occupied the room of the speaker and chief clerk of the house, pending the completion of the main building.

The new portion of the capitol will be occupied immediately. This is the main building, and is nearly as large as both of the wings combined. The visitor may enter from Fifteenth Street, either from the north or the south. Passing between the massive piers of the portico he enters a vestibule tiled and wainscoated in marble. From that open apartment he steps into the main corridor, running north and south through this part of the building, and inter- secting in the rotunda the long corridor running the extreme length of the building from east to west. These corridors are tiled with Vermont marble and partially wainscoted in scagliola, or artificial marble. The heavy doors and frames are of oak. In each of the four corners of this floor is a suite of offices. The commissioner of public lands and buildings will have the northwest corner, the secretary of State the southeast, and the board of transportation the southwest. The offices are large, well ventilated, furnished with fire places and equipped with the latest plumbing conveniences. There are immense fireproof vaults for storing State papers, both in the basement and on the first floor.

The rotunda is octagonal, with an inside dimen- sion of about thirty feet. An opening in the second floor admits light to the first story, and gives a view of the upper portion. A section of the first floor is of heavy glass, admitting light to the basement also.

A better view of the upper rotunda may be had from the second story. We will therefore climb one of the iron stairways. The second corridor will be found to be floored in hard wood instead of marble, but there is an abundance of the scagliola here, and it has a beautiful effect. It is particularly striking around the interior of the rotunda. From the second floor upward the whole interior of the dome is open. When the frescoing is completed, the clusters of incandescent lamps are in place, and a plate glass polish has been given the marble, this rotunda will indeed be a beautiful sight.

The south half of the second floor is to be occu- pied by the State library. The main room lies

across the front, and extends up through the third floor. The size of the room is 83x31 feet. A wide gallery around the whole apartment gives a large amount of additional shelf space. The library rooms are finished in hard wood and are very conveniently arranged.

The north half of this floor contains the finest suite of rooms in the entire building. There are five of the apartments, and they are to be occupied by the executive department. In the middle of the front is the main reception room. It is 30x36 feet in size. On each side are two apartments used as private rooms and the offices of the private secretary and executive clerks. The finishings and furnish- ings when complete will be worthy of the office of the governor of the great State of Nebraska.

The third floor is not finished in hard woods, but this fact will not be detected by the casual visitor. The north half is devoted to the uses of the supreme court, five rooms being set apart for the judiciary department. The south half is taken up by the up- per portion of the library and two committee rooms.

If the visitor wishes to continue his investigation still further, he may climb a succession of stairs and a long spiral stairway, and at last stand out at the top of the dome, 200 feet above the ground, and overlooking the entire city and country for ten or fifteen miles in every direction. On a pleasant day visitors often remain there for hours enjoying the scene. There is nothing striking in the landscape that is unfolded, but it is always a pleasure. to be able to get a bird's eye view of the busy city, and to mark the great advances it is making upon the sur- rounding country. In the summer season especially there is a great amount of tranquil beauty in that broad circle of green whose outer edge forms the horizon.

Next to the State capitol the State University is the most notable State institution of Nebraska. The men who drafted Nebraska's enabling act displayed admirable wisdom and forethought in directing that a large portion of the public lands within the new State be set apart for the erection and maintenance of a State University. By leasing and selling these public lands Nebraska secured an endowment for its principal educational institution that at once

