USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > History of the city of Lincoln, Nebraska : with brief historical sketches of the state and of Lancaster County > Part 13
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LOCATING THE CAPITAL.
" The sales at Nebraska City and Omaha amounted to about nine- teen thousand dollars, and aggregated, with the amount at Lincoln, about $53,000, a sum sufficiently large to dispel all despondency and warrant renewed exertions.
" We again met an obstacle which for a little while promised a good deal of trouble.
"Under the 'Capitol Bill,' your Commissioners were required to pay over the amount received from the sales of lots to the State Treas- urer, and pay all expenditures by warrants upon the State Treasurer building fund held by that officer. We have, in this regard, to plead guilty to a technical violation of law. Except the sum of $148, none of the money received by us has ever been paid over.
"As soon as the town was surveyed, there began rumors that the enemies of the enterprise were determined to defeat it if possible, and that nothing which could accomplish that end would be left undone.
" We were assured in the most reliable quarters that one of these defeating means would be the enjoining of the Treasurer against the payment of money upon warrants upon the building fund, an effort which, even if the injunction had not in the end been sustained, in the ordinary course of the courts would have prevented active operations until it should be too late to secure the erection of the State House.
"In consequence of this rumor, well founded as it seemed to be, hundreds of persons who would otherwise have invested largely in Lincoln lots, declined so doing; others who had purchased or bid off lots, hesitated about paying the money and taking their certificates; while others became so fearful of a bad result, that they even applied to the Commissioners for a restoration of the amounts paid and a can- cellation of their certificates.
"At this juncture some friends of the enterprise, who were sureties upon our official bond, called upon the others, and prepared and fur- nished us with the following protest :
"[COPY.]
" NEBRASKA CITY, November 23, 1867.
"To the Honorable David Butler, Thomas P. Kennard, and John Gillespie. Commis- sioners:
"GENTLEMEN-The undersigned having become sureties on your official bonds for the faithful performance of your duties as Commissioners, respectfully beg leave to formally protest against the deposit of any of the funds received by you from the sale of State property with the State Treasurer, for the following reasons:
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
" 1st. Because it has been repeatedly intimated by the enemies of the present capital location, that all moneys so deposited will be attached and held, so as to defeat the wishes of a majority of the people of the State by preventing the erec- tion of the captol buildings till after the sitting of the next Legislature.
"2d. Because we. having in good faith become sureties, not as a personal favor to the Commissioners, but to secure the success of the proposed location and early completion of the capitol buildings, are unwilling that the enterprise should either be defeated or delayed by useless litigation. We therefore, respectfully but ear- nestly request the Commissioners to withhold the funds which may now be in their hands, as well as those which may yet be received, and deposit them with those bankers who have made themselves sureties, and who may furnish the Com- missioners satisfactory security for the prompt payment of the money deposited with them. Very respectfully, your obedient servants,
" D. J. MCCANN.
"FREDERICK RENNER.
"GEORGE MOHRENSTECHER.
"SAMUEL B. SIBLEY.
"H. KENNEDY.
" JOHN HAMILIN.
THOMAS B. STEVENSON.
D. WHITENGER.
S. MCCONIGA.
ROBERT HAWK.
JAMES SWEET. "
" Under the circumstances which surrounded us, and being unwill- ing to jeopardize the money held by us as the representatives of the State in trust for the persons who had advanced it upon the risk of the success of the town of Lincoln, we felt that we could not do other- wise than accede to the demand and protest of our sureties, and having made satisfactory arrangements for the deposit and withdrawal of the funds with private bankers, we did so, and have assumed all the re- sponsibility of the financial affairs of the enterprise.
"On June 17, 1868, we held a sale of lots at Lincoln, and realized about $9,000.
"On the 17th of September we again sold at Lincoln, and received about $13,580.
"At the sale in September, 1867, and June, 1868, we had offered lots only in the alternate or even numbered blocks, with those in four odd numbered blocks to make up for half of the reserved blocks, all of which, except the court house square, fell upon odd numbers. At the last sale, in September, 1868, we offered the lots in the odd numbered blocks on the old town site of Lancaster. The presumption of the authority to make this sale was upon the consideration of our oc- cupaney of the ground. We accepted it from the proprietors as so much over the town of Lincoln proper, and excess beyond the see- tion and a quarter which we had located as the capital, as an addition
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LOCATING THE CAPITAL.
to the town, for the purpose of having no rival in the business of selling town lots upon ground adjacent to the capitol, and where hav- ing a village already established, the proprietors could easily have de- rived large profits, which otherwise would have been invested with the State. Besides, the building of the town had so far been accom- plished in the direction of and upon that quarter that the appreciated value of property in second hands made it so probable that we could realize more money from a few lots there than from many upon the south side of the townsite proper; and standing in need of much more money than we had reason to believe these last-named lots would bring, we deemed it advisable to offer all that were then un- sold.
