USA > Nebraska > Seward County > History of Seward County, Nebraska, and reminiscenses of territorial history > Part 21
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HISTORY OF SEWARD COUNTY, NEBRASKA
the great freight roads to the southward. Seward was quite a village when the settlement began in that region, and the people were not so isolated from the world at large. Then it was not long until the locomotive had broken a trail to Seward which was only from eight to fourteen miles away. Yet many of the settlers saw some tough times, al- though they were free from Indian scares and were in no especial danger of starving as older settlers were close at hand. From the first the development and progress has kept pace with other parts of the county. Hundreds of planted groves make the scenery beautiful to look upon. Where not one tree was in sight in that wide extending plain, now looking in any direction it appears like an un- broken line of timber in the distance as far as the eye can reach.
Miss Clara Derby had the honor of teaching the first school of the precinct in the summer of 1873, in an old sod- die of course. While "E" precinct is one of our most popu- lous townships, there are only four school districts. Utica maintains a fine graded school in a large two story school- house. The country districts all have good frame buildings. Pupils enrolled number three hundred eighty, of which two hundred eleven are in the Utica district. The township contains two hundred and twenty-six farms or subdivisions of land. The Burlington railway was completed to. Utica in the fall of 1877, when Utica was founded. (See historic sketch of Utica.)
F PRECINCT
"F" precinct is located in town 11, range 2 east of 6th P. M. This beautiful precinct is principally upland prairie. Lincoln creek cuts the southeastern corner and gives it a broad stretch of most excellent valley land. With the small tributaries it furnishes a good system of drainage to a large part of the lands; however in the southwestern portion, it is a vast level plain, with an occasional swamp. The lands are mostly of very superior quality and is well improved with nice dwellings, great barns, orchards, etc.
The township is traversed by the main line of the B. & M. R. R. where, at all times of the day or night, long trains
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HISTORY OF SEWARD COUNTY, NEBRASKA
of cars enliven the scene. Tamora, the station, is a neat little village where may be found several good stores, a great lumber yard, three elevators, two commodius churches, a good high school building, etc.
The first homestead entry was made in 1864, on what is known as the Rev. E. W. Johnson farm, on Sec. 24. He built a log cabin on the claim but never moved to it. Thomas Skillman was the first settler on Sec. 13, in the spring of 1865. Geo. and Russel Rogers and their widowed mother made settlement in the fall of 1866. D. H. Figard, James Anderson, Charles and Joseph Thurman and Abram Wallick made settlement in the spring of 1876. During the spring of 1868, Geo. Slonecker, Sam Stevenson, Aaron and Allen Anderson, Mr. Shockey and Thos. Osborne came. The first school was taught in the summer of 1868 in the old cabin on the Johnson place. The first church organization was effected by Rev. Johnson at the Slonecker school house, date not given. In 1869 and 1873 droves of new people came and scores of homesteads were taken.
Tamora was surveyed into lots in 1879 and that fall J. W. Scott built a small grain house, put in a set of scales and commenced the grain trade and Wm. Butler opened a small store. P. G. Tyler made the first home in the new town. Growth was slow at first. Morisey Bros. built an elevator in 1881 and T. W. Lowrey built one in 1882. The first school was opened in the spring of 1884. The Presbyterian people organized in 1880 and bought a small building and used it until the new church edifice was built in 1882. The church was dedicated November 9, 1883. The M. E. church was built in 1882. The present commodious two story frame school house was erected in 1886 at a cost of $2100. A graded school is maintained and is flourishing.
At the present writing, Tamora is a beautiful busy village of about three hundred people. Tamora has always been free from the curse of saloons. They throw their surplus energy into beautifying their homes and maintaining their schools and churches. Tamora is a genial home place within a few minutes ride of the city, where society is excellent and the fumes of the grog shop are unknown.
"F"' township contains two hundred and forty-six farms
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HISTORY OF SEWARD COUNTY, NEBRASKA
or sub-divisions of land. There are eight school districts in- cluding one graded school with an enrollment of 211 scholars.
