USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 55
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IRVINGTON
Irvington is a station on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, fourteen miles northwest of Omaha. The town was established, however, before the rail- road was built and was an important trading center in early days. A Congre- gational Church was erected here some time in the 'zos and a Christian Church was built later. Irvington has a grain elevator, a general store, a feed mill and a public school. The population is less than one hundred.
LANE
On that branch of the Union Pacific Railroad known as the "Lane Cut-Off," fourteen miles from Omaha, is a small station called Lane, after C. J. Lane, the Union Pacific general freight agent. It is a shipping point for a considerable farming district and has the usual business enterprises of the wayside railway station.
MERCER
This is the last station in Douglas County on the Union Pacific Railroad as one goes west from Omaha. It is located in the northwest corner of the county. in the Platte Valley Precinct, not far from the Platte River and is thirty-two miles by rail from Omaha. Fremont is the nearest banking town and the postoffice at that point delivers mail to the people of Mercer by rural carrier.
MILLARD
The incorporated Town of Millard is located in the precinct of the same name, on the old line of the Union Pacific Railroad, twenty miles by rail from Omaha. It was laid out in the spring of 1870 by Ezra Millard, after whom it was named. Dr. Harvey Link had come from New Albany, Ind., a short time before that and had taken up a claim of 320 acres, upon part of which the town is situated. George F. and Cyrus Stevens were the first settlers in the village. The first school was taught in a building on Doctor Link's farm by George Potwin in the fall of 1870, with only six pupils enrolled. In 1876 a schoolhouse was built. Mil- lard was incorporated on September 26, 1885, with Christ Kaelber, John Lempke, Charles Stetzner, Henry Lomans and Julius Schroeder as the first board of trustees.
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The Millard of 1916 has a bank, a weekly edition of the Waterloo Gazette called the Courier, two hotels, a large water power grist mill on the Papillion Creek, grain elevators, electric light, an auditorium, and it is the principal shipping and trading point for a prosperous farming community. The popula- tion in 1916 was 260, a decrease of seventy-three since the census of 1900.
PARKVALE
The Town of Parkvale, now within the corporate limits of the City of Omaha, was incorporated on November 24, 1886, in response to a petition signed by a majority of the residents. It included the south half of section 28, the north half of section 33, the southeast quarter of section 29, and the northeast quarter of section 32, all in township 15, range 13. P. J. Quealy, Gilbert Fraser, Peter Justeson, C. A. Potter and James G. Megeath constituted the first board of trustees. Parkvale included the territory lying between the south line of the City of Omaha and the north line of South Omaha, the northern boundary of the incorporated district passing through Hanscom Park a little south of the center.
RALSTON
In the southern part of Douglas Precinct on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, seven miles from Omaha, is the incorporated town of Ralston. It was incorporated on June 24, 1912, when C. M. Skinner, Harry B. Wiig, Howard E. Said, Arthur Pflug and J. L. Howard were chosen as the first board of trustees. During its palmy days Ralston could boast a varnish factory, a stove foundry, a cement silo factory, a furniture factory and some other manu- facturing establishments, but the great tornado of March 23, 1913, almost wiped the town off the map and some of these industries have not been rebuilt. The Ralston of the present day has a flour mill, a bank, a weekly newspaper (The Industrial), hotels, a public school building, a Methodist Episcopal Church, and an estimated population of 500.
SARATOGA
An old map of Nebraska, published soon after the territory was organized in 1854, shows the town of Saratoga as being situated on the Missouri River, about half way between Omaha and Florence. From its appearance on the map one might judge it to be larger than either of its neighbors. The Precinct of Saratoga still bears the name, but the town has long since disappeared.
SARPY
This is a small way station on the Union Pacific Railroad, eleven miles west of Omaha. It is a new town, having grown up since the "Lane Cut-off" of the Union Pacific was opened to traffic in 1908. Aside from its shipping it has no business interests of importance.
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SEYMOUR
Six miles from Omaha, on the Union Pacific Railroad, is the little station of Seymour. It is situated near the site of Dr. George L. Miller's country home, "Seymour Park," from which it takes its name. In character it is a typical rural railroad station, so small that the census reports do not give its population.
SOUTH CUT
In the east side of Union Precinct, north of Omaha, is a station on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad called South Cut, though on recent time tables published by the railroad company the name does not appear, which would indi- cate that its use as a station has been abandoned.
