Scharf, J. Thomas, ed. History of Westchester County, New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II. Philadelphia: L.E. Preston & Co., 1886.

L. Hooper, Commander; Ross Carsey, Vice Commander ; Mucho Bolka, Vice Commander; Irving Tilgner, Adjutant; Jesse K. Bradley. Finance Officer. The executive committee consists of C. L. Hooper, Ross Carey, Irving Tilgner, Jesse K. Bradley, Geo. Post, Ira Paisley and Wm. Thacker. The Post has a membership of eighty, and is proud of the fact that it has not received any outside …

They moved to Weiser, Idaho, where they are on a small dairy and fruit farm. In the meantime, in 1909, Dr. Morris came to Lewellen and Dr. Stanley Clement opened up an office in Oshkosh. The latter only stayed about two years. Dr. Morris stayed in Lewellen, but has since given up practicing. By this time, in 1911, Dr. Geo. H. Morris located in Oshkosh, making two doctors by …

Oshkosh had needed another physician, as the work was too heavy for one ; so, many were pleased when Dr. Kelly arrived in May, 1917. His work here was cut short by the "Flu" epidemic. He and his wife were both down with it and Dr. Kelly died in November, 1918, after being here only about one and onehalf years. Dr. C. L. Hooper came to Lewellen in 1916. When war was declared …

He has ever since been our principal tooth doctor and did all work free for the local boys who needed tooth repairing preparatory to their acceptance as soldiers in the World War. Dr. Baker came in 1909, opening an office in his residence. His health was poor and he passed away in February, 1914. At Lewellen, Dr. Gainsforth came, in 1917. Mrs. Gainsforth taught in the public …

Oshkosh having been without a licensed dentist for several years, Dr. Dunlavy jumped into a big business from the start. SIOUX COUNTY DESCRIPTION AND EARLY HISTORY Sioux county lies in the extreme northwestern corner of the state. It is sixty-nine miles long, with an average width of about thirty miles. There are three correction lines in the county with the net result that …

The oldest of the present generation of people there do not seem to have heard of it. Fifty years ago, March 1, 1867, Nebraska became a state, and by an arbitrary act of the legislature, Sioux county came into existence. Its eastern boundary was the present west line of Holt county, and its south line the forty-first degree of latitude, which is its present south line. There …

Water Resources and Uses The Niobrara river, first called L"Eau Qui Court, and later Running Water, is the most important stream as to size in Sioux county. It enters the county about twenty-five miles south of the northwest corner, running southeasterly to Agate, a distance of about twenty miles, thence nearly east an almost equal distance to the county line, the point of …

Ranches are to be found in all the attractive places. Good dry-land farms are to be found north and east of the creek, while to the south are rough, sandy and broken plains, furnishing what is necessary for the ideal of ranching, an early spring range. The warming sun strikes a quick response from these low sandy ridges, and grass, far enough along for grazing, is often ten …

The benchlands to the west are called Iowa flats, and to the east are called the Dutch flats, both being exceedingly fertile and well farmed. Spottedtail springs are near the south line of the county, about centrally east and west. The two branches of the valley bear the names of Wet Spottedtail and Dry Spottedtail, formerly characterizing the conditions obtaining. But the …

The territory now embraced in Sioux county was first claimed by Spain, due to Coronado's trip from New Mexico into the land of Quivera, which was without doubt Nebraska. After 1739, when Mallet brothers made their trip into the great plains, it was claimed by France. For a time it was the pawn of kings, but finally was sold by Napoleon to the United States. At the time of the …

That these peoples were as far west as Sioux county is not yet demonstrated. There were, however, found ancient ruins north of Bridgeport and near Agate, about a half a century ago. Those near Agate were on the top of a high hill after the manner of the Aztec ruins of the southwest. Yet according to the best authorities, I am led to the opinion that the ruins were left by the …

The stories of the Indian wars of the early trappers in this vicinity, and as well as much of the ccw man's story appears in other parts of these volumes, and need not be repeated here. The Indian agencies known as Red Cloud on White river, and Spotted Tail on the pine ridges northeast of Chadron were the original cause for building Fort Robinson, but the discovery of gold in …

Dry land farming is not a safe proposition under the usual amount of rainfall, but the excessive precipitation of the last few years may prove of a permanent nature. In all the high prairie country, winds of considerable velocity are not uncommon. Before the groves of the later settlers began to dot the prairie these winds were more common and more violent than of later years …