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

placed it upon a solid financial foundation. On February 15, 1869, the Legislature passed an aet establishing the University and creating a board of regents, in whom was vested the management of the institution. The act further ordered the sale of all lots in the city of Lincoln belonging to the State, and directed that the proceeds be devoted to the erection of a university building. In accordance with this aet the commission, consisting of the gov- ernor, secretary of State and auditor, accepted the plans and specifications prepared by M. J. McBird, of Logansport, Ind. , and awarded the contract for the building to D. J. Silver & Son, also of Logans- port. The contractors commenced work upon the proposed strneture in July, 1869, and pushed it rapidly toward completion in the face of almost in- surmountable obstacles. It must be remembered that at that time Nebraska was untraversed by rail- roads, and Lincoln was a new town sixty-five miles from the Missouri River. The lumber had to be ferried across the Missouri from Iowa, and trans- ported to Lincoln by wagon over poorly constructed prairie roads. The briek for the walls had to be manufactured, and the contractors were compelled to pay $10 per cord for the wood used in burning them, and this wood had to be hauled thirty miles. Yet, in spite of these difficulties the work progressed with surprising rapidity. The excavation, founda- tion and basement story were completed in April, 1870, and the work of building the walls commenced in that month. The walls were completed, and the roof finished by the middle of August, 1870.

The board of regents at onee began prepara- tion for the formal opening of the University. The building was finished; but the more important work of seleeting a chancellor and corps of instructors, preparing a course of study and enlisting the in- terest of prospective students, was yet to be accomp- lished. Through the influence of mutual personal friends the regents induced Dr. A. R. Benton, presi- dent of the Northwestern Christian University, of Indianapolis, Ind., to accept the chancellorship. Dr. Benton paid his first visit to Nebraska in 1871, and made a most favorable impression upon the board of regents. At a meeting of the board of regents in that month it was decided to formally in-

augurate the work of the University on September 7, 1871. Chancellor Benton removed to Nebraska in May of that year, and at once began his work. Under his direction courses of study were prepared and the rooms in the University building arranged and furnished. The chancellor also visited the dif- ferent eities and towns in the State, delivering lec- tures in the interests of the new institution, and securing the attendance of pupils.

In 1871, it must be remembered, Nebraska con- tained a population of barely 100,000. These peo- ple were for the most part people of small means. The school system of the State was in its infaney, and but few pupils were prepared to enter even the lowest classes of the University. Yet, in spite of the discouraging outlook, Chancellor Benton and his associates on the original faenlty set about their work with a zeal and confidence that angered well for the success of the new institution. The doors of the University were formally thrown open for the reception of students on the morning of September 7, 1871. The following named gentlemen com- posed the original faculty: Prof. A. R. Benton, chancellor and professor of mental, moral and polit- ical philosophy; O. C. Dake, professor of English literature; S. H. Manley, professor of Greek lan- guage and literature; G. E. Church, professor of Latin language and literature; Samuel Aughey, professor of natural sciences. Seventy students appeared on the opening day.

By an act of the Legislature approved February 15, 1869, and an act amendatory thereto, approved February 19, 1877, the regents are authorized to establish five departments or colleges as follows: (1) A college of literature, science and art. (2) An industrial college, embracing agriculture, practical science, civil engineering, and the mechanic arts. (3) A college of law. (4) A college of medicine. (5) A college of fine arts.

Of the first department organized, that of litera- ture, seience and art, there are four courses of study, of four years each, namely: A classical, a scientifie, a Latin scientific and a Greek scientific. In the department of agriculture, there are two courses, one of three years and a course of one year, therefore the following degrees are granted, namely:

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

(1) The degree of Bachelor of Arts is conferred on students who complete the classical course. (2) That of Bachelor of Science, on students who com- plete the regular scientific course. (3) That of Bachelor of Philosophy, on students who complete the Latin scientific course. (4) That of Bachelor of Letters, on students who complete the literary course. (5) The degree of Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Philosophy, or Master of Let- ters, is conferred respectively on Bachelor of Arts, Science, Philosophy or Letters, who shall have pur- sued a post-graduate course of study for one year, under the direction of the faculty, or upon gradu- ates of three years' standing, who shall have been engaged during that time in literary, scientific or professional studies.

In November, 1873, Samuel Bacon, who had served as superintendent of the Institution for the Blind, in the State of Iowa, arrived in Nebraska City, and immediately broached the project of the establishment of a school for the education of the blind. The proposition was favorably received, and in the autumn of 1874 he became a resident of Nebraska City. At a public meeting a committee was chosen to wait on the Legislature and ask for the appropriation. The committee consisted of George Sroat, H. K. Raymond, Dr. John Blue, Rev. J. H. McNamara, William Bischof, Dr. Bowen and Samuel Bacon.