SOUTH OMAHA
The City of South Omaha, now a part of Omaha, was the outgrowth of the Union Stock Yards, a history of which is given in another chapter of this work. Contemporary with the Stock Yards Company, the South Omaha Land Company was organized with A. H. Swan, president; Thomas Swobe, secretary; Frank Murphy, treasurer. These three officers, with Peter E. Iler, W. A. Paxton, Charles W. Hamilton and James M. Woolworth, constituted the first board of directors. The establishment of the stock yards and packing houses gave South Omaha a boom and in 1890, when only about six years old, it reported a popula- tion of 8,062.
On July 18, 1884, the plat of the town was filled and on July 8, 1886, a peti- tion was filed with the county commissioners asking for the incorporation of South Omaha, but the act of incorporation was not completed until October 16, 1886, when C. M. Hunt, E. P. Savage, W. G. Sloane, I. A. Brayton and F. J. Sleter were chosen trustees. The population in 1900 was 26,001. On June 10, 1915, South Omaha was annexed to and made a part of the City of Omaha.
South Omaha, or the district once known by that name, has a city hall, a $50,000 public library building, a $150,000 high school, fourteen district schools, twenty-one churches, a city hospital, a large tannery, an electric light plant, gas works, large grain elevators, a brewery, an electric railway line to Ralston and Fort Crook, a number of well stocked mercantile establishments, a city hospital, an alfalfa mill and an estimated population of 30,000.
VALLEY
In 1864 the town of Valley was laid out on a tract of land belonging to the Union Pacific Railroad Company and situated in section 31, township 16, range 10, in the Platte Valley Precinct, thirty-five miles by the old "Ox-bow Route" from Omaha. A railroad station was built by the Union Pacific Company and soon afterward Richard Selsor put up a small store building south of the station. He was the first resident in the new town. Thomas & Short opened a general store in 1870; A. D. Butler established a blacksmith shop about the same time; Benjamin White built a hotel in 1874, and the Union Hotel was erected by a
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man named Hudsmith in 1880. The first school was taught by Miss Lizzie Graham in 1872 and the next year a frame schoolhouse was built at a cost of $1,500.
Valley was incorporated on February 28, 1890, with J. W. Hempstead, H. M. l'uffer, J. J. Miller, Alexander Gardiner and L. P. Byers as the first board of trustees. Being situated at the junction of two divisions of the Union Pacific Railway and in the heart of a rich farming country, Valley is an important ship- ping point and business center for the people of the Platte and Elkhorn valleys. It has a bank, two grain elevators, a hotel, an opera house, feeding yards for live stock, Baptist, Methodist Episcopal and Presbyterian churches, a modern public school building, a weekly newspaper (The Enterprise), a number of well stocked mercantile establishments, and the sand deposits near the town are extensively worked. The population in 1910 was 810, a gain of 276 during the preceding decade.
WATERLOO
Waterloo, situated on the west bank of the Elkhorn River and the Union Pacific Railroad, in the precinct of the same name, is thirty-one miles from Omaha by the old Ox-bow Route and twenty-two miles by the Lane Cut-off. It was laid out in 1871 by J. H. Logan and G. A. Kelsey, who gave the Union Pacific Railroad Company a half interest in the town site in consideration of the location of a station there. A settlement had grown up there, however, some years before. In 1864 a postoffice was established for the neighborhood and J. H. Logan was appointed postmaster. The first school was taught in 1869 by Miss H. H. Adams in the sod house of one of the settlers. W. A. Denton opened the first store in 1869 and in 1871 a public schoolhouse was built. The same year J. H. Logan built the Waterloo Hotel; C. H. Clark opened a drug store in 1876, and in 1881 John Flood built the South Side Hotel. Elam Clark & Sons erected a mill in 1872. A Presbyterian Church was organized in 1875 and a few years later the Christian Church was established. The first physician was Dr. J. W. Agee, who was practicing in that locality as early as 1864. He was succeeded by Drs. J. Mclaughlin, C. H. Clark and A. B. Elwood. The Waterloo brass band was organized in 1881 and a Masonic Lodge was instituted in 1882. The Women's Library Association was also founded in 1882, with Miss Lou Mclaughlin, president ; Mrs. Purchase, secretary ; and Mrs. Hagenbuck, librarian.