The next was the establishment of Fort Robinson, and then the Black Hills discovery of gold. In the late seventies the ranchmen came. It is difficult to call a restless mortal like Edgar Beecher Bronson a ranchman because he tarried on Soldier creek for a few weeks or months, or on the Niobrara river a similar length of time. There were many flyby-nights that came and tarried …

Down on the Niobrara river Doctor Graham was building the Agate ranch, which has become historic. As distinguished from ranchmen the first real# settlers arrived about eighteen eightyone* They settled in the vicinity of the fort for the protection it gave them. L. E. Belden was the first. John Foxwell came, but did not stay long. Daniel Klein arrived soon after. The Rigdons …

It is possible that there were born children at the fort in an earlier year, but they were transient, and there is no record. Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Zimmerman, who also arrived in eighteen eighty-five, believe this to be the first known or recollected birth. This is also the recollection of Daniel Klein, who settled on White river in 1882. The first wedding was that of Carl Lux …

In eighteen eighty-eight she was married to W. E. Fiddler whose wife died the year before. Together they went on westward to Oregon. Miss Hunt had followed Miss Delahunty as teacher in District number one. The latter had removed to Antelopeville (now Kimball). Jennie Hunt was the first teacher in Harrison, then called Bowen, in 1886. The school in Harrison was in the second …

Hunter's little daughter was named "Oressa," which was suggested as the name for the post-office. Down in Texas, there is a shrub called "Bodarc." The people of a Texas community were asking for a postoffice and that it be named "Bodarc." In some inexplicable way, the department at Washington crossed the names, and gave the Texas post-office the name of Oressa, and the Sioux …

B KOI XX IXC, OF I [arrison The building of the Chicago ec Northwestern line through Sioux county put the first railroad within its limits. In eighteen eighty-six the work reached the present site of Harrison. The place was then called Summit, because of its altitude which is forty-eight hundred and seventy-seven feet above sea level. Some distance north of the line of the …

Sellers & Griswold were the first to thus engage in merchandising. Anderson & Company opened the first drug store at the same time. Both were east of the depot as it is new located. The first permanent building in the town for merchandising purposes was the Ranch Supply store, which building is now occupied by the Marstellers who are engaged in general merchandise trade. The …

Bi wen and llat creek precincts, Harrison being located in the former, agreed to and did. in eighteen eighty-eight, build the presenl courthouse. The architects were Whitney & Murphy. HISTORY OF WESTERN NEBRASKA The brick used were burned on Sowbelly creek. George Klein burned a kiln or two of brick on Spring creek, which he expected to sell to the builders of the courthouse …

A number of soldiers on scout duty out of Fort Robinson found themselves hard pressed by Indians, and were held in close quarters until nearly starved before the rescue party arrived. When relieved from their tension of resistance they were "hungry enough to eat a raw dog." The sole article of provision which the rescuing party had, was old dry-salt bacon, which in the …

They called a spade by that name. In that perfect expression, the world of the time was cor- HISTORY OF WESTERN NEBRASKA rectly recorded, and there was no doubt about it. Sometimes we wonder if the press has deteriorated, or, having taken cognizance of the weaknesses and frailties of ourselves and our brothers, most of us speak with observance of the rules of charity. The next …

The Herald was published by Ed Satterlee on a street fronting the present site of the depot at Harrison, and the post-office was next to it. Judge Hunter had started the Republican at Bodarc, for the purpose, so his political enemies declared, of having an organ through which he could exploit his theories and opinions. That some of these opinions were not of the highest and …

Burke, in January, nineteen hundred five, sold it to J. H. Newlin, and went to Bridgeport. The Harrison Sun, which came into existence May eleventh, nineteen hundred, was started by Win. II. Ketchmun, then of the Crawford Tribune, and L. C. Wright. It had been purchased by Newlin in the fall of nineteen hundred three, and he had taken possession in February following. He …

Both were in the first teachers' institute in Sioux county, and both are yet living. They have two living daughters : one married Milo E. Wolff and they live on a ranch in Wyoming, thirty miles northwest of Harrison. Bessie, the other daughter is at home and assists on the Journal, in the news notes, the business department, and the linotype department. Both Jessie and Bessie …

there was one single knight of the grip that knew him, but that sincerely regretted the illness and permanent incapacity that made it necessary for him to retire from business. On Activi There are others that were active officially and otherwise in the early history of which brief mention should be made, aside from references to them in some of the stories told in this work …