"The lots were appraised prior to the first sale, according to the law, due consideration being had to their relative situation regarding the public reservation, and the probable business center, and their particular condition.
"This appraisement amounted to a total of. $68,000 00
"The appraisement on the lots sold was. 63,475 00
"The advance on appraisement at all the sales was. 13,145 75
"Making the total sales at Lincoln, September, 1867 $34,342 25
"At Nebraska City, September, 1867 18,745 50
"At Omaha, September, 1867 1,005 00
"At Lincoln, June, 1868. 8,970 00
"At Lincoln, September, 1868. 13,553 00
" Total. $76,715 75
"Accompanying this report, appendix marked 'B' will contain a detailed statement of the purchasers of lots, of the lots purchased, and their prices.
"Appendix 'E' gives the list of lots unsold, of those appraised and offered at the public sales.
"On the 10th of September the Commissioners issued their notice to architects, inviting for a period of thirty days plans and specifica- tions for a State House.
"In response Messrs. Taggart & W. R. Craig, of Nebraska City, and John Morris, of Chicago, submitted the drawings and specifica- tions of designs.
"Upon the 10th of October, after a careful consideration of their merits severally we decided to accept that presented by Mr. Morris,
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
as being best adapted to the circumstances of construction and the wants of the State.
"On the same day Mr. Morris, having been appointed superin- tendent of construction, issued a notice to builders, inviting proposals for a term of three months, for the erection of the work.
"At the same time Mr. Morris was directed to commence such pre- liminary work, as excavation for foundations, delivery of material for foundation walls, and other arrangements as would facilitate the prog- ress of the work after the contract was let.
" On the 10th of November the superintendent caused the ground to be broken, in the presence of a number of the citizens of Lancaster.
" The removal of the first earth was awarded, in the absence of any state officer, to Master Frele Morton Donovan, the first child born in and the youngest child of the oldest settler of Lancaster county."
"On the 11th of January the bid of Mr. Joseph Ward, proposing to furnish the material and labor and erect the building, for the sum of $49,000, was accepted, and from that time forward the work steadily progressed, with a few uncontrollable delays, to the comple- tion of the work contemplated in the contract.
" For a report of the difficulties attending the work, and an esti- mate of the allowance proper to be made to the contractor for changes in material, increased amount of work, additional accommodation, and fittings, by Mr. Morris, the architect, is appended hereto, marked ' C.'
" The entire expenditures have been made by the Commissioners as in the following classification, for a detailed statement of which see Appendix ' D.'"
The red sandstone, referred to in the foregoing report, and out of which the Commissioners expected to build the capitol, proved to be rotten and worthless, and the blue limestone of Beatrice was substi- tuted, at a necessary additional cost of several thousand dollars.
As a suggestion of the prices received for lots at the sales in 1867-8 and 1869, a few are given to represent the value of property at that time:
Lot 3, in block 55, the block bounded by N and O and Tenth and Eleventh, sold for $64. Lots 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18, in the same block, sold to James Sweet for $353, or an average of $58.88 each.
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LOCATING THE CAPITAL.
Lot 7, in the block containing the Burr Block, sold for $80 to J. E. LaMaster. N. C. Brock bought lot 12, same block, for $61. The Capital National Bank corner sold to Jacob Blum for $86. These were average prices. Few lots sold at less than $40, and few over $150.