G PRECINCT
"G" precinct is located in town 11, range 3 east, was first settled, so far as is definitely known, by Wm. Wymore on Sec. 8 and Mr. Olmstead on Sec. 17. This was in the summer of 1863. These men had deserted from the Union army and the Provo marshall was on their trial. Mr. Wy- more sold his claim to W. W. Cox and Olmstead abandoned his and later the land was entered by John Roberts, Sr. R. T. Gale had homesteaded on Sec. 21 as early as January 2, 1863, but did not move to his claim until the spring of 1864, when at about the same time Hon. Wm. Imlay and also his father David Imlay and family came and took claims on Sec. 15. Wm. Imlay located on Sec. 18. E. L. Ellis had entered by government warrant, a quarter on Sec. 18 as early as the summer 1861 and through the help of Joel Mason of Lan- caster county, Geo. Hilton, of Cincinnati, entered a part of Sec. 21 in 1862. W. W. Cox homesteaded in March, 1864, but did not move to claim until December 1st. Lewis Moffitt visited the locality in the winter of 1864 and 1865 and entered three eighties on the northwest of Sec. 21, the future town site of Seward and moved to the settlement in July 1865.
In the spring of 1865, Richard Sampson homesteaded on Sec. 17 and John N. Roberts on Secs. 19 and 20. Rev. E. L. Clark visited the locality in October 1865 and moved to his claim in the spring of 1866. In the spring of 1866 J. C. Sampson, John Roberts, Sr., and E. L. Ellis came and later in the season James A. Brown. In the summer of 1864, Father Dunaway located on Sec. 3, but died shortly after- wards and the family occupied the land in 1865. In 1866 J. F. Duncan, Stites Wooley, Roger Cooper, E. B. Shafer came and also Wm. Cooper. Homesteads in their order were R. T. Gale 1st, Stites Wooley 2nd, W. W. Cox 3rd, Father Dun- away 4th. D. P. Imlay 5th, Wm. Imlay 6th, Grandpa David Imlay 7th, Richard Sampson 8th, J. N. Roberts 9th, Thos. Dunaway 10th and Joseph Imlay 11th.
Incidents of the early history of this precinct are so thor-
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HISTORY OF SEWARD COUNTY, NEBRASKA
oughly set forth in other pages of this work and the valuable historic letters of James A. Brown and Mrs. Sarah Anderson that we will not deal further with it. The present precinct is now exclusive of the city of Seward. It contains two hundred and ninety-eight farm or sub-divisions of land. It has four school districts, each with good frame buildings, with one hundred thirty-nine scholars enrolled. We would say that Dist. No. 9, Seward district, takes in a large amount of territory outside the city limits and that district alone has an enrollment of 701 scholars. The precinct is a grand good
one. It has a vast amount of valley land, as Plum creek and Lincoln creek form junctions with the river within its borders. The land is nearly all slightly undulating and well drained. There was quite an amount of natural timber along the streams. There is no rough land within its borders. From the river bottoms the land rises in gentle slopes. The farms are generally well improved and very valuable. The precinct has three lines of railway, with about twenty miles of track. It is cut by the main line of the B. & M. from east to west, by the A. & N. branch from northwest to southeast and the Northwestern from the northeast to the southwest.
H PRECINCT
"H" precinct, or township 11, range 4 east, is one of the eastern townships, and situated on the head of the north fork of Middle creek. It is rolling land, with numerous springs and bright running streams, many of them fringed with nice young timber. The settlement is largely German. The first settler was Lewis Leibrock, on his present farm near the stone church. Conrad Grant and Deidrick Brant settled soon afterwards. Andrew Shultz, Wm. Luber, Gill- man Garland, B. W. Walker, Fritz Ropke, and Wm. Leppe made settlement in 1868, and in 1869 Chris. Thomas and Jacob Thomas, John Westerhoff, and C. C Davis; also Chas. Ruchtassel made settlement just at the edge of the plain on the west side of the precinct; also Henry Petrie and John Ohlwiler.
The first school was organized in 1869, with Wolsey Wy- ant, L. Leibrock, and Conrad Grant as school officers. They
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HISTORY OF SEWARD COUNTY, NEBRASKA
erected a school house on section 28, and Thos. Cowen taught the first term. The second school house was built in 1873, in district No. 32, and Mrs. J. P. Loose, then Miss Kate Miller, taught the first term. The stone church, of which we give elsewhere a history, was built under the pastorate of Rev. Theo Gruber, in 1872, valued at $3,000. The Lutheran society laid out a cemetery in 1868, on the farm of Mr. Leibrock. July 14, 1869. The two sons of Conrad Grant were killed by lightning, and these were the first deaths in the precinct. . Charlie Grant was the first child born in the settlement, in 1868.
The Midland railroad was built through the precinct in 1873, and Germantown was laid into lots in 1874, by Hiland Fraszier. F. Bick opened the first store. John Westerhoff was appointed postmaster. Charles Howland opened the second store in 1878. The first frame house was built in the precinct by Conrad Grant, in 1876.