Fred now being county treasurer; the Cherrys, Earl Cherry being the county clerk and to whom this chronicler feels a debt of gratitude for assistance in compiling this history. The list of officials in Sioux county for efficiency from beginning to the present time, stand high in the counties of the Panhandle. The records were and are well kept, and these that we have met are …

In the early nineties Doctor Bridgeman and Doctor Julian E. Phinney were practising in the Harrison vicinity. In the late nineties, Doctors L. W. Bowman and Levi J. C. Berchard, registered. The first veterinarian registered in eighteen ninety-eight was Doctor E. E. Barr. Shortly after nineteen hundred Doctors Albro J. Ames and Clyde Davis were practicing physicians in Sioux …

Paul Herbert Priest registered as physician and surgeon in nineteen twenty, being the last resident doctor to engage in practice. Earl Emanuel Dale of Lusk, sometimes comes into Sioux county to attend cases, and some of the other registrants reside in other and adjoining counties. The only resident doctors today are the Priests and Borglum. Francis Harrold Wallace was the only …

In eighteen ninety-one the fifteenth district came into existence. A. W. Crites was appointed to divide the work of the district. Alfred Bartow of Chadron succeeded Crites, and in eighteen ninety-six W. H. Wrestover became judge in the place of Bartow. J. J. Harrington took the place of Kinkaid in nineteen hundred. The sixteenth judicial district was created in nineteen …

Fern Samuel Baker came to Harrison about a decade ago and is the present county prosecutor. Colonel J. W. Hartwell and Mr. Baker now constitute the total resident membership of the bar of Sioux count}'. The Story of the Schooi - As heretofore stated the first school organized in Sioux county was while it was yet unorganized territory, and attached to Cheyenne county. Jo …

Therefore number one and number three, which were near the old fort, are the two oldest districts in the county, and both antedate the county. Sioux county records give little history of number one, except that Jacob Klein was the director. Of number two. Win. A. Raum petitioned for its organization, the election was held at the residence of Win M. Pennington, and the officers …

Thomas, the first county superintendent of the organized county, created it, and the first officers thereof were: Henry Rogers, moderator ; John S. Tucker, director, and Chas. T. Kyle, treasurer. Thomas also created fifteen other districts during his term of office. Between March fourth and December fifteenth of eighteen eighty-seven, Superintendent Thomas issued teachers' …

In eighteen ninety-one Superintendent Cox made a separate record for all certificates issued, which plan was generally followed until nineteen hundred five, when the new law was adopted that changed the issuance of certificates to the state superintendent. The first state apportionment, made January first, eighteen ninety was five hundred twenty dollars and thirty-five cents …

While commissioner of public lands and buildings in nineteen seventeen and eighteen, this writer inaugurated a new policy which has been followed since, a higher valuation of school lands. The result is that nineteen twenty-one apportionment from the state is nearly two dollars per pupil for January, or a total of twenty-three hundred fifty-eight dollars and sixty cents, as …

The first teachers' institute in Sioux county convened July twentieth, eighteen ninetyone and continued ten days. Professor N. E. Leach and wife were the instructors. The teachers in attendance were : Sarah Parsons. Minnie Smith. Will H. Davis, Eva E. Conner, Ben B. Smith. J. H. Newlin, Elsie Merriam. A. P. Babcock, Mabel Robinson, Minnie Crane, Anna Kirbey, Myrtle Zimmerman …

Seventeen districts in the county have bonded debt, only two of which levy more than ten mills for the sinking fund. Seven districts have a building fund with none over ten mills. The levy for the county high is eight mills, and the total county levy for other purposes is twelve and one-tenths mills, and the total county levy for other purposes is twelve and one-tenth mills …

Katherine Graham, wife of Doctor Graham, who located the ranch in eighteen seventy-eight, called the few neighbors and the cowboys together and held services at regular intervals after that date. Reverend J. H. Skinner in eighteen eighty-eight came to Harrison and preached in a building on Main street where the Lowry hotel is now situated, until the first Methodist church was …

Albertson and Edward McGill followed in turn, and in September, nineteen twenty. Reverend Clare L. Yan Metre arrived and he has splendidly followed up the work. The church now has a membership of about one hundred and the Sunday school an enrollment of one hundred seventy-two. A new and modern church edifice is contemplated in the near future. Harrison's other church is the …

