USA > Nebraska > History of Nebraska > Part 28
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There is no uncertainty, however, as to who was the first woman that came into the County, for all agree that it was Mrs. J. P. Mumford.
Mr. Mumford, with his wife and two men, had crossed the Missouri in search of a suitable location for settlement, and enter- ing Gage County, were seen by one of the Beatrice people, who carried the news to camp. The presence of a woman so near the camp caused great excitement; and eager to gain so valuable an acquisition to the little colony, all hands turned out to welcome the party and induce them to stop at Beatrice, which was readily accomplished.
Mrs. Mumford shortly afterward opened a boarding-house for
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the accommodation of the members of the Town Company, who made it a paying business during the summer of 1857.
The Fourth of July was celebrated in grand style. A number of persons came out from Nebraska City, among whom were Judge Kinney and his daughter, Beatrice. The national colors were presented to the Town Company, by Miss Beatrice, in a neat and appropriate speech, which was responded to by Bennett Pike, on behalf of the company, in a very felicitous manner.
The first election was held on July 16, 1857, and resulted as follows: Albert Towle and Dr. H. M. Reynolds, Commissioners; O. B. Hewett, Probate Judge; and P. M. Favor, Sheriff.
At the time of holding the first election, the total population of the County was thirty-three men and one woman, and each can- didate received just thirty-three votes.
The Sheriff never made an arrest during his two-years' term; neither did " His Honor " have a case in that time. J. P. Mum- ford, the first Treasurer, served two years without collecting a cent or paying a warrant. Lawrence Johnson served one year as County Clerk for fifty cents.
The town of Beatrice was pretty well deserted by its inhab- itants during the winter of 1857-8. The few who remained and braved the hardships of that first winter experienced much suffer- ing for food before the dawning of spring.
Settlements were made on Bear, Indian and Cub Creeks, and at Blue Springs, in the latter part of 1857 and spring of 1858. The names of a few of those who located on Bear and Indian Creeks, near Beatrice, are Joseph Proud, Ira Dixon, Samuel Jones, John Pethoud, John Wilson, George Mumford, a family by the name of Austin, M. C. Kelley, J. H. Butler, and Orr Stevens, whose names appear upon the records of the County, in connection with the organization of Beatrice. Samuel Kilpatrick, familiarly known as " Uncle Sammy," whose death occurred in 1875, together with L. Y. Coffin, Thomas and Joseph Clyne, William Webb, Charles Buss, F. R. Roper, J. B. Roper, and others, settted on Cub Creek. James H. Johnson, Jacob Poff, R. A. Wilson, Ruel Noyes, Jacob Chambers, and a family named Elliott, settle : at Blue Springs. William Tyler and C. C. Coffinberry settled in the vicinity. S. M. Hazen and F. H. Dobbs settled on Mud Creek.
23
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JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
The extreme northern part of the County was not settled until about 1862, with the exception of a few who had located on the Great Nemaha, in Adams Precinct. John Adams, John Hill- man, John Shaw, George Gale, Jolin Lyon, Joseph Stafford, Frank Proudfit, S. P. Shaw, William Silvernail, William Shaw, L. Silver- nail, John Stafford, Lewis Hildebrand, Val. Kebler, J. Fisk, and Frank Pillmore, are a few of the first settlers in this locality.
David Palmer, Mr. Dewey, Jonathan Sharp, N. D. Cain, and others, settled on Plum Creek, in the southeastern part of the County, at a very early date.
The first death in the County was that of M. W. Ross, one of the original Town Company, which occurred at Beatrice in the winter of 1857.
The first birth occurred early in 1858, was a son to a Mr. Cross, who lived in a "dug-out " on Indian Creek.
Miss' Katie Towle was the first female child born in the County.
The first school house was built at Beatrice, on the property known as the "School Block;" and the first teacher was a Mrs. Francis Butler.
