Between 1855 and 1867 companies like Russell, Majors, and Waddell shipped millions of pounds of freight across the plains to supply military posts and mining camps to the West. After 1861 freighters followed the "Nebraska City-Fort Kearney Cut-off" instead of the longer "Ox-Bow Trail," which looped north along the Platte River. The new route crossed York County in a northwesterly direction. Road ranches were established along the trail, where provisions, livestock, and lodging could be obtained.
Porcupine Ranch was the first of five road ranches in York County. Situated at Porcupine Bluffs on Beaver Creek near the western border of the county, the ranch was established in 1863 by Benjamin F. Lushbaugh, Agent to the Pawnee. During the 1860's the ranch provided water and supplies to thousands of emigrants and freighters. It was also a relay station for the Overland Stage Company, which carried passengers and mail.
With the completion of the transcontinental railroad through the area in 1867, emigrant, stagecoach, and freighting traffic declined. Porcupine Ranch and other road ranches were soon abandoned as towns grew up along the railroad.
]]>In 1898 E. C. Bishop, a teacher in nearby Bradshaw, organized student clubs. Through these clubs he planned his school lessons so that they related to the students' activities on the farm and in the home. The first projects Bishop assigned dealt with corn growing, sewing, and baking. Similar student activity clubs were organized in several states at this time, but Bishop's efforts are regarded as the beginning of 4-H club work in Nebraska. Bishop became York County Superintendent of Schools in 1900 and continued to stress the importance of youth organizations. In 1905 he organized state-wide boys' and girls' associations. As State Superintendent of Schools (1909-1911), Bishop took charge of youth work. He wrote, "We expect each of our members to learn to do something worth doing--something the world wants done. . . and to lead himself into an education that will bring the fullest development of the triunity--the hand, the head and the heart." Although health has been added as the fourth "H", Bishop's beliefs are still idealized in 4-H work.
]]>Massive freighting of supplies by ox and mule trains was a direct result of the establishment of Fort Kearny and other western military posts. The Mormon War and the discovery of gold in the territories of Colorado and Montana increased this trade, and Nebraska City became a major freighting center between 1858 and 1865. Early freighters used the Ox-Bow Trail which looped northward to the Platte Valley and west to Fort Kearny. The competition with other Missouri River Towns forced the freighters to seek a shorter, quicker route. The new route, the Nebraska City-Fort Kearny Cut-off, passed near this point. It was originally marked by a plowed furrow of over 180 miles. In 1862 Joseph Brown brought to Nebraska his famed steam wagon, an invention that would hopefully revolutionize plains freighting. Bridges were constructed and other improvements were made to facilitate this machine. The experiment was a failure and the wagon never got beyond the outskirts of Nebraska City; even so, the cut-off is also known as the "Steam Wagon Road." Overland freighting reached its peak in 1865 when over 44 million pounds of supplies were shipped from Nebraska City. The construction of the Union Pacific Railroad across Nebraska, however, signaled the end of major freighting on this trail.
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