BANKING AND FINANCE -- FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS -- INDUSTRIES The story of the banks in Sioux county tells the story of its material progress only in part, because many of Sioux county people do their banking in adjoining counties : Lusk and Torrington, Wyoming ; Ardmore, South Dakota; Crawford, Hemingford, Marsland, Alliance, Henry, Morrill, Mitchell, Scottsbluff, and …

The bank was called the Bank of Harrison. The next bank organized was called the Commercial State Bank. B. E. Brewster was president ; C. F. Coffee the vice president, and Chas. C. Jameson, cashier. The names of these three men have been written in large letters upon the northwestern part of Nebraska. March seventeenth, nineteen hundred four, this bank had a capital of ten …

Its capital stock is fifty thousand, its surplus forty-five thousand, and deposits over onehalf a million. It has loans and discounts reaching five hundred and seventy-nine thousand, cash and exchange, fifty-eight thousand three hundred; real estate about eleven thousand, and bonds, stocks and securities thirty-seven thousand dollars, according to its statement of December …

Many people around Scottsbluff are well acquainted with Mrs. George Gerlach, whose acquaintance they delighted in when she was living there as Miss Crete Powell. Under the present stress and pressure of the federal reserve and ethers high in finance, and the consequent slump of prices of farm products and livestock, the banks of Harrison have held up strongly and steadily with …

This was organized April twenty-fifth, eighteen ninety-five, with an even twelve charter members, as follows :_ W. C. Bonsell, Albert R. Dew, J. E. Phinney, Tames W. Scott, Junius W. Smith, E. E. Smilev. Samuel L. Ulery, Charles H. Unitt, Joseph C. Varley, T. 6. Williams, H. S. YVoodruff and Wm. B. Wright. This fraternity also is still a virile institution with forty-six …

The present officers are : Clara Unitt, oracle ; Elizabeth Davis, vice oracle ; Alice Davis, recorder, and Zua Wilhermsdorfer, receiver. The first lodge organized in Harrison outside of the fraternal beneficiary institutions was that of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, on August twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred six. Edward F. Pontius was noble grand. Other charter members …

F. Wilhermsdorfer, Miss Karma D. Priddy, Mrs. Maggie Priddy, Mrs. Avis A. Burke, Mrs. Ella M. Newlin, Mrs. Elizabeth Pontius, Mrs. Mattie A. Parsons, Mrs. Ida M . Proctor, Mrs. Maude Shorow, Mrs. Emma Bige low, Mrs. Elizabeth Bigelow, Mr-. Ella Wilson, Mrs. Fannie Murphy, John II. Nfewlin, Vernon Hanson, Chris Shorow, E. V Bigelow, John D. Proctor, and William Murphy. Carrie …

Hall, David W. Hamaker, Daniel Jordan, Thos. C. Lewis, Andrew McGinley, John E. Mann, John Marking, Joseph C. Parsons, George F. Phillips, Edward F. Pontius, Tressie M. Powell, Walter C. Reed, Albert L. Schnurr, Nathan R. Tisdale, Charles H. Unitt, Francis H. Wallace, Cyrus O. Wertz, Jerman B. Wilkerson. There are sixty-seven Mason members of this order at the present time …

The old-timers are strung the length and breadth of the county, from Joe Sanford on the south to John Anderson on the north, from Scotty Henderson and Ben Swanson to the Wyoming line. Stock Industry Back in the beginning the buffalo ranged the pastures of Sioux county, and then came the time of the big herds of cattle. This in time passed and the smaller ranchman came to be …

The increased uses of automobiles, trucks and tractors in the last three or four years accounts for the decline in the number of horses. A recent movement is to increase the number of dairy cattle in the county. This means new prosperity, for where the dairy cow goes there are fine houses and big farms and incidentally creameries and bank accounts. The record of one eastern …

This is but limited, except under the government irrigation canal, in the south part of the county, and here are the fertile fields of the Dutch flats, the Iowa flats, Sheep creek country and the Spottedtail region. Scattered spots have been irrigated on the Niobrara river. Snake creek, Hat creek and White river, and where irrigated are wonderful yields of alfalfa, potatoes …

