In April 1860 Joseph E. Johnson, a Mormon, established a road ranche at Wood River Centre, today's Shelton, and began publishing The Huntsman's Echo, the first newspaper in Nebraska west of Omaha. He had earlier edited papers in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha. Johnson was a keen observer of the Nebraska scene, which he discussed in a vigorous and breezy style suggested by his paper's motto, "Independent in Everything, Neutral in Nothing." Johnson's Ranche was an important supply point serving Mormons and other travelers on the Council Bluffs Road (Mormon Trail). It included a general store, blacksmith shop, post office, mill, and a farm that grew crops and vegetables. Buffalo and elk roamed the area and the Pawnee Tribe lived nearby. Johnson strongly favored preserving the Union and was appalled by the coming bloodshed of the Civil War. On the grounds that "this Republican reign of terror . . . is too much for our democratic style of free thought, free speech, and freedom," he decided to move west to join his fellow Mormons in Utah. The last issue of The Huntsman's Echo was published August 1, 1861.
]]>Until about 1910 the mill pond and environs was a popular recreation area operated by Charles Nelson and known as Glenwood Park. Ice harvested from the pond was stored in a huge ice house nearby for summertime use in Kearney. In 1944 the land where the mill once stood was acquired by the Lawrence and Violet Richter family.
]]>On the South Loup River southwest of here was the site of the U.S. Army's Post South Loup Fork. This small outpost of Fort Kearney was established in May 1865 by Company "E", Seventh Iowa Cavalry, under the command of Capt. Jams B. David and consisted of a log barracks and stable enclosed by a sod wall. The post monitored the movements of Indians in the Loup River valleys. Sometimes it was called Post Connor in honor of Gen. Patrick Connor. In July 1865 the Iowa Cavalry was replaced by Company "E" of the First Nebraska Cavalry and in August the post was abandoned. In 1871 pioneer settlers from Gibbon used the log buildings for firewood.
According to legend the post became known as Fort Desolation because it was about thirty miles from any settlement. It has also been termed Fort Banishment, because soldiers were sent there as punishment for stealing commissary whisky. Military records do not confirm this.
]]>West-bound travelers will leave the prairie regions of eastern Nebraska and enter the Great Plains within the next fifty miles. This semi-arid region stretching from Canada to Mexico and westward toward the Rockies was long known as the Great American Desert. Most early explorers and travelers thought the region to be of little value except to Indians and ranchers. Thousands of overland travelers followed this, the Great Platte River Road, to the Golden West, but it was not until the establishment of Nebraska Territory in 1854 that pioneers could legally settle here.
]]>In 1888, H. D. Watson established the historic Watson Ranch, at one time containing 8,000 acres, reaching from the fertile Platte Valley on the south to the rolling hills on the north and from downtown Kearney to a point five miles west.
During its existence, the ranching operations were devoted to grains, poultry, vegetables, and a 250-acre fruit orchard primarily of cherry, plum, and apple trees. Watson planted thousands of other trees of numerous varieties.
Resembling a huge experiment station, the ranch included such crops as wheat, rye, barley, corn, potatoes, sugar beets, squash, and asparagus. In the 1890's, Watson introduced alfalfa into the Platte Valley. In part to demonstrate the value of alfalfa as a feed, Watson constructed a dairy barn in 1900. Standing 650 feet northwest of this sign, it measured 500 feet long, 100 feet wide, and 56 feet high. Attached to an immense silo, it contained stanchions for 400 cows, huge hay lofts, and wagon and machinery storage.
Because it was located 1,733 miles from both Boston and San Francisco, it later became known as the "1733 Ranch," and the huge barn remained a landmark until it was down in 1935.