On January 2, 1883, Waterloo was incorporated, with George Johnson, J. G. Herrington, Frank Clark, John Hopper and A. H. Lee as the first board of trus- tees. The town now has a bank, a grain elevator, a hotel, an opera house, a weekly newspaper (The Gazette), a creamery, a flour mill, several good stores, etc. There is a good bridge across the Elkhorn here. As the town is located in a fertile territory considerable attention is given to the seed industry and it is said that more fine seeds are shipped from Waterloo than from any other town in the Missouri Valley. The population in 1910 was 402, a gain of 57 dur- ing the preceding decade.
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SCENE IN WATERLOO
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POSTOFFICES IN 1916
The following list of Douglas County postoffices is taken from the United States Postal Guide for July, 1916. With the introduction of the rural free delivery system, a number of small offices throughout the county were discon- tinued. The figures in parentheses after the names of several of the present offices show the number of rural delivery routes emanating therefrom: Ben- nington (1), Benson (2), Elk City, Elkhorn (1), Florence (2), Irvington (1), Millard (1), Omaha (7), Ralston, Valley (2), Waterloo (1). The Omaha office has substations at Ames Avenue, South Side, Stock Yards, Union Station and Walnut Hill. These eleven offices, with their eighteen rural routes, afford ample mail accommodations to all parts of the county.
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CHAPTER XXX
MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY
AN OLD TRADITION-PRICES THEN AND NOW-A HUNGRY CHIEF-AN INDIAN SCARE-EARLY HOTELS-REMOVING THE STATE ARCIIIVES-BORING FOR COAL- CANADA BILL-LABOR TROUBLES-MURDER OF W. B. SMITH-LYNCHING A NEGRO-VISITS OF NOTABLE PERSONS-THE GREAT FLOOD OF 1881-THE TORNADO OF 1913.
AN OLD TRADITION
Near a spring not far from the Missouri River, between Tekamah and Decatur, is a stone which bears the inscription: "Peno, 1736." According to a tradition of the Omaha Indians, this Peno was a Spanish explorer, who came from the southwest in emulation of Coronado's example two centuries before, in quest of the mythical province of Quivira and its fabled cities of great wealth. At that time there was among the Omahas a chief named White Eagle, with whose band the Spaniards got into an altercation and were all killed. The tradi- tion goes on to say that one of the party, before death overtook him, marked the stone to show the last point reached by the expedition, and the story has been handed down from one Omaha generation to another. History does not give any account of an explorer named Peno and the incident is not mentioned in the first chapter of this work because of its lack of authenticity. If such an expedition really came to Nebraska, it might have passed somewhere near the present City of Omaha, but it is at least possible that the inscription on the stone is a parallel case to the famous "Bill Stumps" inscription discovered by the Pickwick Club.
PRICES THEN AND NOW
A great deal has been said and written in recent years about the advance in the cost of living. But a comparison of present day prices with those at the time the first settlements were made in Douglas County shows that the early settlers had more cause for complaint than the people of today. There were then no railroads to transport the products of their farms to market, so they had to sell their produce for such prices as they could get. On the other hand, the expensive methods of transportation added to the cost of all kinds of "store goods." From a market report in the "Frontier Guardian," the first paper published at Council Bluffs (then Kanesville), and the account books of one of Omaha's early merchants, the following prices have been obtained: Flour, $2.00 per hundred;
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Beef, $2.00 per hundred; Pork, $1.60 per hundred; Corn, 25c per bushel; Potatoes, 25c per bushel; Butter, 614c per pound; Eggs, 61/4c per dozen. So much for what the early farmer had to sell-now look at the prices he had to pay for staple articles : Coffee, 25c to 30c per pound; Tea, $1.00 to $1.25 per pound ; Sugar, roc per pound; Salt, $3.00 to $5.00 per barrel; Calico, 20c to 25c per yard ; Unbleached muslin, 15c to 20c per yard; Molasses, 6oc to $1.00 per gallon ; Nails, loc to 15c per pound, according to size, and other goods in proportion. Coarse boots, such as nearly every frontiersman wore, sold from $4.00 to $5.00 per pair, and women's shoes from $1.50 to $2.50. The shoes the women wore in those days were built for hard service rather than looks and it was several years before "fine" shoes became common among the ladies of Omaha. In the number of the Frontier Guardian from which the prices of produce quoted above were taken appears the following notice :
"The undersigned takes this opportunity to return thanks to his customers in Kanesville and its vicinity for their liberal patronage the past season. He still solicits a continuance of the same, as he intends to keep constantly on hand all kinds of provisions, especially meat and flour of different kinds.