The leading buyers were Samuel E. Allen, Jacob Blum, S. R. Brown, Hawks & Bush, W. A. Brown, N. C. Brock, J. H. Bryant, David Butler, S. W. Burnham, Isaac Cahn, M. M. Culver, A. J. Cropsey, D. R. Dungan, Jacob Dawson, Wm. Findley, L. A. Groff, C. H. Harvey, U. S. Harding, Bob Hawke & Co., W. S. Horn, Thos. H. Hyde, C. J. Hull, H. S. Jennings, H. W. Kuhns, Levi B. Kennard, T. P. Kennard, J. E. La Master, Wm. Morton, J. J. Mur- phy, J. W. Millard, Jason G. Miller, J. D. McCann, Pat. O'Hawes, R. D. Presson, A. L. Palmer, Philetus Peck, George Ross, Amos Reid, J. M. Riddill, John Roberts, S. A. Strickland, James Sweet, John M. Taggart, Geo. P. Tucker, and Henry Witte. We notice such names among the buyers as John M. Thayer, who bought lot 1, in block 13, for $115; T. W. Tipton, John Taffe, and W. R. Vaughan. Five ladies bought lots, namely, Mrs. D. Babcock, Miss S. H. Chap- man, Mrs. J. A. Harvey, Miss A. Peck, and Miss M. Wilson. The latter bought lot 5, in block 226, for $15. The ladies all looked out for bargains, or the men refused to bid against them. James Sweet was by all odds the heaviest buyer, his individual purchases amounting to $4,074, and as trustee, to $15,000.
136
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
CHAPTER XI.
THE CITY OF LINCOLN -THE EARLY BEGINNING - FROM PRE-HISTORIC TIMES TO 1867 -THE TOWNS OF LANCASTER AND YANKEE HILL -THE COUNTY SEAT CONTEST-THE BUILDING OF THE LANCASTER SEMINARY -EARLY BUILDINGS AND REMINISCENCES.
In 1860, Government Square, Lincoln, was a rounded elevation. About the center of the square was a knoll about twelve feet higher than the present surface at the artesian well. Standing in summer on this graceful tumulus, as lovely a scene was spread out before the observer's eyes as ever was beheld in prairie landscape. To the west his hill of observation sloped evenly away to the valley of Salt creek. In the valley to the west of the creek, and north of O street, there was a beautiful grove of honey locust trees. South of O street there waved a little forest of stately elms and cottonwood, interspersed with a few honey-locust and hackberry trees. Besides, the stream in that direction was fringed with plum and other small trees and brush. Back from the trees the low ground between the hills was one sea of tall grass and yellow sunflowers. To the northwest could be traced the valley of Oak creek, also fringed with trees, and to the southwest the valley of Haines's creek, radiant with flowers. On the low ground directly westward the saline crust of the Salt Basin glistened in the sun like the surface of a lake, and far to the west the valley of Middle creek receded in a vista of green leaves, waving grass, and flowers. The valley of Salt creek could be traced for miles to the northeast, and the banks of the Antelope also had their fringe of grass, flowers, and trees, to the eastward. When the observer looked to the southward he saw his hill decline into a drain, almost deserving the name of a small ravine, in the vicinity of N street. This ravine originated in a basin of low ground in the locality a little distance to the northeast from the present site of the Burr block, and its course was south westerly to Twelfth and O streets. Here it bent southward for a short distance and at the place where the alley south of Funke's opera house now is,
137
FROM PRE-HISTORIC TIMES.
it again turned westward. Its course then was southwesterly to a line now occupied by the Latta block, on Eleventh street. Here it was deepest and the descent into it pretty abrupt from either side. It crossed Tenth street at N, and was soon lost in the flat surface of the bottom land to the westward. In the vicinity of the Capital National Bank, at O and Eleventh, there was a depression, where water stood to a considerable depth when the street came to be graded across N street. More than one old settler can now tell how he or some other man had a vehicle swamped in the mud on Eleventh street in attempting to cross this drain in early days, the reputation of the slough in the vicinity of Eleventh street being particularly notorious.
Owing to this ravine, the elevation on which the capitol now stands looked higher, and the incline of its long, sweeping, northern slope more sharp, than at present. In all directions from the observer the distance faded away in a rim of hills, with gracefully undulating sides. In fact, it seemed that he stood on a conical elevation in a grand natural amphitheater, where surrounding heights were located at magnificent distances. The high ground on which the observer is supposed to stand, was covered with buffalo grass, as were all the high prairies twenty-nine years ago. Across the elevated surface sparse lines of blue joint marked the course of travel by ox teams from 1847 to. 1860. The cattle of the west-bound trains had eaten the seed to the eastward and spread it along the trails in their journey toward the west. Indian ponies and buffaloes probably contributed to sow the seed also.
