USA > Nebraska > Adams County > Past and present of Adams County, Nebraska, Vol. I > Part 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42
The Alexanders were provided with foodstuff enough to last one year, among the provisions being a barrel of hams, and a like quantity of shoulders: dried meats, bacon and cookies were also of the stock. Corn meal and flour of an excellent quality were procured from Crete. Sometimes it was necessary to resort to the use of grease from the bacon for shortening, but those, it must be remembered, were days of vigorous appetites. At first water was hauled to the Alexander home from the Hudson farm, about two miles west; later a well was sunk and Mrs. Alexander enjoyed the luxury of drawing water 110 feet.
S. S. Dow arrived in Hastings from Wisconsin May 28, 1872, and established a land office. During the ensuing year Mr. Dow located 270 homesteads, from which it can be seen that at this date the growth in population was distinctly encouraging to the settlers.
63
PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
In June, about the 17th of the month, C. G. Ingalls, accompanied by his nephew, F. J. Benedict, arrived. Mr. Ingalls had been located in Galesburg, Ill., but Mr. Benedict came from the State of New York. The two first visited York, and in a hotel there heard about the advantages offered by Adams County, and especially of the vicinity around Hastings. Acting upon this information, they came to Juniata and the next day procured a team and wagon from John J. Jacobson and drove to the settlement of Hastings. It was a distress- ingly hot day when they arrived, but accompanied by Mr. Dow, they immediately set out to view the prospect. About four miles north- east of Hastings, in the vicinity of the "Bob Norton farm," they broke the lynch pin and were stranded on the prairie. Benedict reported that he had seen a wagon in Hastings and he was delegated to negotiate a loan so that the land seekers might load the broken wagon upon another and return it to Juniata. In this Benedict suc- ceeded. He borrowed also a bucket from Mrs. Alexander, and with the pail in one hand and guiding the team with the other, he made his way back to Dow and Ingalls. The prairie was an unbroken expanse and the young Mr. Benedict experienced some difficulty in finding his companions. He could only keep his direction straight by observing the poles of the telegraph line along the Burlington track. Mr. Ingalls was so thirsty and the sun was so relentless that his impression of Adams County was far from being the best. 'The following day, however, they again visited Hastings and both were located on homesteads. Mr. Benedict secured employment to haul lumber with which to build the Alexander store, and thus he won the distinction of hauling from Inland the material for the first busi- ness house. Mr. Ingalls' homestead was located in what is now the northeast section of Hastings and the frame house that he built upon it was the third frame dwelling to be built in the town. During the summer of 1872, John Jung established the first butcher shop.
So encouraging was the outlook for a town, owing to the develop- ment in the earlier months of 1872, that Thomas Farrell and Walter Micklen took the first definite steps for its formation. They employed Charles W. Colt of Lowell to survey and plat Micklen's eighty acres. This work was completed by Mr. Colt and the plat filed with the county clerk, R. D. Babcock, at Juniata, at 11 o'clock A. M., October 15, 1872. On the plat the northern boundary of the town, Seventh Street, is called North Street, and the St. Joseph & Denver is shown as crossing the town diagonally from southeast to northwest, cross- ing the Burlington between Hastings and Lincoln avenues. While the road was graded through the city in this direction, a considerable
64
PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
portion of the distance toward Kearney, rails were never laid, on account of lack of funds. Streets were platted on each side of this grade: the street south of the grade was called South Railroad Street and the street north North Railroad Street. On September 27, 1872, Walter Micklen disposed of the west half of his holding to Thomas Farrell for $500.
It was on July 13, 1872, that Charles K. Lawson arrived in Hastings, coming from Galesburg, Ill., where he was in business with George H. Pratt as his partner. Mr. Lawson at once grew enthusiastie at the prospects he beheld in the new country from Crete to Hastings. He at once wrote to Mr. Pratt, advising that he sell their store in Illinois and open business in Hastings. Mr. Pratt visited Hastings early in August, remaining in the settlement about ten days. A buffalo hunt was arranged for during this visit, and Mr. Lawson saw to it that his partner saw a great deal of the sur- rounding country, and the result was that Mr. Pratt was eonvineed that Mr. Lawson's estimate of the country was correct. He returned to Illinois in a few days to dispose of their interests there. From Rock Island lumber was ordered shipped for the ereetion of a store at Hastings. Later, Mr. Pratt sent A. HI. Cramer to Hastings to assist Mr. Lawson in building the store and getting ready for busi- ness. Mr. Cramer was in the employ of Pratt & Lawson in Illinois. He arrived in Hastings October 1, 1872.