The first mail route through the County was established in 1860, from Nebraska City via Beatrice, to Marysville, Kansas. Joseph Sanders was the first mail carrier. He brought the first mail into Beatrice on the 3d day of October.
The Blue Valley Record, established at Beatrice in 1867, was the first newspaper published.
On the 5th of July, 1857, after the inhabitants had exhibited their patriotism by celebrating the national anniversary, they assembled together for religious devotion, the Rev. D. H. May, Pastor of the M. E. Church at Nebraska City, officiating, who then delivered the first sermonpreached in the County.
The Presbyterian Church of Beatrice was organized in 1869, by the Presbytery of Nebraska City. The building is a commo- dious and elegant edifice.
In April, 1871, the Episcopal Church of Beatrice was organized as a Mission Station, and two years thereafter it was organized as a Parish, under the name of Christ Church. In the summer of 1874 a neat edifice was erected, at a cost of $3,000.
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The Christian Church of Beatrice was organized in October, 1872. In the summer of 1874, an edifice was erected at a cost of $2,500.
The First Baptist Church of Beatrice was organized in the fall of 1873, and in the following year a neat edifice was erected, at a cost of $1,400.
The United Brethren Church of Beatrice was organized on the 14th of December, 1874, and have since erected a commodious house of worship.
The German Baptists, or " Dunkards," organized a Church in the County on the 9th of June, 1875, which is in a flourishing condition.
The German Methodist Church, in Clatonia Precinct, was organized in 1870, and an edifice erected in the following year, at a cost of about $1,000. In 1875, the Lutherans organized a Soci- ety here, and have secured land for an edifice, cemetery, school house, and parsonage. Religious services are also held by the Congregationalists, Methodists, and the Church of God, in the sev- eral school houses in the Precinct.
The M. E. Church of Blue Springs was organized in 1859, and an edifice of stone erected in 1869. The Evangelical Associa- tion and Adventists also hold regular services at this place.
The M. E. Church in Adams Precinct was organized in 1867, and in 1874 built a parsonage at a cost of $500. A Baptist Soci- ety was organized in the same Precinct in 1870.
A Society of the Church of God was organized in the north- western part of the County in 1874. Services are held every Sabbath.
The Baptists have a Church on Plum Creek, in Liberty Pre- cinct.
RAILROADS .- There are at present 22.16 miles of railroad in the County; the Burlington & Missouri River having thirteen, and the Atchison & Nebraska 9.16 miles. The B. & M. reached Beatrice through the valley of the Big Blue, in November, 1871. The Atchison & Nebraska road passes up the valley of the Great Ne- maha, across the northeast corner of the County, and was built in 1872.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS .- Districts in the County, eighty-seven;
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school houses, seventy-five; children of school age-males 1,854, females 1,614, total 3,468; qualified teachers employed-males, seventy-one, females, sixty-seven, total, 138; wages paid teachers for the year-males, $10,082.33, female, $7,777, total, $17,859.33; value of school houses, $36,858; value of sites, $3,277; value of books and apparatus, $1,787.26.
TAXABLE PROPERTY .- Acres of land, 414,196; average value per acre, $2.13. Value of town lots, $216,489. Money invested in merchandise, $63,141; money used in manufactures, $3,430; horses 5,070, value $110,504; mnules and asses 490, value $12,820; neat cattle 10,359, value $74,244; sheep 13,377, value $12,528; swine 20,994, value $22,286; vehicles 1,616, value $20,051; moneys and credits, $20,461; mortgages, $14,576; stocks, etc., $500; fur- niture, $3,950; other personalty, $30,000; libraries, $1,745; rail- road, $149,879.05; total valuation, $2,054,574.05.
LANDS .- The price of wild lands ranges from $4 to $12, and improved $7 to $25 per acre, The B. & M. Company owns 9,000 acres in this County, for which they ask from $5 to $8 per acre.
MILLS .-- There are four flouring and several saw-mills in the County, with excellent sites for many more.