This precinct is pre-eminently a dairy region and the peo- ple have made a success in that line as the history of the Germantown creamery will readily show. The eastern part of the township was first settled by Geo. W. Lowley, Henry and John Beckman, and Mr. Koch in 1870. The three latter families yet reside at the old homesteads surrounded with plenty of this world's goods with elegant homes.
The township contains one beautiful village of near three hundred souls situate on the edge of the great upland plain near the north-west corner of the precinct. It contains two large elevators and many good business houses with a good hotel and bank, with a tine high school building and three churches. It is a great shipping point. It has one of the most successful creameries in the state (see its history). The precinct has two hundred and sixty-two farms or subdivisions of land. There is one graded school and five others all with good buildings; scholars enrolled are 247.
"H" is a properous and wealthy precinct if the lands are rough.
I PRECINCT
"I" precinct is located in town 10, range 4, east of the 6th P. M. The western part of this precinct is on the great
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HISTORY OF SEWARD COUNTY, NEBRASKA
plain between the Blue river and the Middle creek breaks, where are many splendid farms; but the greater part of the precinct is rolling hills with plenty of running streams and many excellent springs. There are many stony points. The little valleys are exceedingly fertile' and are well im- proved; the lands are largely occupied by a very thrifty class of Germans, and they have become independent, nearly all having pleasant homes. The lands are well adapted to dairying and poultry raising. Many groves of native tim- ber adorn the valleys. The precinct has but about three miles of railway, but has a good station at Pleasant Dale. The western portion is very handy to both Seward and Mil- ford, while the eastern portion is only twelve miles from the capital. The township has two hundred and fifty-two farms or subdivisions of land. They have five school districts all supplied with pretty good frame buildings, including one graded school, with an enrollment of two hundred seventy pupils. (See "Pleasant Dale.")
PLEASANT DALE
In the beautiful little valley of Middle Creek in the southern part of "I" town stands the village that is so properly named. This valley was beautiful when a wilder- ness, when the herds that grazed and fattened on the luxur- iant meadows in their native wildness were the elk, ante- lope and buffalo, and the only sign of human habitation was the curling smoke of the distant wigwam. Thus we have seen it in 1862. How much more beautiful is it now since the hand of civilized man has transformed it and made it to blossom out in all its present grandeur. It is all checked up into farms of transcendent wealth with hundreds of tasty dwellings surrounded with groves and orchards, splendid meadows and great stretches of waving fields of corn. Oh! how it gladdens the heart of the old pioneer as he stands upon an eminence and beholds the transformation wrought in forty-two years. Now instead of the whoop of the wild man in the chase may be seen the thousands of cattle graz- ing peacefully on the hills, while the screeching of the iron horse with his thundering tread is rushing up and down the valleys drawing in his great train innumerable blessings to
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HISTORY OF SEWARD COUNTY, NEBRASKA
mankind. Surely we may exclaim in the language of the poet prophet, "Thy light has come and the glory of God is risen upon thee."
Among the honored names of those who first founded this settlement are James Iler, Abram Courtright and Steven Brown.
Upon the opening of the steam wagon road in 1864, this valley became better known to the world, and when the war closed in 1865, people began to have faith in Nebraska, and slow but surely settlement began. It took some years to convince people that this was not a desert land, and that it sometimes did rain west of Salt Creek.
A history of the struggles of the pioneer settlers is the same old story, only with variations; long and weary jour- neys to mill, to the city, of camping out nights, of weary waiting and watching, of Indian scares and depredations, of poverty, want, and destitution, fighting prairie fires, and contending with grasshoppers and hot winds, living in dug- outs and log cabins. But those days are happily past and now, speaking in vulgar parlance, these people who braved all the dangers and hardships are "strictly in it." This is today a country of wealth and luxury, with beautiful homes and grand opportunities, with the railroad, telegraph, and a telephone in hundreds of country homes, and a rural deliv ery box at nearly every farmer's door.
The A. & N. railroad was built in 1879 and the station of Pleasant Dale was established soon thereafter. In 1883 Mr. J. H. Merrill and Thomas Best laid out a townsite on parts of the n. e. # and the s. e. } of sec. 35, town 9, range 4, east. A small store was opened. A post office established at James Iler's in the early seventies was moved to the new town, and thus the nucleus of the village was formed. The school known as the Happel school, Dist. No. 21, was one and one-half miles distant, but was moved to the village in about 1885.