The store erected by Pratt & Lawson stood on the northeast corner of Hastings Avenue and First Street. It was called "The Head- quarters Store," and fronted south on First Street, and a large stock of general supplies was carried. In addition, the firm dealt in horses and mules, for which there was a growing demand from the large number of incoming homesteaders. Baeon, corn meal and flour were the great staples of those days. Cornbread and pork were a large part of the diet upon which the pioneer work was carried on. The establishing of a second store on the seale of the "Headquarters" was one of the most important events of 1872, outside of the begin- ning of railway transportation.
Shortly after the town was platted, Samuel Alexander formed a business partnership with A. W. Wheeler, a homesteader, and the firm of Alexander & Wheeler late in 1872 erected a new store at the corner of Hastings Avenue and Second Street. W. H. Stock, who, with his wife and his brother, Theodore Stock, arrived in Hast- ings in the fall of 1872 from Illinois, purchased the first store occupied by Mr. Alexander and moved it to the east side of Hastings Avenue. In its new location on the south side of First Street the store faced
65
PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
north on about the second lot east of the Hastings Avenue corner. On the first lot Pratt & Lawson had sunk a well, which was used pub- liely. Mr. Stock used the store as a meat market and residence. It might be noted here that the son born to Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Stock in the spring of 1873 was the first child to be born in Hastings. In honor of that fact, the Hastings Town Company deeded two lots in Johnson's addition to the newcomer, who was named Claudius Hastings Stock. A few months following the birth of the boy Mrs. Stock died, and this death was probably the first to take place in the new town. In the nineteenth year of his age, Claudius Hast- ings Stock was drowned in Illinois by breaking through the ice while skating. The lots deeded to him are now in the possession of his sister. Mrs. Harl M. Alexander. The Alexander home at 315 West Third Street stands upon one of the lots.
The Roaring Gimlet, Hastings' first hotel, was erected by Morris and Eugene Alexander in the winter of 1872-3. It was located on Hastings Avemie, a short distance south of the Burlington track. At almost the same time the Inter-Ocean, another hostelry, was erected by Capt. E. S. Wells. This old landmark still survives upon its original location south of the Burlington track and immediately east of the plant of the Central Nebraska Millwork Company. Captain Wells was a sea captain, and is remembered as a jolly old tar, fond of spinning yarns of varying degrees of credibility. He remained in Hastings for a number of years and then moved farther west, his wife remaining in Hastings. The old house at the southeast corner of St. Joseph Avenue and South Street is still the property of Mrs. Wells, who resides in Lincoln.
Late in the fall of 1872 E. Steineau opened a clothing and dry goods store on the north side of First Street, between Hastings and Denver avenues. During this year, also, C. G. Ingalls and F. J. Benedict established an implement and lumber business. Afterwards Mr. Benedict was employed at the Headquarters Store for Pratt & Lawson, eventually buying an interest and continuing in the grocery business for many years. The events narrated outline the principal developnients of Hastings during 1871 and 1872.
THE HASTINGS TOWN COMPANY
The development of Hastings, which had got well under way by the end of 1872, continued throughout 1873 with rapidity that angured well for the new town. With two railroads in operation and homesteaders arriving in large numbers every week, there was a
Vol. 1-5
66
PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
quickening of spirit and the fostering of enterprise which only the pioneer town can know.
April 17, 1873, the Hastings Town Company was incorporated as a joint stock company. The purpose of this company was to sell lots in the townsite of Hastings. The capital stock was $4,000, in shares of $100 each, to be paid on organization. Shares were divided as follows among the members: William B. Slosson for Slosson Bros., ten shares: James D. Carl and William L. Smith, ten shares each ; Thomas E. Farrell and Walter M. Micklen, five shares each. Certifi- cates of stock signed by the president and the secretary were issued for the respective subscribers and the certificates were received by the members of the corporation as pay for their interest in the land of the townsite of Hastings. By their charter, the corporation was to expire one year from April 20, 1873. On April 9, 1874, the company was reorganized with new members. These were Henry Beitel, Rudolph Beitel, George H. Pratt, Charles K. Lawson and Samuel Slosson. At the expiration of the renewed charter, May 18, 1875, the company made partition of the lots of the townsite remaining unsold. For this purpose they divided the lots pro rata according to the amount of stock of each member, after an appraisal had been made of the value of the lots divided, and they were assigned in proportion to the interest of each stockholder.