The virgin character of Sioux county soils are being exploited at the present time and it may be that valuable minerals, such as vanadium, thorium, and mica may be found in quantity to mean mineral wealth to the count}-. But the mind of her people has lately been drifting towards the great probability that oil and gas underlie a considerable portion of the land. This is …

While the matters are not given out concerning what the well has developed, it is believed that paying sands have been reached, although the promoters are going to the deeper and more productive sands. A group of Columbus parties, including lieutenant governor Edgar Howard, are arranging to put up a drill on Cottonwood about ten or twelve miles northwest of Harrison, and …

Satterlee and others, Governor Dawes issued a proclamation for the organization of Sioux county with its present boundaries. As previously stated the unorganized county was much larger, but in ones and twos and numbers, counties had been taken from it circumscribing its boundaries to those that now prevail. As is stated in the history of Dawes county, many of the inhabitants …

The county was divided into four voting precincts only, and the clerk was instructed to have ballots prepared and the election was called for November fourth. The precincts named were : War Bonnet, with the polling place at S. E. ranch ; Bowen precinct, with polling place in the building owned by T- G. Morris; White river, with the polling place at the residence of C. H …

Lockwood ; attorney, Edward D. Satterlee ; superintendent, Benjamin F. Thomas; sheriff, J. F. Pfost; surveyor, William M. Pennington; coroner, Charles H. Andrews, and commissioners. J. G. Morris, A. M. McGinley and Daniel Klein. The county seat was located at Harrison. On November twenty-fourth the county official paper was named for the first time -- the Sioux County Herald …

Decker, of White river precinct, was the first constable in the county to qualify. Herd Law Repealed On January twenty-fifth a vote was taken upon the question of herd law or no herd law. Previously to that date, cattle were permitted under the law to roam at will, and the homesteader had to protect his crops as best It* could. This election changed the method however for the …

Whistle Creek, Robert Neice. The next meeting of the board was April twenty-ninth, at which the first liquor New Road, Monroe C, Xf.ak Harrison license in Sic'itx county was ordered issued to Charles H. Weller, who made it a practice to be about the first man on hand at the towns along the railroad. Harrison was not incorporated, so it was a county license for the precinct of …

The first brand committee appointed in Sioux count}' was in February, eighteen eighty-seven, and consisted of George Walker and Samuel B. Coffee. Owing to the creation of commissioner's districts throwing two of the members of the board in one district, and one of the other districts being without a member. Commissioner Morris resigned March fifteenth, and Samuel B. Coffee was …

The nineteen twenty returns of railroad property with the added Burlington railroad, seems to be considered worth less money than the value of eighteen eighty-seven. Personal property, by comparison seems to have about doubled, and real estate increased ten-fold. On June twentieth, eighteen eighty-seven, the name Bowen was changed to Harrison. The courthouse of Sioux county …

This goes to show that official berths are not always what they seem to be -- a bed of roses. Verity refused . to remain longer in the office, and resigned on Julv twentieth. Following Verity, John W. Hunter was appointed and then elected. Sleightholme Barker was then judge for four years, and S. H. Jones was special judge in a few specific cases. Chas. Verity was in eighteen …

He served for six terms or a total of twelve years, and then declined to be a candidate for re-election. In February, nineteen nine, Justin Wilhermsdcrfer was appointed a special judge, and in nineteen twent\'-one he returned to the office by election. In October, nineteen sixteen, and again in June, nineteen nineteen. E. F. Pontius had the service of special judg'e in a …

Raum, recently killed near Glen by the fall of a horse he was riding, served two terms following nineteen hundred. Then came the long and wonderfully efficient record of E. F. Pontius. Six terms, or a total of twelve years, he held the dual office of county clerk and clerk of the district court. Cyrus O. Wertz served one term following and his record was up to the high …

Jordan then followed for two terms, and Thos. S: Boyd succeeded him for two terms. In nineteen seventeen the present treasurer. Fred W. Meyer, was elected. He was re-elected in nineteen nineteen, and the change in the law gives him additional service for two years. Mr. Meyer has proven an excellent official, and has for his deputy, Jess Anderson, and is up to the standard of …

John Barky was elected in nineteen four, and Arthur F. Becker in nineteen eight. Mary J. Fenske was chosen in nineteen twelve and served five years. In nineteen seventeen Miss Vinnie Newell was superintendent, and re-elected two years later. In January of the present year, nineteen twenty-one, she began her third term, but under a different name. One of the romances of Sioux …

