During the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, in October 1957. A perceived “missile gap” led to the massive construction of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) sites in the United States in the early 1960s. The Atlas was America’s first ICBM. The 549th Strategic Missile Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha was tasked with deploying the Atlas D at three sites: "A" at Mead, "B" at Arlington, and "C" at Missouri Valley, Iowa.
The sites consisted of a launch operations building, three launch and service buildings, two warhead storage magazines, and associated generating and communications facilities. The 103-foot by 133-foot launch and service buildings of reinforced concrete contained the missile bays. To launch a missile, the roof of the bay was pulled back and the 83-foot tall, liquid-fueled rocket was raised upright. The Atlas had a range of 10,360 miles. This launch complex was completed in July 1960 and deactivated in October 1964. Today, it is home to Mead Atlas and Titan Readiness Centers of the Nebraska National Guard.
]]>During the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, in October 1957. A perceived “missile gap” led to the massive construction of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) sites in the United States in the early 1960s. The Atlas was America’s first ICBM. The 549th Strategic Missile Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha was tasked with deploying the Atlas D at three sites: "A" at Mead, "B" at Arlington, and "C" at Missouri Valley, Iowa.
The sites consisted of a launch operations building, three launch and service buildings, two warhead storage magazines, and associated generating and communications facilities. The 103-foot by 133-foot launch and service buildings of reinforced concrete contained the missile bays. To launch a missile, the roof of the bay was pulled back and the 83-foot-tall, liquid-fueled rocket was raised upright. The Atlas had a range of 10,360 miles. The launch complex located east of here was completed in July 1960 and deactivated in October 1964. Today, it is a military training site for the Nebraska National Guard.
]]>The Armour and Company Icehouse was built in 1897-98 northwest of Memphis, Nebraska. It was one of the largest icehouses in the country, measuring approximately 180 feet wide, 700 feet long, and 52 feet high. A 300-horsepower steam engine and two generators provided electrical power.
A manmade lake of about 100 acres was filled each fall from Silver Creek. Harvesting began when the ice was eight inches thick. It was scored, sawed, and the blocks poled along an open channel to elevators and into the ice rooms, where they were packed in sawdust. In the spring the lake was drained, leaving a small fish pond.
The ice was used in refrigerated railcars and meat-packing plants, and was also sold to businesses in eastern Nebraska. In 1899, 100,000 tons of ice were harvested. It was common to ship 100 or more railcars of ice each month during the summer. Twenty-five employees lived nearby, and 300 men were hired during the busy season. The icehouse burned in 1921. In 1930 Memphis State Recreation Area was established at the site of the icehouse and lake.
]]>Spanish colonial correspondence from 1777 noting the presence of an Oto Indian village on the Platte likely refers to the Yutan site, named after the Chief Iatan. Yutan would have been the first Indian settlement seen by fur trappers and military expeditions traveling up the Platte Valley to the Rocky Mountains. In 1833 the village was the site of a treaty between the Oto, Pawnee, and Delaware, and in 1835 the Oto abandoned the site. Two decades later, the reservation period began for the tribe.
]]>This marker sits astride the Ox-Bowl Trail, also known as the Old Fort Kearny or Nebraska City Road. Beginning in the 1840's, this route carried thousands of emigrants and millions of pounds of freight destined for the settlements, mining camps, or military posts of the West. Many travelers were Mormons bound for the Great Salt Lake Valley. The trail, looping north to the Platte from such Missouri River towns as Plattsmouth and Nebraska City, resembled an Ox-Bow, after which it was named. Just west of here was an important ford across Salt Creek, where limestone ledges form a natural low-water bridge. Travel over the trail declined in the mid-1860's with the development of more direct routes from the Missouri to the Central Platte Valley.
The water supply for the City of Lincoln comes from wells in the Platte Valley near here. In 1932 this pumping station was built, and a 36-inch water main laid to Lincoln. A treatment plant and an additional 48-inch main were added in the 1950's.
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