Of the original organizers of the Hastings Town Company, only two are living, Walter Micklen and William B. Slosson. It was early in the '70s that Mr. Micklen sold his interest in Hastings. He now lives in Guntersville, Ala. William B. Slosson lives in Houston, Tex. Thomas E. Farrell remained in Hastings for many years and was prominently identified with its development. He died in Cripple Creek. William L. Smith died in California. Rudolph and Henry Beitel, who became members of the company at its reorganization, came to Hastings from Texas. Relatives of the family still own interests in the city. The Slossons came to Hastings from Sabetha, Kan. Charles K. Lawson and George H. Pratt are still in business. in the town which they assisted to organize.
The Hastings Town Company built a small office on Second Street, about midway between Denver and Hastings avenues, and at once pushed vigorously the sale of town lots and the general interests of the village. On July 19th they stimulated the sale of lots bv announcing a general sale and offering to refund the price of railroad tickets bought within a radius of 100 miles. The sale, or more par- ticularly the announcement of it, did a great deal to advertise Hast- ings, and it was at this time that its reputation spread throughout
67
PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
the south central and southwestern parts of Nebraska. It was known as the town of live business and its future was almost uni- versally believed in. By the elose of this year, C. H. Panl had an exclusive boot and shoe store on Second Street, about where the Barnes clothing store is now located. Charles Cameron, who resided in Lincoln, had erected a large mercantile establishment at the corner of Hastings Avenue and First Street, at about the present location of the Exchange National Bank. This store was operated for Mr. Cameron by a man by the name of Smith. On the north side of Second Street, about half way between Denver and Hastings ave- nues, Andreas Vieth had a furniture store. On the southwest corner of Hastings Avenue and Second Street stood the hardware store of Forcht Bros., while a short distance east, R. V. Shockey was the proprietor of another hardware establishment. Oswald Oliver opened a lumber yard in this year, the location being not far from the present site of the Oliver establishment on the southwest corner of Burlington Avenue and First Street. B. H. Brown & Son had an implement and lumber business, having bought out Ingalls & Benedict.
It was in 1873 that Hastings held the first Fourth of July cele- bration. A mass meeting to consider the proposition was called for June 17th. T. E. Farrell was the presiding officer and W. F. J. Comley was the secretary. It was the motion of M. K. Lewis that the Fourth be celebrated that started the first definite action. The celebration included a parade, speaking and literary program and fireworks at night. There was an accident with the fireworks and they were all fired at once, captious erities afterward saying that this was a plot on the part of the committee to enable them to conceal the fact that they had pocketed the funds raised for the pyrotechnical display. Capt. A. D. Yocum led the procession. The invocation was pronounced by Rev. I. D. Newell, and the next in order was the reading of the Declaration of Independence by W. A. Smith. In the afternoon, W. L. Smith spoke on the subject, "Hastings, the Future Metropolis of Nebraska," and R. V. Shockey discussed "The Ladies of Nebraska, Their Mission and Merits." Others who spoke were J. M. Abbott, R. A. Batty, M. K. Lewis and A. D. Rust.
STORM OF 1873
April 13, 1873, was the date of the beginning of the most remark- able storm that ever swept over Adams County. The morning dawned bright and clear and was hailed as the first day of spring. Towards noon the sky became clouded and a slow rain drizzled. By the middle
68
PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
of the afternoon the rain changed to sleet. So heavy was the sleet that it soon beeame almost impossible for pedestrians to make their way about the streets of the Adams County villages. In Hastings a rope was tied to the Headquarters Store and running to the well at the southeast corner of Hastings Avenue and First Street, and by means of this the people guided themselves in that seetion of the town. Business beeame impraetieable, and only the most daring would venture out, and homesteaders who were in town had to remain until the storm eeased, thereby causing no end of worry to the folks who had been left at home. The storm lasted for three days, and much damage to stoek resulted throughout the county. Four new arrivals in Hastings at the time were the Martin boys, Lou Martin being one, John Sherman, and Dr. A. D. Buckworth. These placed themselves under the eare of Charles Kohl, who was one of the few who ven- tured to move about the streets, and thus were able twice a day to make their way from their sleeping quarters to one of the hotels. In the hostelries were a number of women who, with their husbands, had eome to the new country to make their home. As there seemed to be no abatement to the storm, not a few of these gave way to tears, menaeed by the thought that they had come out upon the prairie to perish.