Their mission was successful, and on the 19th day of February, 1875, the act was passed. The first section of this act read as follows: "That there shall be maintained at Nebraska City, county of Otoe, an institution for the blind, and there is hereby appropriated for that purpose the sum of $10,000, for the erection of a building and furnish- ing of the same; provided, that the citizens of Ne- braska City shall raise the sum of $3,000, and when the said sum is raised and paid over to the board of trustees, either in money or in property, to the sat- isfaction of such board, then the board of trustees of said institution for the blind shall proceed to locate said institution on not less than ten acres of land, and not to exceed one mile in distance from the court house of said Nebraska City." The suc- ceeding sections, to the seventeenth, provide for the

mode of governing the institution by the board of trustees, composed of the governor, secretary of State, attorney general, State treasurer and com- missioner of public lands and buildings, and sec- tion seventeen provides that " All blind persons residents of this State, of suitable age and capacity, shall be entitled to an education in this institution at the expense of the State. Each county superin- tendent of common schools shall report to the Insti- tution for the Blind on the first days of April each year, the name, age, residence, and postoffice ad- dress of every blind person, and every person blind to such an extent as to be unable to acquire an edu- cation in the common schools, and who reside in the county where he is superintendent."

For $2,400 a ten-acre tract lying about three- fourths of a mile north of the city was purchased, and preparations for the construction of a suitable edifice were begun. In the meantime temporary rooms were rented, and the institution formally opened on March 10, 1875, with three pupils. The new building was completed as rapidly as possible, and on January 13, 1876, was formally occupied by the school. The main building, a substantial brick, is three stories and basement, 49x65 feet, and con- tains thirty large rooms. In 1877 a two-story brick work-shop was added at a cost of $3,000.

The spot occupied by the institution is one of the most beautiful in the West. The government of the school is paternal, and the law of kindness the gov- erning principle. Corporal punishment is unknown in the institution. A regular course of study is marked out, running from eight to ten years. The course includes geometry, physiology, ancient and modern philosophy, astronomy, natural history and natural philosophy. Two of the most interesting de- partments of the institution are the musical and in- dustrial. In the matter of securing self support, experience proves that the musical branches are the most efficient, while they also contribute to relieve the monotony which falls to the lot of those unfor- tunates.

In the industrial departments the boys and young men are required to spend a certain number of hours at the occupation of cane-seating and broom- making. The girls are instructed in haud and ma-

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

chine sewing, knitting, crocheting, bead and fancy work. The reports show that both shop and fancy work departments are sources of profit, after paying all expenses for stock.

The Normal School is located adjoining the town of Peru. In 1863 John M. Mckenzie, a practical educator, settled in Peru, and with the assistance of zealous friends of education, measures were started for the organization of Mount Vernon College, a school under the anspices of the Methodist denomi- nation. Soon the building, now used as dormitory, three stories high and 40x80 feet in size, was erected at a cost of $10,000. John M. Mckenzie was chosen first principal of the new college. In the early spring of 1866 the new building was occupied, although it was unfinished, and school continued until June. Messrs. William Daily and T. J. Ma- jors, members of the State Council and House of Representatives for Nemaha County, in the winter of 1866-67 tendered the property, valued at $10,000, to the State for a Normal School. The proposition was promptly accepted, and the Legislature appro- priated the sum of $3,000 to finish the building, and also gave an endowment of twenty sections of saline land lying in Lancaster County.

The act to locate, establish and endow a State Normal School was passed June 21, 1867. Section 1 provides that the school shall be established at Pern, in Nemaha County, " the exclusive purpose of which shall be the instruction of persons, both male and female, in the art of teaching and in all the various branches that pertain to a good common school education; also to give instruction in the mechanical arts, and in the arts of husbandry and agricultural chemistry; in the fundamental laws of the United States, and what regards the rights and duties of citizens."