The first school in the village was taught by Miss Belle Caruthers in the year 1885. She is now Mrs. A. H. Merrill. J. R. Burd opened the first store. The Methodist people built a church edifice in 1883. In 1898 the enterprising citi-
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HISTORY OF SEWARD COUNTY, NEBRASKA
zens built a public hall of no mean proportions. A fine and capacious hotel was erected in 1902.
Now the village contains two hundred and fifty people, four mixed stores, two hardware establishments, a good ele- vator, a first class livery barn and plenty of other shops, a fine and commodious school building with capacity for one hundred and twenty-five pupils. They have two telephone systems, a well established bank, a money order office, and only thirty minutes from the county seat and a like distance from the capital. It is an ideal village, located on a sightly little hill, with a nice park, splendid water and surrounded by beautiful scenery. It is a splendid place for a quiet home. Lots are cheap, and the best of all it is among an enterprising, thrifty, intelligent and sociable people.
J PRECINCT
"J" precinct is located in town 10, R. 3 east of the 6th P. M. This precinct is one of the oldest settled portions of the county. Daniel Morgan and his sons Louis and Thomas set- tled near the present town of Ruby in the spring of 1861, and were the first permanent settlers in the North Blue valley and the second families to make permanent homes in the county. Job T. Reynolds, Samuel Long, J. C. Neihardt and T. L. Rogers settled in the same neighborhood in the spring of 1863. The Reynolds family and Grandmother Long yet live on the old homesteads; all the rest have gone to their long home except Louis Morgan. He lives in Missouri.
"J" township occupies a rather central position in the county. The river runs through it furnishing quite an amount of timber and plenty of water power although it yet remains undeveloped. Both the east and west portions are on the table land. Nearly every acre of it is excellent farming land. The drainage is good.
The railroad runs centrally through it from northwest to southeast giving it one station at Ruby which is but a hamlet with two elevaters, two small stores, post-office, etc. Sew- ard is the principal trading point although some of its trade goes to Milford. The precinct is well settled in all its parts, and is rich in all the varied products of our locality. There
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HISTORY OF SEWARD COUNTY, NEBRASKA
are two hundred and seventy-three farms or sub-divisions of land. They have five school districts, each with a commodi- ous frame house, with an enrollment of 294 scholars.
The precinct is well supplied with rural routes from Seward and Milford, while the rural telephone systems are being extended to every nook and corner.
K PRECINCT
Town 10 north, range 2 east of the 6th P. M. is a magnifi- cent tract of farming land with one hundred and ninety-eight farms or sub-divisions of land. It is a great plain just slight- ly undulating. The farms are nearly all well improved with excellent houses and great barns, with orchards and beauti- ful yards. The people seem prosperous and happy. They have four school houses with 254 scholars enrolled. There is about seven miles of railroad and one village, Goehner, which is a good shipping point, containing three grain eleva- tors, three good well supplied merchantile houses and one hardware house; several substantial brick two story busi- ness houses, a plendid school in a modern two story struct- ure, three church edifices and a town hall, a good bank, depot, etc., together with a goodly number of cozy resi- dences. The village was laid out in the autumn of 1887, and contains about one hundred and twenty-five people, with some wide-awake business men at the head. Goehner is well situated for trade, being surrounded by farms just as good as can be found in the world, which are owned and occupied by some of Nebraska's best people.
Settlement began in this prairie wilderness in 1869 when Geo. Perkins, Andrew Perkins, Peter Oglevy, and Abram Windsor unloaded their prairie schooners, and transferred their families and goods to the soddies and began building homes. Uncle Peter Oglevy and Uncle Abe Windsor have finished their work and gone to their reward. Andrew Perk- ins has left us for the sunny south and only Geo. Perkins remains of the sixty-niners, except widow Graul. In 1870 A. C. Miller, C. C. Tunecliff, K. B. A. Bonnam, Peter M. Johnson and Ed. Jensen and Allison and Martin Madson and perhaps a few others came to help subdue the wilderness.
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HISTORY OF SEWARD COUNTY, NEBRASKA
The first school was opened in 1873 in a sod college and was taught by Miss Lotta Hillery at mound prairie. There were many pathetic scenes in pioneer days in this little set- tlement, some of which will be told in historic letters in these pages.
The post-office was established in 1888 with Chas. Brock- way P. M. Chas. Matzke is the present post-master. The records of the office were burned and we are unable to secure much information in regard to it. Money order office estab- lished in an early day.