"ABEL LAMB."
A HUNGRY CHIEF
Among the early settlers of Omaha was John Peterson, who came with his wife and located on the bank of a small stream near the present junction of Ninth and Jones streets, where he built a little cabin and began working at his trade of shoemaker. Not long after his arrival he concluded to erect a large frame house, which was later opened as the Scandinavian Hotel. While hewing the timbers for the framework of this house, Mr. Peterson spent the days in the woods, often at some distance from his home, leaving his young wife alone in their cabin. Mathilde Peterson was, however, a young woman of considerable courage and, buoyed up by the hope of soon having a better home, she faced the situation cheerfully.
At that time the country around Omaha, between the Missouri and Platte rivers, was infested with roving bands of Sioux Indians. One of these bands was led by a chief called "No-Flesh"-probably because of his skinny, cadaverous appearance. He was noted for his ugly disposition and among his own people bore the reputation of being a "poopachee" Indian, signifying that he was utterly worthless. One day, while Mr. Peterson was absent and his wife was busily engaged in frying doughnuts, this No-Flesh and a few of his followers, aimlessly wandering about the country, came to the Peterson cabin. Without waiting for an invitation, they solemnly entered and after a few laconic "Hows," squatted down upon the floor to watch the white squaw at her work.
The sudden and unwelcome appearance of the Indians filled Mrs. Peterson witlı terror, but she managed to retain her presence of mind sufficiently to continue her work as though Indian visits were matters of daily occurrence. Silently and with great interest the Sioux braves watched the woman as she dropped the rings of dough into the boiling lard and lifted out the "fried cakes." But, in time, the presence of the red men in her kitchen "got on to her nerves" and she accidentally dropped one of the doughnuts as she lifted it from the kettle of lard
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to the platter. It rolled close to the feet of No-Flesh, who lost no time in seizing it, but as it was fiery hot he dropped it with a howl of dismay and thrust his burned fingers into his mouth. In this way he got a taste of the pastry, and the pleasure of the sensation overcame the pain of the burned fingers. Again and again he carefully rubbed his fingers over the doughnut and thrust them into his mouth. Then he passed the luscious morsel along to his fellows and demanded another.
Mrs. Peterson tossed several doughnuts to the floor, and they were grabbed up by the Indians and eagerly devoured. For fully an hour Mrs. Peterson continued to make doughnuts and feed them to her unwelcome visitors, all the time keeping an eye toward the big woods and hoping for an early return of her husband. At last the supply of dough was exhausted, but No-Flesh was unable to under- stand or appreciate the situation. Rising to his feet he enthusiastically exclaimed : "Heap good! Heap fine squaw! Injun want more!" What might have fol- lowed will never be known, for just at that juncture Mr. Peterson returned and drove the Indians from the house, while Mrs. Peterson collapsed with sheer fright when the strain to which she had been subjected was over.
Old No-Flesh never forgot that experience. He had tasted the white squaw's cookery and was anxious to possess the woman who could fry doughnuts. About that time a number of immigrants arrived and some of them settled near the Peterson cabin. No-Flesh frequented the locality, but never found an oppor- tunity to repeat his gastronomic feat. Finally, almost in desperation, he went to Peterson and proposed to trade for his squaw. The chief offered to give the white man three young squaws for the woman who was such a fine cook. Peter- son laughingly assented, not thinking for a moment of the serious consequences that might ensue. The chief returned to his encampment in the hills west of the city, selected three comely young squaws and set out for the Peterson cabin. Again Mr. Peterson was absent from home and when Mrs. Peterson, who knew nothing of the joke, saw No-Flesh and the three squaws approaching she became alarmed. Darting from the back door of the cabin she started for the house of the nearest neighbor, about a quarter of a mile away. Seeing the desire of his heart thus dashing away, the chief let out a yell and started in pursuit. Fear lent speed to the white woman's feet and she reached the neighbor's cabin a few yards in advance of the Indian. The settler happened to be at home. Without pausing to inquire into the situation, he stopped No-Flesh at the muzzle of a long- barreled rifle and demanded an explanation. Upon the return of Mr. Peterson, he admitted the joke and the matter was compromised by Mrs. Peterson's agreeing to give the chief a liberal supply of doughnuts, which he carried back to his tepee.