]]>In 1847 Brigham Young led the first migration over the Morman Trail along the north bank of the Platte River, and in 1866 the Union Pacific Railroad pushed its main line westward to this valley, bringing pioneer settlers. However, it was not until 1871 when the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad fixed the junction point of its line with the Union Pacific that a townsite was established here. The village of Kearney Junction was platted in the summer of 1871 and the junction of the two railroads was completed on September 18, 1872. In the fall of 1873, a bridge was completed across the Platte, connecting Kearney with the rapidly developing areas to the south. The City of Kearney was incorporated on December 3, 1873, and became the county seat of Buffalo County in 1874. Kearney developed rapidly as an industrial, agricultural, and cultural center. The railroads and the promise of industry offered by the new Kearney Canal, which was completed in 1886, brought many investors from the East, and by 1892 the population reached the 10,000 mark. This golden era launched the Kearney Cotton Mill, the famed 1733 Ranch, a splendid five-story opera house, and one of the state's first electric street railways.
]]>In the late 1880's, Kearney business leaders envisioned the city as a major manufacturing center. The Kearney Cotton Mill was among the many enterprises launched as part of this venture, which included paper, woolen, and oatmeal mills; plow and canning factories; brick works and machine shops. The economic depression of the early 1890's, however, ended most of these businesses. The Kearney Cotton Mill was financed in part by a Massachusetts firm. Upon its completion in 1892 the mill was the largest manufacturing plant in Nebraska. The two-story brick structure cost over $400,000 to construct. Raw cotton was shipped from the South by barge and railroad. At peak efficiency the mill employed about 450 workers and produced 26,000 yards of unbleached muslin daily, some of which was shipped to such faraway places as the Orient. In 1901 the plant was closed due to economic pressures, including high freight rates and labor costs. During its existence the mill never operated at a profit. The building stood vacant until the Midway Amusement Park was established in the spring of 1920. A swimming pool was constructed in the basement of the plant and the main building was used as a dance pavilion. On March 18, 1922, the mill and park facilities were destroyed by fire.
]]>In 1903 the legislature appropriated $50,000 to establish a state normal school in central or western Nebraska. After 111 ballots, the State Board of Education chose Kearney as the site. The city donated twenty acres on the west side of town for a campus, including one building, Green Terrace Hall, which was used mainly as a dormitory until razed in 1960. Construction of the administration building began in 1904. The first classes at Kearney State Normal School were held in the summer of 1905 with 96 students enrolled. In 1921 the school was renamed the Nebraska State Teachers College at Kearney and became a four-year college. The granting of liberal arts degrees was authorized in 1949, and a graduate program was established in 1956. The name was changed to Kearney State College in 1963. On July 1, 1991, the institution became part of the University of Nebraska, to be known as the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK). Under its various names, UNK has played an important role in state development and continues to meet the educational, research, and service needs of Nebraska.
]]>James E. Boyd settled near here in 1858 and by 1860 operated a trail ranche supplying travelers on the Platte Valley Overland Route (Mormon Trail). The ranche included 200 acres of corn and barley. Nebraska Centre Post Office was here until if was discontinued in 1868. The Union Pacific Railroad, reaching here in 1866, ended the need for ranches. Soon after, Boyd moved to Omaha, was elected mayor and in 1891 became governor of Nebraska.
]]>Gibbon, near here, was the site of a unique experiment in homestead colonization. The Soldiers' Free Homestead Temperance Colony was responsible for bringing the earliest settlers, mostly Union veterans, to this locality. Traveling via the Union Pacific Railroad, the first group arrived April 7, 1871, when the only building was a small section house. They lived in railroad boxcars until sod or frame homes could be built. Their first view of the area was not encouraging, since a prairie fire had recently swept the region, and two days after their arrival a blizzard struck. Still, of 129 families only one failed to file a homestead claim. As you travel east, you will parallel the Nebraska City-Fort Kearny Cut-off which joined the main Overland Trail near here. This freighting trail, in operation from about 1860-1869, was designed to speed travel between the Missouri River, frontier military posts, and Denver. It offered a more direct route than the earlier Ox-Bow Trail which looped north to the Platte Valley. Freighting over the Cut-off peaked in 1865 when 44 million pounds of supplies were shipped west from Nebraska City.