A farmer by the name of Marshall was found after the storm frozen to death at his farm on Pawnee Creek. Apparently he had gone out to the stable to feed his horses and had been unable to find his way back to the house. More fortunate was Bob Norton, though he underwent a trying experienee on his homestead four miles north- east of Hastings. Upon the second day Mr. Norton managed to make his way to his stable to feed his team. Having his bearings when he left the house, he experieneed no partieular difficulty in find- ing the stable, but when he was ready to go baek he was unable to tell one direction from another. The world was nothing more than a whirling white fury. Mr. Norton remained in the stable two days and a night without food, and had beeome quite weakened from the exposure. After the storm many tales of hardship were narrated by those who had felt the fury of the elements. In Hastings the snow- drifts were fully 12 feet high. It was the dampness of the sleet that made the cold of that storm so deadly. P. A. Boyd, who was located on a homestead near Roseland, says that when a man first went out of doors it did not seem as cold as it has in subsequent storms, but before one was exposed more than a few minutes one felt the eold as though he had been drenched in ice water. Adams County has had several severe storms of various kinds, but no storm has left so
69
PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
strong an impression as the blizzard of 1873. In the vocabulary of the pioneers it is referred to as the year of the "Great Storm."
FIRST CITY ELECTION
While the activities of Hastings in 1872 and 1873 were satisfac- tory and promising, it was not until 1874 that what had hitherto been the settlement of Hastings was incorporated. It was declared an incorporated town by the board of commissioners on April 20th of that year. The board of trustees named by the board were M. K. Lewis, A. D. Buckworth, J. G. B. Smith, A. W. Cox and H. A. Forcht. On May 4th the trustees held their first meeting in the office of the Town Company. M. K. Lewis was made chairman of the board. At their first meeting the trustees elected city officers as fol- lows: W. F. J. Comley, city clerk; W. A. Smith, treasurer; T. E. Farrell, collector; G. W. Mowrey, marshal; G. D. Pierce, attorney; L. E. Gould, police judge; C. H. Paul, assessor; C. K. Lawson and R. V. Shockey, flue inspectors. The position of flue inspector, no longer a city office, reminds us that at that date all buildings were of wood and it was the purpose of the trustees to guard against fire.
The first ordinance enacted by the trustees was at the meeting held May 30, 1874. This ordinance required that sidewalks be built 6 feet wide, of I-inch boards, with four stringers running length- wise with the street. The first financial enactment came up for dis- cussion June 25, 1874, when a resolution was adopted providing that a tax of 10 mills be levied on all personal property. The ordinance finally resulting from that resolution authorized the raising of $500 for general revenue purposes. A short time afterward the levy was reduced to 5 mills. It was on June 25th, also, that Hastings was organized into a city of the second class. It was divided into three wards. All of the city lying south of the Burlington track was designated the First Ward; all west of Hastings Avenue and north of the Burlington track was the Second Ward, and all east of Hast- ings Avenue and north of the Burlington track was the Third Ward. These ward divisions remained until 1886, when the Fourth Ward was created and the boundary lines changed. Since 1886 the ward divisions have been as follows: First Ward, south of the Burlington main line tracks: Second Ward, north of the Burlington and west of the center line of Burlington Avenue; Third Ward, north of the Burlington and between the center lines of Burlington and St. Joseph avenues; Fourth Ward, north of the Burlington and west of the center line of St. Joseph Avenue. In the spring of 1916 the First, Second
70
PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
and Fourth wards were each divided into two voting preeinets. The east and west division line of the city has always been Wabash Avenue.
The bond of the early eity treasurer was fixed at $500, and the mayor's at the same figure. The marshal gave bond for $200. At present the bond of the city treasurer is $25,000, and the city clerk's $5,000. The trustees ealled an election for the selection of city officers to be held August 8, 1874. When the trustees canvassed the returns on August 10th, they threw out the returns from the First and Third wards on account of irregularities. The returns from the Second Ward also were irregular. They were not thrown out, however, the committee postponing action upon them until the following evening. When the next night the committee reported, they deelared the returns from the Second Ward were "regular and proper, but different from what they were at the last meeting." The trustees then canvassed the vote from the Second Ward and declared the following officials had been elected: Mayor, H. A. Forcht; clerk, G. D. Pieree; police judge, L. C. Gould; treasurer, J. G. B. Smith ; marshal, Alfred Berg: councilmen, J. M. Smith and John E. Wood.
A good deal of feeling had been aroused, however, when the returns from two of the wards had been thrown out, with the result that no sooner had the first officials been declared elected than they resigned. A. D. Buekworth was notably active in the first eity polities, and he and M. K. Lewis, also active, were all but sworn enemies.