POPULATION .- The County is divided into sixteen Precincts, the population of each in 1879 being as follows: Beatrice, 2,606; Blue Springs, 896; Clatonia, 645; Paddock, 598; Blakeley, 540; Cicily Creek, 541; Liberty, 526; Rockford, 507; Grant, 463; Highland, 460; Mud Creek, 437; Adams, 385; Nemaha, 339; Holt, 327; Bear Creek, 191; Hooker, 171. Total 9,629, of whom 5,196 are males, and 4,433 females. Population of County in 1875, 5,714; increase in last four years, 3,915.
BEATRICE,
The County Seat, is beautifully located in the valley of the Big Blue, near the geographical center of the County, and is at present the terminus of a southeastern branch of the B. & M. Railroad. It is handsomely built np, and is one of the largest and most attractive towns in Southeastern Nebraska. Its present population is 1.700. Among the buildings of note are a neat $16,000 court- house, an $18,000 school house, a $15,000 flouring mill, and sev- eral Churches, ranging in cost from $2,000 to $8,000 each. There
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are many elegant brick business blocks and beautiful private resi- dences surrounded with shade trees and shrubbery. Beatrice, be- ing the terminus of a railroad, is the shipping point for the stock and grain of a large scope of country on the south. It also has three excellent newspapers, the Courier, Express, and Leader. Good bridges span all the streams in the vicinity. The U. S. Land Office is located here.
F
BEATRICE COURT HOUSE.
BLUE SPRINGS
Is a thriving village of several hundred inhabitants, located on the Blue. about eight miles southeast of Beatrice. It was first settled in 1857. The surrounding country is a fertile agricultural region, and well settled. The town commands a large trade, and is im- proving rapidly. It has excellent school and Church privileges, and a weekly newspaper, the Reporter.
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JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
ADAMS,
On the Atchison & Nebraska Railway, is the shipping point for the northern portion of this and the adjoining Counties of John- son and Otoe. It has a splendid location, and is a good business center.
Besides the above, there are eighteen other villages in the County, each having a Postoffice, stores, good school and Church advantages.
GREELEY COUNTY.
Greeley County, named in honor of Hon. Horace Greeley, was organized in 1872. It is located in the sixth tier of Counties west of the Missouri River, in the central part of the State from north to south, and is bounded on the north by Wheeler, east by Boone, south by Howard, and west by Valley County, containing 576 square miles, or 368,640 acres, at an average elevation of 2,000 feet above the sea level.
WATER COURSES .- The County is watered by the North Fork of the Loup River and several large tributaries. The North Fork flows through the southwestern portion, and is a good mill stream. Its principal branches in this County are Fish, Wallace, Babcock, Shepard, Stewart, Willow and Davis Creeks, the latter stream hav- ing a flouring mill upon it. Spring Creek waters the central portion, and Cedar Creek the northeastern portion of the County.
TIMBER .- The natural timber is confined to the small quanti- ties along the streams, cottonwood and elm being the most. abundant. Some very fine cedar timber is found along the stream bearing that name, and in the bluffs. Thrifty artificial groves sur- round almost every farm house.
STONE .- A good building stone is found in the bluffs of the North Fork.
TOPOGRAPHY .- About one-fourth of the County is valley-the balance rolling prairie and bluff. The valley of the North Fork is here from two to four miles wide, and is usually skirted on both sides with a high range of bluffs. Cedar Valley varies in width
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from one and a half to three miles. The uplands possess a dark, rich soil, and produce excellent crops of small grain. Nutritious grasses and running water are abundant, affording fine advantages for sheep and cattle raising.
CROPS .- Acres under cultivation, 4,685}. Rye 177 acres, 2,323 bushels; spring wheat 1,9924 acres, 24,302 bushels; corn 1,0052 acres, 19,670 bushels; barley 143 acres, 3,402 bushels; oats 418¿ acres, 13,673 bushels; sorghum 63 acres, 851 gallons; pota- toes 522 acres, 6,737 bushels.