In due time the Scandinavian Hotel was completed and Mrs. Peterson fre- quently fried doughnuts for her guests. In the summer of 1916 she was still living at Louisville, Neb., and could laugh as she told her experience with No-Flesh, but it was no laughing matter when the incident occurred, more than half a century before. The Scandinavian Hotel was destroyed by fire shortly after the close of the Civil war, after which Mr. Peterson was engaged in freight- ing from Omaha to Denver and the Pike's Peak mines.
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AN INDIAN SCARE
One day, a few years after the first settlement of Omaha, a few United States dragoons rode into the straggling little village with the information that a large war party of Sioux Indians was coming down the Missouri in canoes. Realizing that if an attack was made upon the settlement they would be greatly outnum- bered, the settlers began making such preparations as they could to meet the foe. A stockade was hastily erected and into it were gathered almost the entire population of the settlement, with a goodly supply of provisions and such ammunition as could be found. All day and far into the night the men worked to complete the fort and put it in the best possible state of defense. Then, after a few hours rest, they renewed their labors the next morning. The day passed without any Indians making their appearance, but late in the afternoon another small party of scouts came in confirming the report that the Indians were descend- ing the river. There was little sleep in the crude stockade that night. Mothers gathered their children about them and tried to allay their fears, while the men stood watch with their rifles in their hands.
Toward the morning of the second day after the alarm first was given, an active young man climbed to the top of a tall tree on one of the bluffs that commanded a good view of the river above the village. Just as the sun was 1ising above the hills on the Iowa side of the river, the lookout reported that the canoes were in sight. The men looked to the priming in their rifles and took their stations at the loopholes of the stockade, determined to sell their lives as dearly as possible. On came the canoes, while inside the stockade white-faced women and haggard men anxiously waited for the Indians to land and begin the attack. In a little while the foremost of the canoes came in sight and were quickly followed by others. But instead of landing, they passed on down the river in midstream. The settlers could easily hear the chanting of the Sioux war song and noted that every brave was "armed to the teeth," but the entire party went on as though entirely oblivious of the white settlement's existence. The settlers breathed a sigh of relief as the last canoe disappeared around the bend below the fort. It was afterward learned that the Indians were on their way to make war upon the tribes living about the mouth of the Great Nemaha River. The remains of the stockade could be seen for several years after the event.
EARLY HOTELS
In the earlier chapters of this history mention has been made of the St. Nicholas, Omaha's first hotel, and the Herndon House, which was built by municipal assistance. The City Hotel, located on the southwest corner of Eleventh and Harney streets, was built in 1854. It was a small frame building, with accommodations for a limited number of guests, and did not cut much of a figure in the hotel history of the city.
Just two blocks west of the City Hotel, on the southwest corner of Thirteenth and Harney streets, the Douglas House was built in 1855. It was a two story frame and the rear part of the structure was made of "cottonwood slabs set up: and down." Wells Brothers were the first proprietors of the Douglas House, which for several years was one of the city's leading hostelries-if the rates
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charged can be regarded as a criterion. A. J. Poppleton boarded for some time at the Douglas and he used to say the house was so constructed that it was not proof against the bleak, winter winds that whistled over the Omaha plateau, even a generous supply of bed clothes being insufficient to keep the guests com- fortable during the coldest nights.
In 1856 the Tremont House, on the south side of Douglas Street, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets, was built by William F. Sweesy and Aaron Root. It was opened in October of that year, with the owners as proprietors, who conducted it until the spring of 1857, when it was leased to a man named Hornberger. In 1865 the building was removed to the southeast corner of Sixteenth Street and Capitol Avenue. William F. Sweesy came to Omaha from New Jersey in the spring of 1856. Ten years later he purchased a tract of land from A. J. Poppleton and J. M. Woolworth and laid out Sweesy's Addition to the City of Omaha. In 1867 he was appointed registrar of the United States land office in Omaha, a position he held for four years. He was appointed United States marshal for Wyoming Territory in 1876, but did not dispose of his property in Omaha, and in 1891 he erected the Hotel Brunswick, on the corner of Sixteenth and Jackson streets. Aaron Root was his brother-in-law.
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