When the officers resigned, Mr. Buekworth urged that another election be called for August 27th. The trustees, however, were not precipitate and did not order an election until September 22, 1874. The officials who have served the city since the first election have been as follows:
MAYOR
H. A. Forcht, elected Angust 8, 1874; John E. Wood. September 22, 1874: Charles II. Paul, April 6, 1875; M. K. Lewis, May 7, 1875: A. D. Yoeum, April 4, 1876: J. S. Melntyre. April 3, 1877; R. A. Batty, April 2, 1878; Fred Foreht, April 1, 1879: D. M. McElhinney, April 5, 1881: W. H. Lanning. April 4, 1882; J. E. Gant, April 1, 1884; Henry Shedd, April 7, 1885; Samuel Alexander, April 6, 1886; A. D. Yoeum, April 3, 1888; A. L. Clarke, April 1, 1890; C. C. Rit- tenhouse, April 3, 1892: D. M. MeElhinney, April 3, 1894: G. J. Evans, April 7, 1896: Jacob Fisher, April 3, 1898; R. V. Shockey, July 15, 1901; C. J. Miles, April 1, 1902; C. G. Ingraham, April 1, 1913: William Madgett. April 6, 1915.
.
71
PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
In 1875 Mr. Paul failed to qualify and M. K. Lewis was elected at a special election to fill the vacancy. July 15, 1901, Jacob Fisher resigned and R. V. Shockey became acting mayor, serving until the next regular election. Mayor Miles served as mayor continuously for eleven years and was not a candidate for office when succeeded by Mayor Ingraham.
CITY CLERK
A. T. Bratton, city clerk, is an institution of the city; almost as much so as the city council itself, or the city schools. Mr. Bratton has occupied the position continuously for fifteen years. Successive councils have learned to look upon the city clerk as authority upon the records of his office and the procedure of the municipal body.
W. F. J. Comley was the first clerk and acted in that capacity with the trustees governing Hastings as a village until G. D. Pierce qualified following the election of September 22, 1874. Mr. Bratton was acting clerk from the resignation of E. A. Francis, September 2, 1901, until his election April 1, 1902. The following have been the elections to the office of city clerk :
G. D. Pierce, August 8, 1874; G. D. Pierce, September 22, 1874; John E. Wood, April 4, 1876; G. D. Pierce, April 3, 1877; J. H. Fleming. April 1, 1879; C. J. Evans, April 4, 1882; E. A. Boalich, April 1, 1884; J. D. Mines, April 6, 1886; H. C. Haverly, April 3. 1888; W. W. Miles, April 5, 1892; Ed L. Francis, April 7, 1896; A. T. Bratton, September 2, 1901.
CITY TREASURER
J. G. Smith, August 8, 1874; Samuel Alexander, September 22, 1874; E. Steinau, April 1, 1879; James B. Heartwell, April 5, 1881; J. S. Allison, April 4, 1882; G. J. Evans, April 1, 1884; Emanuel Fist, April 6, 1886; J. D. Mines, April 3, 1888; G. J. Evans, April 5, 1892; W. L. Yetter, April 3, 1894; J. D. Mines, April 7, 1896; A. HI. Cramer, April 1. 1902; Ernest Hoeppner, April 1, 1913. Mr. Cramer served continuously as city treasurer for eleven years. Mr. Hoeppner is the present incumbent.
POLICE JUDGE
The office of police judge in Hastings is characterized by the long service of Judge Benjamin Reynolds and the number of election
72
PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
contests that developed. Judge Reynolds filled this office for twelve years, serving continuously from his election April 2, 1895, until the election of David Bryson, April 2, 1907. At the spring election of 1886 Napoleon B. Vineyard and John F. Ballinger were the candi- dates, and after the election both claimed to have been elected. Ballinger had occupied the position since 1882 and refused to yield. For a number of months both judges held court, until the election was finally decided by the District Court and Judge Vineyard was declared to be police judge.
The next dispute about this office was in 1911, between Joseph Myer and James A. Benson. Judge Myer was first elected April 6, 1909. Before the next election, state legislation changed the office to that of police magistrate. Under this provision it ceased to be a city office. Acting on the advice of counsel, however, Judge Myer ran for reelection April 4, 1911, at the time of the election of city officers. At the next general election, November 7, 1911, James A. Benson ran for the office of police magistrate, and upon the vote of that claimed the office. Judge Myer declared that there was no vacancy and refused to yield. The matter was in dispute until May 1, 1912, when Judge Myer yielded to Judge Benson upon a com- promise agreement.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.