HISTORICAL .- The first permanent settlements in the County were made in August, 1871, by S. C. Scott, A. Shepard and J. G. Kellog, who came from Illinois and located on Shepard Creek, on the north side of the Loup.
November 1, 1871, Messrs. A. P. Fish, L. E. Gaffy and J. M. Talmadge located claims on Fish Creek. Mr. Gaffy built the first house in the County, into which he and Mr. Fish moved in Febru- ary, 1872, Mr. Fish's family arriving in May following.
· Claims were taken on Cedar Creek in 1872, Mr. William Shaw being one of the first to locate here.
In 1874, O. M. Harris, T. McKernan, and others, located on Spring Creek, and soon afterwards the town of Eldorado was laid out and a Postoffice established.
The first woman in the County was Mrs. James Wallace, of Virginia, who came in 1872. She shortly afterwards, however, re- turned to her home in the East. Mrs. Gray, who still resides in the County, was the first permanent lady settler.
The first sod was turned in May, 1872. The first Postoffice was established at Lamartine, on the Loup, in 1873, with Mr. A. P. Fish postmaster. The first marriage occurred in April, 1874, and was that of Mr. A. N. Bradt to Miss Clara Harlow. The first birth was a son to Mr. and Mrs. John Sheldon, in July, 1873. The first death in the County occurred in September, 1875, and was that of Job Skay, an old gentleman over seventy years of age, who was thrown from a load of hay and instantly killed.
The first general election for County officers was held at the house of Mr. A. P. Fish, on the 13th of October, 1872, and resulted as follows: A. P. Fish, A. Shepard, and T. C. Davis, Commission- ers; E. B. Fish, Clerk; S. (. Scott, Treasurer; M. Davis, Survey-
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or; J. G. Kellog, Superintendent Public Instruction; George Hillman, Probate Judge; G. W. Babcock, Sheriff; C. Wellman, Coroner.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS .- Number of school districts, thirteen; school houses, four; children of school age-inales 129, females 141; total, 270; whole number of children that attended school during the year, 139; number of qualified teachers employed -- males four, females ten; total, fourteen; wages paid teachers for the year- males $176.75, females $796; total, $972.75; total value of school property, $1,865.
TAXABLE PROPERTY .- Acres of land, 184,673; average value per acre, $0.83. Value of town lots, $910. Money invested in merchandise, $605; money used in manufactures, $720; number of horses 307, value $11,821; number of mules 33, value $1,461; neat cattle 1272, value $11,237; sheep 78, value $98; swine 395, value $617; vehicles 160, value $3,641; moneys and credits, $745; mortgages, $406; furniture, $1,763; libraries, $140; property not enumerated, $6,028. Total valuation, $194,866.
LANDS .- There is considerable fine government land in this County subject to entry under the homestead and pre-emption laws. The value of improved lands ranges from $4 to $12 per acre. The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company owns 135,000 acres here, for which they ask from $1 to $5 per acre.
POPULATION .- The following is the population of the County by Precincts: Scotia, 282; Adell, 79; Cedar Valley, 146; Spring Creek, 146; O'Connor, 140. Total 753, of whom 436 were males and 317 females. The population of the County in 1878 was 473; increase in last year, 280.
LAMARTINE,
On the Loup, in the southwestern part of the County, was one of the first points settled. It contains a couple of dozen dwellings, a hotel, two general merchandise stores, a blacksmith shop, school house, etc., and is surrounded by a fertile farming country. The streams in the vicinity are spanned by substantial bridges. On Davis Creek, close at hand, there is a good flouring mill.
SCOTIA,
On the Loup, four miles north of Lamartine, is the largest town in
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JOHNSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
the County, having about 250 inhabitants. It contains a hotel, blacksmith shop, several stores and other business houses, and a weekly newspaper, the Tribune.
HALIFAX
Is a thriving young village on the Cedar, in the northeastern part of the County. It has a good general merchandise store, hotel, school house, etc.