L PRECINCT
Town 10, range 1, east, was first settled by John E. Fouse, at the crossing of Beaver creek, in 1862, when he opened a ranch on the old freight road. Mr. Fouse lived here many years in a sort of rough-and-tumble way, trading with travelers and Indians. The writer was at his place in 1864, and at that time the ranch was kept in an immense dug-out on the bank of the creek. There were a great many tough stories told in connection with this ranch in the pio- neer days, but we will not reiterate them, as we are hardly able to vouch for their truthfulness. Mr. Fouse was a pe- culiar character, and his place became somewhat famous for many tragic events there enacted. Whiskey was an import- ant article of trade at the ranch.
Thos. Tisdale opened his little store and the postoffice in 1869, and Mr. Donovan also settled in the neighborhood about the same time. The real substantial settlement began in 1870 when the prairies began to be homesteaded. Widow Foster built the first frame house in April. Thomas Foster and his widowed mother and F. M. Horton made a settle- ment shortly afterwards. In 1871 there were a great many who made settlement. The first school of which we can learn was taught by John Turner, on what was known as the Norman Cassler farm, in the summer of 1873. While "L" is one of our foremost farming precincts, it has no rail- road and no village within its borders, but is happily situ- ated, convenient to four stations on two different railroads, and has a choice of markets within an hour's drive from any
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HISTORY OF SEWARD COUNTY, NEBRASKA
point. The southwestern portion is somewhat rough but the lands are good. The other and larger portion is as fine farming land as can be found anywhere. The precinct has the choice of Utica, Tamora, Goehner, and Beaver Crossing for market places, and the farthest farm does not exceed six miles from a station.
The precinct contains two hundred and thirty-five farms or sub-divisions of land; it has five school districts each with a good frame school house and an enrollment of one hundred and ninety-one pupils. Rural routes from Beaver Crossing and Utica supply the people with their daily mail, while the 'phone bell rings in a large portion of the homes.
M PRECINCT
Town 9, range 1, east of the 6th P. M., is the south- western precinct. It was traversed by the old freight road. In 1862, Daniel Millspaw opened a ranch just west of where Beaver Crossing now stands, where Mrs. Thompson now re- sides. In 1863, John Leonard established his ranch a little farther west. Mr. Buzzard settled just northeast of the present village in 1865. Columbus Clark and G. Clark settled just southeast of the Ross Nichols place and about the same time Phillip Michaels located on the Migatt farm. Ross Nichols came in 1869 and located on a portion of the townsite and soon after platted a small portion of his land and named it Nicholsville. Smith and Ingalls opened a little store in 1871 and Mr. Smith built the flouring mill that season. At this time Thomas Tisdale had a little store at John E. Fouse's ranch at the crossing of the Beaver creek in the corner of "L" precinct. Mr. Tisdale had secured a post office which was supplied by a star route. Mail was carried on a broncho and was weekly; some said it was a weakly affair. Mr. Tisdale wanted to get nearer the mill and he moved his store, post office and all, including the name Beaver Crossing, and that is how they beat the beavers out of their crossing.
The new town was rather a dull, sleepy cross-road place for many years with a couple of stores, a blacksmith shop, a small hotel and doctor's office, and so it remained until the spring of 1887, when the building of the F. E. & M. V. R.
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HISTORY OF SEWARD COUNTY, NEBRASKA
R. was assured, when it awoke to a new life, which is more thoroughly set forth in other pages of this work.
"M" precinct is more fortunate in that it has two rail- road stations within its boarders. In the southwest corner, largely through the influence of Benjamin Hunkins, the railroad folks located a station and named it Hunkins, and a neat little village sprang up. When the post office matter came up for sttlement the government would not adopt the name as there was in the state another office of so nearly the same name, so the village was re-named Cordova.
Cordova, at this writing, is a brisk village of about 200 people, with a good supply of business houses; two elevators, bank, two churches, a fine school house and many neat resi- dences. The town draws trade from Fillmore and York counties, and is in a flourishing condition. It is surrounded by a well developed and rich farming community.
"M" precinct is divided into two voting precincts. South Blue river traverses the precinct from the northwest to the eastward and southward and furnishes an abundant water power. The drainage is very good. Indian and Johnson creeks traverse the south portion and Beaver creek cuts the northwest corner. There is quite an amount of natural timber along these streams. As is fully noted else- where, there are about four hundred flowing wells in this valley which are of great value. There are seven miles of railroad, seven school districts, each with good substantial buildings, with two graded schools, an enrollment of 515. There are 234 farms or sub-divisions of land.
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