The source of the Calamus River is spring-fed Moon Lake, 60 miles northwest of here. The river was named after a common marsh plant eaten by muskrats. Archeological evidence indicates that prehistoric Indians camped in the valley as early as 3,000 years ago. During historic times it was the hunting ground of the Pawnee, Sioux, and Omaha. The first European to visit the region was explorer James Mackay in 1796. Mackay struck the Calamus near its source and followed it downstream to its confluence with the Loup River.
The coming of settlers to the valley in the 1870s sparked occasional conflict with Indians. The last skirmish, the "Battle of the Blowout," occurred just north of here in 1876. Sergeant William Dougherty of the 23rd Infantry and one Indian were killed in the fight. Lieutenant Charles Heyl and Corparals Patrick Leonard and Jeptha Lytton received Congressional Medals of Honor for bravery. These soldiers were from Fort Hartsuff, located on the Loup River 15 miles to the southeast. The Fort's active period (1874-1881) marked the beginning of the modern era of settlement and development in the Calamus Valley.
]]>In 1872, settlement pioneered by Charles H. Jones in what is now Garfield County, followed the North Loup River northwestward to its junction with the Calamus River. In 1875, the post office serving the area near the confluence of the rivers was named The Forks. In 1884, it was renamed Burwell. This valley was a natural route for the Sioux when raiding the Pawnee Reservation southeast of here. In blocking the path of the Indian raiders, settlers invited the wrath of the Sioux. Conflict between the whites and the Indian was inevitable, and the battles of Pebble Creek (l874) and The Blowout (1876) were the result. Settlers found an abundance of wild life for food and giant cedars for building purposes. Many of these trees were used in the construction of nearby Fort Hartsuff in 1874. The government reserved five sections on land in this valley for hay and wood for the fort. Garfield County was organized in 1884 with the county seat at nearby Willow Springs. When the county seat was moved to Burwell in 1890, Willow Springs was abandoned.
]]>On September 29, 1875, Richard McClimans filed a timber claim on this site under the provisions for the Timber Culture Act of 1873. The original act, sponsored by Senator Phineas W. Hitchcock of Nebraska, enabled homesteaders to acquire up to a quarter section of additional land by agreeing to cultivate timber on the tract.
In 1960, a portion of the McClimans Timber Claim was donated to the Nebraska Conference of the United Church of Christ by the family of Osceola and Laura McClimans Cram, as a memorial in their honor. Named Kamp Kaleo, additional acreage was acquired by the church in 1961, and added to the original donation. Many of the trees on the grounds of Kamp Kaleo are survivors of the original McClimans Timber Claim, and some 32 acres of forest have been designated a managed nature area by the Soil Conservation Society of America.
Although the Timber Culture Act was largely unsuccessful in the promotion of tree planting on the plains, Kamp Kaleo testifies that pioneer farmers often made significant contributions to the natural beauty of Nebraska.
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