O'CONNOR
Is a flourishing young town recently laid out near the geographi- cal center of the County. It was made the County Seat at the general election held in the spring of 1879. The town was settled by an Irish colony, and is improving very rapidly, having at pre- sent over 100 inhabitants. A large amount of land has been pur- chased from the B. & M. R. R. this year, for another Irish colony, who are expected in the early spring of next year.
GOSPER COUNTY.
Gosper County was organized in 1873. It is located in the southwestern part of the State, on the divide between the Platte and Republican Rivers, and is bounded on the north by Frontier and Dawson, east by Phelps, south by Furnas, and west by Fron- tier County, containing 468 square miles, or 299,520 acres.
WATER COURSES .- The Platte River touches the northeast corner of the County. Plum Creek, a tributary of the Platte, and the most important stream in the County, being large enough for mill purposes, flows from west to east entirely across the northern tier of townships. Stinking Water, Muddy, Elk, Wild Turkey and a number of smaller Creeks, have their rise in the central part of this County, and flow in a southerly course into the Republican.
TIMBER .- There is very little native timber in the County. Plum Creek and a few of the other streams have a light sprinkling of cottonwood, box elder, ash, elm, etc., along their banks, but no large groves. Young and thrifty artificial groves adorn many farms. No report of the number of forest trees under cultivation.
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JOIINSON'S HISTORY OF NEBRASKA.
PHYSICAL FEATURES .- The surface of the country consists mainly of undulating upland, with about ten per cent. bottom and five per cent. bluff. Plum Creek has a very fine valley, and there are wide reaches of beautiful bottom land along the streams in the southern part of the County.
SOIL AND CROPS .- With the exception of a narrow sandy strip along the Platte bottom, the soil throughout the County is gen- erally rich and productive, especially for small grain. The area reported under cultivation for 1879 was 1,735 acres. The yield of the principal crops was as follows: Winter wheat, forty-six acres, 726 bushels; rye, 341 acres, 4,861 bushels; spring wheat, 586 acres, 7,768 bushels; corn, 488 acres, 8,186 bushels; barley, 194 acres, 3,713 bushels; oats, seventy-four acres, 2,642 bushels; potatoes, six acres, 900 bushels.
HISTORICAL .- Otto Renze made the first permanent settlement in the County, in the fall of 1871. He was followed slowly by others, who, leaving the great thoroughfares along the Platte and Republican Valleys, selected choice claims along Plum Creek, in northern part of the County, and on Muddy, Elk, and Turkey Creeks, in the southern part.
The first religious meetings were held at the residence of Rev. T. G. Davis, a Baptist Minister, on Elk Creek.
The organic election was held on the open prairie, near the geographical center of the County, in May, 1873, and resulted in the election of the following officers: Commissioners-G. H. Jones, H. A. Millard, E. G. Vaughan; Clerk, R. G. Gordon; Daviesville, in the southwestern part of the County, was selected as the County Seat.
The first Postoffice was established at Daviesville, in 1874, and a comfortable school house was also erected there the same year.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS .-- There are at present eight school districts in the County, six school houses, and 119 children of school age, of whom sixty-six are males and fifty-three females; number of qualified teachers employed, four; wages paid teachers for the year, $138.88; value of school property, $170.
TAXABLE PROPERTY .- Acres of land, 83,318; average value per acre, $1.27. Number of horses, 275, value, $5,616; number of mules, thirty-onc, value $879; number of neat cattle, 819, value,
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$6,685; number of sheep, 2,313, value, $1,388: number of swine, 234, value, $183; vehicles, 182, value, $1,599; moneys and credits, $225; furniture, $515; property not enumerated, $552.30. Total valuation, $126,131.95.
LAND .- There is a large amount of both railroad and govern- ment land in this County. The price of wild lands here ranges from $1 to $5 per acre. The prairies and meadows produce an abundance of the finest grasses, and cattle and sheep thrive well here with but little attention. The Platte River is spanned by sub- stantial bridges, giving the settlers of the County easy access to the shipping stations on the Union Pacific Railroad.