Before Lowry was chosen in the first instance Edwin B. Lyon occupied the office from October, nineteen hundred, to January, nineteen one. After Lowry had served two terms, Lyon was elected and he held the office for two terms. In nineteen ten Oscar F. Ward took over the sheriff's office, after which he served three terms. Then the law enforcement duty fell to Geo. W. Hill, who …

Grant Guthrie was appointed to fill the vacancy, afterwards elected for a full term. M. J. O'Connell was elected and took the office in eighteen ninety-nine, being reelected five times, making a total service of twelve years. Fern Samuel Baker, who succeeded him, has a record about as long. By the close of his present term he will have attained the distinction of being the one …

Green, and Chas. U. Grove. In the following years the count}- lias had for its "county dads" some of the best men in the county, and all the time has been ably and economically handled. The following list will show the high character of the men who have managed the county business. In the nineties there were Fred W. Knott. M. 1. Weber. I:. F. Johnson, Frank Tinkham, I …

SIOUX COUNTY IN THE WORLD WAR -- EARLY SCHOOLS -- WILD LIFE The part that western Nebraska performed in the World War will never be forgotten by the grateful people of the community and the republic. We may feel that we are paying great penalty when we make out the income tax report or otherwise contribute to the war taxes that are found on nearly every theater ticket, or …

In many counties, "'every scrap of paper'' connected with the draft has been sent to the federal authorities at the Washington war department, but in a few counties the clerks or others interested, made a list of those who were inducted into the draft, and the record of each. County clerk Earl R. Cherry is one of the few that realized the importance of this, and saved a list …

Selby, Henry Kistler, Stanley B." Paulis, Roy Buckley, Bennie N. Nortness, Iver T. Lingwood, John Markuson, Charles W. Reedy, Albert A. Lechner, Brownie D. Phinney. Herbert D. Mann. Victor H. Mets, Arthur E. Saxton, Frank M. Baumgardner, De P. Davis, Bert G. Mielke, Ivor Meeker, George E. Casson, Bruce B. Morten, Henry M. Bourne, George L. Davis, Jeremiah Snyder, Paul C …

Larsen, Ju Gerl, Marcellus H. Howard, John Marking. Five who went failed to return. Those The Red Cross was commanded bj Reverend Clare Van Metre, as chairman, and Mrs. Maude Pontius, secretary. Among those must active were A. L. Schnurr, Mrs. Charles Unitt, Mrs. John Martin, and John Marsteller. The splendid work of this branch of war activities is best told 1>\ the fact that …

The record does not show the names of these who volunteered, and in some of the counties this is being collected through the assessors. It should be done throughout the United States. A. L. Schnurr was most active in home work and had charge of the bond drives, thrift stamp drives, and various other activities. Sioux county never failed to respond and go over the top. man, and …

The Grand Army of the Republic In the vicinity of Harrison there are but few of the boys of the Civil War remaining. Most of them have bivouaced on another camping ground, yet we are not unmindful that but for them there would not have been the great America to quickly decide the contest overseas. The county of Sioux early provided that these heroes of the sixties should have …

Dry farming had by that time taken a firm hold upon the high plains, and the citizens of Harrison and vicinity organized such a society in nineteen eleven. The organizers were headed by John H. Lacy, A. L. Schnurr, T. H. Wilhermsdorfer, G. L. Gerlach, R. L. Keel, J. H. Dickman, E. A. Bigelow, J. A. Anderson, P. X. Summers and others. The county now has an annual fair and …

Andrews and Glen are on the Northwestern railroad, and no other station is named on that road or the Burlington. In the interior of the county are a number of postoffices and small stores for the convenience of their immediate neighborhoods and the pressing wants thereof. Much of the merchandising needs of Sioux county are supplied by towns and cities in adjoining counties, on …

McClarey is the tonsorial artist, and Frank Beerbower runs a pool hall. Doctor Borglum and the Doctors Priest look after the general health, while F. H. Wallace is the dentist. A. C. Davis is general abstractor, and C. P. Broderick is auctioneer. Airs. Louise Peters operates a creamery station, and there is a movie show twice a week. This is given in the opera house which was …

Pontius are not surprised at this, for their names are synonyms of neighborly kindness and personal friendship. E. F. Pontius was the first head of the first fraternal and beneficial organization in the county, the Woodmen of the World, and he is the present secretary, and Mrs. Pontius is a charter member of the first woman's fraternal in the county. Mr. Pontius was a charter …

