In 1886 the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad established Ingham where its tracks crossed Deer Creek Canyon, about 2 miles northwest of here, in one of the few level spots between Farnam and Moorefield. Ingham was a way station on the Burlington Highline, which followed the divide between the Platte and Republican rivers, connecting Holdrege, Nebraska, and Sterling, Colorado. Later Ingham became a trading center for the small dryland farms and cattle ranches in the area. A post office was established in 1898, and the first class was graduated from the Ingham High School in 1924. Silica, used chiefly in scouring powder, was mined, refined, and shipped by rail.
The late 1920s and 1930s Ingham's fortunes began to decline. Dryland farming had from the first been only marginally profitable. Improved roads enabled the dwindling number of area residents to shop and market their grain and cattle in larger communities. In 1928 the silica mill was moved to Eustis. By the early 1950s Ingham had become a memory.
Wagons and other agricultural equipment are reminders of the era of horse power on the farm and of the many who contributed to settlement of the area.
]]>When Frontier County was organized in 1872, Stockville became the county seat. During its first decade no real town existed, it being only a trading center for the ranchers of the region. It was not until the middle-eighties, when the county filled with homesteaders, that the town began to grow.
Near here is Medicine Creek, one of the most important water-ways of the region. It served as a natural highway between the Republican and Platte Rivers, first for the Indians, then for the whites. With the establishment of Fort McPherson, the Medicine route was regularly used by the military as they protected the frontier. In the heart of the buffalo county, the Sioux were partial to the Medicine Valley. In 1870, a band of former hostiles--the Whistler band of Cut-off Oglala, settled near here, living in peace with the early settlers for several years.
Among the notable frontiersmen of the region were outstanding figures Hank and Monty Clifford, John Y. Nelson, and Doc Carver. Regular visitors were Buffalo Bill Cody and Texas Jack Omohundro, as they guided the wealthy on buffalo hunts.
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