Prior to the location and building of the Hospi- tal for the Insane at Lincoln, this class of unfortu- nates were sent to the lowa Asylum. The bill locating and appropriating funds for the hospital building was passed by the Legislature in 1868. In 1869 the contract was let to Joseph Ward, of Lin- coln, for $137,000, and on November 29, 1870, was formally accepted by the State. It was opened on December 22, 1870, with Dr. Lane as superinten-

dent. In April, 1871, five months after the institu- tion had been opened for the reception of patients, it burned to the ground. After the conflagration three patients were missing, and it has always been supposed that they lost their lives. A special ses- sion of the Legislature convened in June, 1871, and made an appropriation for a new building. The buildings as they stand at present cost $165,000. They are built of light gray sandstone, the ground dimensions being 54x328 feet, and the main buikl- ing four stories in height. In addition to the hospi- tal at Lincoln, a second hospital has been established by the State at Norfolk, while the Asylum for the Incurable Insane is located at Hastings.

The Twelfth Territorial Legislature, by an act approved February 7, 1867, provided in due form for the establishment of an institute for the deaf and dumb, to be located in Omaha; all of the class specified of a suitable age and capacity, to receive instruction, to be admitted into and enjoy the bene- fits of said institution without charge. The act fur- ther constituted a board of directors a body politic and corporate with perpetual existence, consisting of Aurelius Bowen, Able L. Childs, E. H. Rogers, John S. Bowen, Gilbert C. Monell and John Mc- Pherson.

A building was rented in Omaha, and the school opened April 1, 1869, with W. M. French, principal, and Mrs. Jennie Wilson, matron. Twelve pupils were enrolled during the first eight months of the school's existence, and the amount expended for the same time was $2,179.03.

The Thirteenth General Assembly, foreseeing that more suitable and commodious accommodations would have to be provided, made an appropriation of $15,000 for building purposes. Grounds located about three miles northwest of the city were donated by the city of Omaha, and a fine brick edifice erected in a suitable form to receive additions as they might be needed. The new building was occupied for the first time in January, 1872. Four teachers were employed during the second year and twenty-nine pupils were enrolled.

In 1873 a printing office was established in con- nection with the institution, for the instruction of pupils desirous of learning that trade. Mr. S. F.

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

Buckley, one of these pupils, shortly after assumed the position of foreman.

In 1879 a brick work-shop was erected at a cost of $3,000, carpenter work being introduced under charge of F. E. Maynard, Both the printing office and carpenter shops are self supporting, beyond the salaries of their formen. The shops are supplied with suitable machinery for the various kinds of work. In 1874 a semi-monthly paper, entitled the Nebraska Mute Journal, was established. The mechanical work of this paper. is done entirely by the pupils.

A new building, similar in many respects to the first, was erected in 1876 at a cost of $15,000. In 1879 the brick work-shop, above mentioned, was built, and in 1881 a third building was erected, con- necting the two built in 1871 and 1876, the combi- nation being in perfect harmony, and constituting one of the finest public buildings in the State. The cost of this improvement was $16,000. In addition to this $4,000 was expended in heating apparatus, whereby the entire institution is warmed by steam; $1,000 for gas apparatus, $1,000 for engine and machinery for the shops, $500 for hose for use in case of fire, and $500 for telephonic communication with the city of Omaha. The institution is under the charge of the board of public lands and build- ings, and directly under the control of a corps of competent instructors. The boys are learning good trades and the girls are taught general housework, plain sewing and dressmaking. The same general methods of instructing the deaf which are practiced in similar first-class institutions, are in use in this one, articulation being made a specialty with good success. A regular course of instruction is followed, in which it is aimed to prepare the pupil for active life and self support, the institution being in no sense an asylum, but in every sense a school.

