Scotts Bluff county was a part thereof, in the extreme northwest corner of its limits.

School district number one was organized at Sidney, and Scotts Bluff county was also a part thereof. Taxes from the Coad and Sheedy and other big ranches were paid into Sidney. Even the ranches that were over in the unorganized county of Sioux, as far east as Valentine and the Long Pine section, helped to pay for the support of the Sidney schools for a few years. But these taxes were not large, although the territory covered a half of the state.

District No. 10

John Wright secured the organization of District No. 10, in the early eighties, which district embraced all of the present Banner county and all south of the river in the present Scotts Bluff county. This took in the Sparks, Coad and Creighton ranches, and smaller places on the water-ways, and some of the taxable railroad land upon the divide between Harrisburg and Kimball. The school house was built at Wright's ranch on Pumpkin creek, i he first school being in a log house, until the

frame was built. Lora Sirpless was the first teacher. When the building of the frame school house came up. the settlers were locating in the east end of Banner county as it now exists, and they wanted the school house at Freeport. Hugh Milhollin was elected on the school board. A compromise was reached, and two school houses were built in 1886, one at Wright's ranch and the other at Freeport, both of frame. They are still in good repair and used for the original purpcses.