A few buffaloes could at times be seen, about this date, on the pres- ent city plat. The common deer and black-tailed deer were fre- quently seen on the site of the coming capital. Also the white-tailed and mule deer were occasionally observed. Herds of pronghorn an- telope were often seen on the ground where Lincoln stands, in 1860, and during several years later. Elk had formerly been abundant .. Prairie wolves, or coyotes, were numerous within the present city limits in 1860 and for years afterward. Pelicans, wild geese, ducks,. prairie chickens, and quail, were seen in large numbers. Many small animals and birds made this region their home. Perhaps one thou- sand species and varieties of plant life could have been seen within the present platted limits of the city, twenty-nine years ago. This seems extravagant, but when it is known that the flora of Nebraska
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138
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
comprises nearly 2,500 species and varieties of plants, it will not seem improbable.
With the landscape more beautiful than an ideal picture, the soil manifestly of unbounded fertility, and the land swarming with ani- mal life, it can not be wondered that the carly pilgrim who stood on the mound on post-office square and absorbed the prospect, thought that he had seen no spot so promising as this on which to found a city.
The land on which Lincoln now stands was surveyed in 1856 by the Government. The salt springs in the Salt Basin were then dis- covered and reported by the Government surveyor. Fabulous antici- pations at once filled the minds of adventurers and enterprising men who then had begun to congregate along the Missouri river. In 1856 the Crescent Company was organized at Plattsmouth, and Cap- tain W. T. Donovan, who commanded the steamer " Emma," from Pittsburg to Plattsmouth, was selected to represent the company at the Salt Basin. The captain and his family came on and settled on section twenty-three, on the west bank of Salt creek, and south of the mouth of Oak creek. The Crescent Company proposed to find out the value of the salt water flowage as a commercial investment. During the same summer William Norman and Alexander Robinson, repre- senting a company similar to that of Donovan, came on and located for a time near the big Salt Basin, on section twenty-one. They soon became satisfied with their profits, and left the basin permanently. Owing to the threatening aspect of the Pawnee Indians during the latter part of 1858, Captain Donovan also abandoned the schemes of the Crescent Company, and removed to the Stevens ercek settlement, where he remained until 1861, when he returned to the vicinity of the Salt Basin once more and located at Yankee Hill, a point nearly identical with the site of the present Insane Hospital.
In the autumn of 1859 a scheme for county organization was set on foot. At that time a large elm tree, with spreading branches, stood not far from what is now the Burlington Road round house. Under this tree the settlers met to take preliminary steps for the creation of county machinery. This caucus selected A. J. Wallingford, JJoseph J. Forest, and Captain W. T. Donovan, as a committee to select a site for a county seat and lay out a town. That committee, with most com- mendable judgment, selected the present site of Lincoln, and called it " Lancaster," being named by Captain Donovan, probably, after Lan-
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FROM PRE-HISTORIC TIMES.
caster county, Pennsylvania. He named his first settlement at the Salt Basin, in 1857, " Lancaster." But the new town went without inhabitants for several years, and settlers came into the county very slowly until about 1864.
On July 2, 1861, Captain Donovan brought W. W. Cox, now of Seward county, to the Salt Basin, and on August 20th Cox and Dar- win Peckham began to boil salt at the Big Basin, in section 21. They immediatly set up an extensive business by trading salt for all man- ner of useful commodities in the line of provisions, such as meat, flour, butter, potatoes, eggs, fruit, wood, clothing, etc. Salt was very scarce in the West, and during the war very high, so that people came even from near Des Moines, Iowa, for salt, and traded flour for the same, pound for pound. Settlers came from far and near to boil salt for themselves, and the Salt Basin was a lively place during the later months of 1861. No salt could be made in the winter time, and Mr. Cox wintered with Captain Donovan, at Yankee Hill. During the fall of 1861 such prominent men of the future as J. Sterling Morton, O. P. Mason, and Phineas W. Hitchcock, visited and inspected the Salt Basin. Mr. Morton then probably contracted some ideas that were unfortunate for him in after years. The Territorial Governor, Alvin Saunders, who had been elected in May, 1861, also visited the basin during the fall.
During the winter of 1861-2 the coyotes practically had the eleva- tions where the city now stands all to themselves.
The season of 1862 passed much as that of 1861. Cox and others made salt at the basin.
John S. Gregory arrived during this year, and boiled salt by the Basin on section 21. Many others came and went, and the salt busi- ness was very prosperous. During the final week of May, Milton Langdon and family arrived, and settled on the north side of Oak creek, not far west of its junction with Salt creek. A county con- vention was held at the basin on the first of May, and it was attended by about every old settler in the county. An election was held in the fall, but there was nothing connected with it of particular interest in the history of Lincoln.