The act providing for the building of the State penitentiary on the site south of Lincoln, donated for that purpose by W. T. Donovan and Mr. Hilton, was passed by the Legislature on March 4, 1870. The national government had set apart 34,000 acres of land for prison purposes. Three commissioners were appointed to dispose of these lands. In the meantime the Legislature appropriated $5,000 for

the erection of a temporary prison. In the same year plans and specifications offered by William H. Foster, of Des Moines, Iowa, were adopted, and the contract let to W. H. B. Stout and J. M. Jamison for $312,000. The quarries of Saltello, located about twelve miles south of Lincoln, furnished the material for the walls, a hard, magnesian limestone. The external appearance of the building is very im- posing, at once suggesting to the observer the use for which it is intended. It is a most substantial structure, well heated and ventilated, considered perfectly secure, and has a capacity for 800 prisoners. The cells are in rows of forty each, and by means of a lever at one end the keeper is enabled to lock at once the whole row. This greatly dimin- ishes the chances for escape, and the danger to the keeper of being attacked while on the round locking each door. A wall twenty-five feet in height, sur- mounted at intervals by watch towers, encloses nearly three acres at the rear of the building. Within the enclosure are the work-shops of the institution. The discipline of the prison is good. It is lenient, yet severe enough to produce good order, and not so severe as to cause dissatisfaction and breed revolt. But once in the history of the institution has a seri- ous revolt taken place. On the afternoon of Janu- ary 11, 1875, seven convicts under the leadership of a convict named McWaters, overpowered the guards in the work-shop. Deputy Warden Nohes entered the shops at this moment. He was also overpowered, bound and stripped. McWaters, who had the audacity to attempt anything that might lead to escape, donned the deputy's clothes and marched his convicts past the door guards into the building where more guards were overpowered, and the armory broken into. It was the plan to secure guns and ammunition, dress themselves in citizens clothing, kill the guards and effect their escape. Their plans might have succeeded had not the for- tunate escape of Deputy Warden Nohes given the alarm. The mutinous convicts soon found them- selves besieged in the main building. So completely were they hemmed in that every attempt to leave the building proved ineffectual. A detachment of United States troops arrived early the next morning, and the appearance of the soldiers caused them to

HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.

weaken. They surrendered during the forenoon. The story of the revolt would be incomplete without at least a brief reference to the heroism displayed upon the occasion by Mrs. Woodhurst, wife of the warden. Her husband was absent when the mutiny occurred, and his wife was almost alone in the main building. As soon as she discovered the revolt she rushed to a window and alarmed the guards in spite of the threats of the convicts. She defied them to harm her, and fearlessly placed herself be- fore their guns when they were about to fire at citi- zens who had come from Lincoln to quell the mu- tiny. During the night she succeeded in getting possession of their guns and hiding them. When the hopelessness of their attempt to escape finally dawned upon the minds of the mutineers, they sur- rendered to her, and were turned over to the officers.

McWaters and the seven convicts made a second attempt to escape on May 26, 1875. The attempt was a failure, McWaters being shot dead by the guard at the outset of the demonstration.

The management of the penitentiary is neces- sarily strict, but not more so than necessity demands. Among the theories entertained for the amelioration of the condition of the inmates of the institution, is the introduction of a well-devised system of educa- tion. The maintenance of a well-selected library, and the employment of instructors, are features of prison reform which deserve the commendation of every humane citizen of the State.

Nebraska, with her broad and rich prairies and fertile valleys, is pre-eminently an agricultural State. According to the official report of the State Board of Agriculture, for the year 1888, there were within the State 9,521,966 acres of improved land, valned at $40, 144,780, and 13,353, 171 acres of unimproved land valued at $30,307,241; thus making the aver- age value per acre of the improved lands $4.07, and of the unimproved lands $2.80. These values were obtained from the assessments for taxation, and as can readily be seen, were far below the actnal values, the latter being double, or more than double, the assessed values. The number of acres reported, both improved and unimproved, equals 22,875,137, the amount then owned and subject to taxation. The total number of acres within the State as re-

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Author: Goodspeed Brothers Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co. Number of Pages: 820

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co.
Number of Pages: 820