]]>Gibbon, on the old Mormon Trail, was the site of a unique experiment in homestead colonization. Originally conceived as a financial venture by Colonel John Thorp of Ohio, the Soldier's Free Homestead Colony was responsible for bringing the first homesteaders to the region. Traveling by Union Pacific, which had reached this point in July 1866, the first group of colonists, representing 80 families, arrived in Gibbon on April 7, 1871. Thorp had advertised for colonists, charging a membership fee of $2.00, with which they received reduced railroad rates to Gibbon, where it was expected that the Civil War Veterans would purchase railroad land and take homesteads, thus increasing the value of other nearby railroad lands. When the first colonists arrived at Gibbon siding, named for Civil War General John Gibbon, the only building was a small section house, and, until sod or frame homes could be built, they lived in railroad box cars. Later arrivals increased the original colonists to 129 families from 15 states, all but a few being Union veterans. The settlers' first view of the area was not encouraging as a prairie fire had recently swept over the region, leaving charred desolation in its wake. Two days after their arrival, a two-day blizzard struck the area. It is a tribute to the perseverance of these hardy pioneers that only one colonist failed to file a homestead claim.
]]>Elm Creek siding was established in August 1866 during construction of the Union Pacific Railroad. The nearby creek provided both water and timber for the railroad's locomotives. By 1872 a school-church building, a saloon-restaurant, a store, and a post office formed the nucleus of a town. The railroad brought settlers to the area, many of whom were Irish emigrants and railroad workers. They acquired homesteads and timber claims from the government or purchased land from the railroad.
About 1880 the Union Pacific constructed a depot one mile to the east of the original town and the village soon followed in 1883. Elm Creek was incorporated on January 12, 1887, and boasted a population of 300. In 1906 the village survived a major fire which destroyed fourteen buildings on Front Street.
Elm Creek's location in the fertile Platte Valley helped make it an agricultural center for sugar beets, alfalfa, livestock, and corn. In its centennial year of 1987 the population was 862.
]]>In 1881 Sylvester Bearss constructed Blue Mills just east of here on Wood River, so-named for a blue clay outcropping. A 30.5-inch Leffel turbine rated at 30 horsepower ran the mill with water impounded by an earth and brush dam. Fifty barrels of flour could be produced every 24 hours. When the mill was rebuilt after burning in 1892, a concrete dam and steam engine were installed. From about 1908 to 1920 Sylvester's son Guy Bearss owned the mill, which featured "Star Patent" and "Snow Flake" brand flour. Bearss sold the mill to Warren Ewell a few months before it was again destroyed by fire on October 31, 1920. Ewell was convicted of arson; the mill was not rebuilt.
Until about 1910 the mill pond and environs was a popular recreation area operated by Charles Nelson and known as Glenwood Park. Ice harvested from the pond was stored in a huge ice house nearby for summertime use in Kearney. In 1944 the land where the mill once stood was acquired by the Lawrence and Violet Richter family.
]]>The Lincoln Highway Association was founded in 1913 to promote a transcontinental automobile route from New York City to San Francisco. Dedicated on October 31, 1913, the route was marked by the letter "L" within red, white, and blue bands painted on telephone poles or signs.
The association conceived the Seedling Mile program to demonstrate the use of concrete as a roadway surface, including projects in Buffalo County and Hall County in Nebraska. The Kearney Commercial Club raised funds to construct a Seedling Mile on West 24th Street from present-day 19th Avenue to 30th Avenue, formerly a dirt road. The Kearney Daily Hub of November 5, 1915, described the completed project: "The road is amply wide enough to make possible the passage of two loaded hayracks without interference."
From 1947 to 1987 this location was the site of the Hammer Motel, famous for its sign topped by a giant hammer and three supporting poles made to look like nails. The building then served as student housing for the University of Nebraska at Kearney until 1995, when it was razed.
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