But there was one thing which did affect the destiny of Nebraska and this city which occurred in that year, and that was the final passage by both Houses of Congress of the Homestead Act. This
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
had passed the Senate in February, and was passed by the House in May. This act brought settlers to Lancaster county with some. activity during 1863.
During the winter of 1862-3, an old man named Van Benthusen was camped at the Salt Basin boiling some salt in a large open pan. An Indian hit him a rap over the knuckles with a ramrod, for a joke. The old man did not see the joke the same way, and flew into a rage and knocked the Indian over into the boiling salt, burning him fatally. The settlers went to the Indian camp in alarm, fearing this act had incensed the aborigines, but they were found making sport of the scalded Indian, who roared with pain in his dying agony. They called him a squaw, and pointed their fingers at him in scorn.
On August 20, 1862, a heavy frost killed the corn on low ground in Nebraska generally.
During the winter of 1862-3 a son was born to the family of Joseph Chambers, then camped at the Salt Basin. The child lived but a short time, but was, probably, the first child born within the limits of the present city. On March 3, 1863, Elmer E. Cox, now of Seward, was born at the basin.
The summer of 1863 found W. W. Cox and family still at the basin. During the spring of 1863 John S. Gregory built a frame house where West Lincoln now is, and made other improvements, and the same season he was made the first postmaster of this locality. The office was named " Gregory's Basin," but did not continue very long. Mr. Gregory received a salary of $3 per annum. During the summer of 1863 Mr. Gregory erected salt-making apparatus at the basin having a capacity of about two tons per day, for which he found a ready sale to pioneers and travelers in all directions, except, perhaps, to the westward. Few white men had then settled west of Salt creek. William Imlay also conducted a salt-manufacturing business in 1862-3, at the small basin near where the stock-yards are now located. Milton Langdon and others were engaged in making salt during 1862 to 1864.
John S. Gregory was elected to the Territorial Legislature for Lan- caster county on October 13, 1863, and became a prominent figure in the county and city thenceforward for many years. Fifty-five votes were cast at this election. Mr. Gregory was probably the first per- manent settler within the present city limits.
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141
FROM PRE-HISTORIC TIMES.
On the morning of July 4, 1863, Mrs. W. W. Cox proposed that the family celebrate Independence Day. Wild gooseberries were very plentiful along Salt creek, and Mr. Cox went out to pick a quantity to be used in the festivities. When he had filled his pail he heard some hallooing, and stepping out of the bushes to see what the dis- turbance was about, he saw a small group of men near by, and on closer inspection he found that it was the party of Elder J. M. Young, Rev. Peter Schamp, Dr. J. Mckesson, E. W. Warnes, Luke Lavender, and Jacob Dawson. They were hunting for a good place in which to plant a colony. They at once joined in the celebration project. The neighbors were called in, dinner was served, the elder made a speech, and a small flag they had with them was raised; and this first patriotic event of its kind on the soil of the present cap- ital, they do say, was a very soul-stirring occasion. Perhaps the flag then floated for the first time on the present site of Lincoln. The elder was looking for a place to locate a colony and establish a Meth- odist mission, and like most of the pioneer Methodist preachers, he was a very good judge of business possibilities as well as of yellow-legged chiekens. After a careful inspection of all the surrounding region, he came back to the Salt Basin about July 10, 1863, and decided that the present site of Lincoln was the most desirable for his purpose of any spot he had seen. He dedicated a portion of section twenty three to colonial purposes, and christened it "Lancaster." But no attempt was made to settle the town until 1864, when the village life of Lan- caster really began.
The winter of 1863-4 was one of intense cold, and the pioneers of the valley of Salt creek were threatened with starvation as well as with the rigors of the winter. But when spring came, settlers began to come in with renewed energy, and homesteading began in earnest, for it then became probable that the Union would be saved. People began to think they would risk this region, whose soil had so long been viewed with suspicion, owing to its radical contrast in appearance with that of States further east, and the libels long taught by ill-informed geographers. Jacob Dawson and John Giles took homesteads next to Young's new site of Lancaster in 1863. Captain W. T. Donovan had already taken a homestead -the first in the county -on January 2d, east of the Asylum. In 1864 Elder J. M. Young and his sons, Dr. J. Mckesson, Luke Lavender, E. W. Warnes, and J. M. Riddle,
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