POPULATION .- The County is divided into five voting Precincts, the population of each, in 1879, being as follows: Turkey Creek, 165; Elk Creek, 164: East Muddy, 118; West Muddy, 155; Robb, twenty-two.
Total population 622, of whom 354 were males and 268 fe- males.
DAVIESVILLE,
The County Seat, is the only town in the County. It is situated on Muddy Creek, in the southwestern part of the County, and has a couple of good general merchandise stores, a hotel, school house, blacksmith shop, etc.
PLUM CREEK, VAUGHAN's and JUDSON's Ranches have each a. Postoffice, general store, school house, blacksmith shop, and good accommodations for travelers.
HALL COUNTY.
Hall County was established by an Act of the Legislature, in 1855, and organized in 1859. It is located in the south-central part of the State, and is bounded on the north by Howard, east by Merrick and Hamilton, south by Adams, and West by Buffalo Counties, containing 576 square miles, or 368,640 acres, at an aver- age elevation of 1,850 feet above the sea level.
WATER COURSES .- The County is finely watered by the Platte and Wood Rivers, Prairie Creek, and numerous smaller streams.
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The Platte enters the County at the southwest corner, and flows in a northeasterly course, passing out at the middle of the eastern boundary line. Wood River waters the central portion of the County, and joins the Platte near the eastern line. Prairie Creek, with its numerous branches, waters the northern portion of the County. Mill privileges are abundant, and could be utilized at light expense.
TIMBER .- The islands of the Platte are covered with a thick growth of natural timber, and the banks of the stream are also well skirted. Wood River and some of the smaller streams are well wooded. The amount of timber under cultivation in the County is 1,557 acres, or 1,262,294 trees, besides twelve miles of hedging.
The first fruit trees were planted in the spring of 1863. The first cherries were produced in 1867, the first peaches in 1871, and the first apples and pears in 1872.
FRUIT .- The amount of fruit trees reported under cultivation in 1879 was as follows: Apple, 6,266; pear, 169; peach, 4,559; plum, 10,165; cherry, 1,427; and grape vines, ten acre.
CHARACTER OF THE LAND .- Fully forty per cent of the area is valley, and the balance undulating prairie. South of the Platte, there are no bluffs dividing the bottom and upland, but instead, a succession of plateaus or gentle undulations, terminating in broad tables one hundred feet above the level of the river. The valley on the north side of the Platte is very wide, the first three miles being fine, rich bottom. Wood River has wide bottoms and rich undu- lating prairie on either side. Northward from this, a fertile, low upland prevails for ten or fifteen miles, in the middle of which is the beautiful little valley of Prairie Creek.
CROPS .- The soil is a deep, black sandy loam, and very pro- ductive for all kinds of crops. The area reported under cultivation in the County for 1879, was 49,648 acres. The yield of the prin- cipal crops was as follows: Winter wheat, thirty-six acres, 329 bushels; spring wheat, 28.390 acres, 278,202 bushels; rye, 1,994 acres, 27,288 bushels; corn, 10,672 acres, 261,179 bushels; barley, 1,247 acres, 24,872 bushels; oats, 4,879 acres, 122,802 bushels; po- tatoes, 575 acres, 42,584 bushels; onions, 1} acres, 200 bushels.
HISTORICAL .- The first permanent settlements were made in
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the summer of 1857, by a colony from Davenport, Iowa, sent out under the auspices of a Town Company consisting of A. H. Bar- rows, W. H. F. Gurley and B. B. Woodward. The object of this Company was to locate a town site somewhere in Central Nebraska, in the great Platte Valley, with the expectation that sooner or later a railroad would be built across the Continent, running through the Platte Valley, and that eventually the National Capi- tal would have to be removed from Washington City to a centrally located point somewhere in the Northwest.
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