Where achievement stands out so boldly it is indeed remarkable that the principal should let the record alone tell the story. The fellowship of Sioux county would not have been so complete had it not been for the activities of the Pontius folks. That First School The story of the organization of the first school in Sioux county is variously told, particularly that part …

In eighteen eighty-five, "Mollie" Delahunty was teaching in Antelopeville (now Kimball) and staying at the home of the Lynchs. Jennie Hunt is frequently referred to and believed to be the first teacher, but according to Oberfelder, she must have followed Miss Delahunty. This is also supported by the record of teachers' certificates issued in Cheyenne county. Daniel Klein says …

While rambling through the hills northwest of tin town, he stumbled upon the slightly exposed remains of some of the Indians that had fallen when Dull Knife's band had made its break for liberty from the barracks al Fort Robinson. Among his findings was the scalp and long hair of an Indian, and a skull. He decorated his. own head with the wig of the Indian and elevated the …

One hole of large size started at the creek bed. and came out upon the bench level at the point where they were excavating. In their work they had dug away a part of the upper end of the runway. Dusk had fallen and the young men were still persevering in the work. The dog started a rabbit along the creek bed and as it reached the lower opening, it darted in with the dog in …

He was staying in a cabin in the pine ridges, taking care of some cattle and he had a quarter of fresh beef hung outside on the corner of the cabin. One night he heard a prowler and thinking it was a coyote, he slipped on his trousers and ran outside to scare it away. As he rounded the corner of the cabin, a huge shadow loped around the next corner. It seemed to be as large as …

Abundant Wild Life In the days when Harrison was in its swaddling clothes, wild life was very abundant thereabouts. As many as a dozen or fourteen in a pack, the grey wolves roamed through the pine ridges, after sheep, youngcattle or colts, ham-stringing and pulling down yearlings when needing them for fcod. In the Spoon Butte country there was once one of the largest bunches …

either unafraid of them, or is so terrorized that it will fight them with the wonderful skill of the wilderness. When an antelope finds a rattlesnake it immediately gives battle. Its manner of attack is three quick jumps. The second time its hoofs strike the ground it is with great rapidity, directly upon the snake and away before it has time to strike. Time after time it …

A fire guard is to be plowed around the den at a safe distance, and then a truck having several barrels of gasoline will be run over the recks and the gasoline emptied into the den. The truck will be driven outside the fire guard, and the prairie within the circle set on fire. It is believed that after the fire reaches the gasolene there will be short work of the snakes. This …

True I had never heard of Cooke at that time, but there are thousands who for the first time have beheld the pine ridges of Nebraska, have heard their hearts say to them the same words. We who have lived here long have grown familiar, and day after day in the plodding toil of men we notice them not. Yet occasionally we will straighten our shoulders and look out across the hill …

The county of Kimball adjoins the state of Wyoming on the west and Colorado on the south, and is the southwestern corner countv of the Western Nestate government until 1888, when its division from Cheyenne county was effected. But before that time settlers had entered the western corner of great Cheyenne county and started Antelopeville (now Kimball) and Bushnell. The …

The total population of 1912 reported in the 1910 census has increased to 4,498 in 1920, more than doubling in the intervening decade. Approximately one-half of the population of the county is in the towns of Kimball, Dix, and Bushnell, and the major portion of the other half in the Lodgepole Creek valley and around the inland settlements of Crossbar, Beacon, Bethel and Leaf …

The federal aid road north from Kimball to Harrisburg, Gering and Scottsbluff is generally in excellent condition. First Settlement in the County The first permanent settlements in Kimball county were made about 1868. This was about the time the Union Pacific railroad was extended through the county. But the very early history of Kimball county is most extensively covered in …

Prescott, and others whose names will appear throughout the portion of this work given to Kimball and Cheyenne counties. Descriptions of life upon the ranches prior to the advent of the Union Pacific road, and the identity of the various ranches after the arrival of the railroad will be left to another portion of this work. A description of the trials and troubles of the …

Early Settlement of Kimball and Vicinity The purchase bv Hon. |. T. Clarkson, from the U. P. Ry. Co. of a'll of their lands lying south of the railway, from the vicinity i >i" Pi itter, near the \\ estern edge of the present Cheyenne count}, across the presenl Kimball count}, to the Wyoming line, was the first step toward the settlement of the western end of old Cheyenne …

The Bay State Company, through its president, H. H. Robinson, made a tender to the Union Pacific people. Later the bondholders of the Union Pacific brought foreclosure proceedings on their bonds ; and then the Bay State people intervened on their contract, and on a compromise reached, the government ratified afterwards. The land in the vicinity of present Kimball county not …

Menges had at one time practically a thousand acres, which since his departure has been split up and sold to various parties. J. J. Kinney's ranches, which expanded to about four thousand acres, were west of town, on both sides of the railroad. He sold these holdings to H. A. Clark of Columbus, who disposed of them to Wm. Webster, of Kansas City. While part of this ranch has …

A good grasp of the state of progress then made by Kimball county can be secured from that portion of a booklet issued in 1886 by a "Guide to the Lands cf Cheyenne County." issued that year by the members of the Real Estate Association of Cheyenne county, Nebraska. Those members of that association then living within the present confines of Kimball county were: Jones & …

The beginning of the present crop season was very unfavorable ; all over the country there was a phenomenal drought, our state suffering with the rest, though the drouth ended in Cheyenne county several weeks earlier than in other parts of the country. Heavy rains in the early part of July saved our crops ; after that time, at frequent intervals for several weeks, the whole of …

There is also one hardware store, a drug store, a shoe shop, and a first-class lumber yard. The Bank of Kimball was recently established and opened in a neat and commodious building. A newspaper, the Nebraska Observer, was started here in the spring of 1885; it has flourished and done much to promote the settlement of the country. The fact that Kimball is sure to become a …

One of the picturesque characters who has played an inseparable and invaluable part in not only starting but building the community of Kimball, is Mrs. Alary Lynch, who upon June 24. 1919, celebrated her eighty-seventh birthday and at the same time marking practically the period of forty-six years' residence in Kimball. At that time this noble "grandmother" of the town of …

This message read, "With your ether old friends and admirers may I also extend my congratulations and best wishes on your eighty-seventh anniversary and with added hope that through the years to come there will be many sunshiny days. In recalling your many kindnesses in the old days when a youngster at Kimball and how you lectured me. I am reminded of the daily newspaper …

Lynch, the compiler secured seme of the points from her, as she could remember them, the morning after this memorable birthday party. Mrs. Lynch narrates that she came out to Kimball in 1873. Mr. Darling was then agent for the Union Pacific. He later moved her here from below Sidney near Colton, to run the section house. There were then no houses here but a few 'dobes where …

ity of this place grew so swiftly that many of the railroad men would eat with her and would arrange their work in order to take a meal with her instead of staying at Sidney. Mrs. Lynch relates that when she was in Colton the Indians came during the two were mostly Sioux and Cheyenne. The government furnished them with provisions but they did not know how to use them. They …

People came in from Illinois and especially from Chicago and from all over the country east of here and were astonished to find that potatoes could be grown here without irrigation. The impression had become general that this part of the country was so dry that nothing could be raised. Of course a few years later when the drouth came on this, it became true and only those who …

Mother Lynch relates an incident connected with the storm of 1873, the biggest that this part of the country had ever known. She says a train got as far as Kimball and had to stop here. They faced starvation unless they could get succor from outside. The conductor worked his way over to Lynch's to get meals. With him he brought a lawyer from Chicago named Clayton. This …

Lynch said she soon attended to influencing him into having a school here anyway. She relates while Mr. Kinney sided in with them, "I told him we were going to get it." Mrs. Lynch gave notice that she could not stay there without a school building. A train man came in about that time and asked her why she was leaving town and she said on account of there being no schools. The …

Lynch's took a claim about seven miles west of town and held it until they proved up. On account of sickness and ill health, Mrs. Lynch had to give up the hotel. After that she had an operation in Omaha, then she came back and made her home with her sonin-law. Mr. Bushee wanted to go in the hotel, so she took a house in as part payment which she later sold to her son-in-law …

She has one son, Dennis, in Iowa Falls, and two sons by her second husband now living in Wyoming: James in Casper, and Mike elsewhere in the state. In the cow-boy days, Mother Lynch had to take care of the cow-boys as well as the railroad beys. Familiar figaires in those days included the McShanes, especially Tom, a cousin of John McShane. Jim Shaw was another figure. One of …

Lynch recounts that Kimball has remained a pretty dry county through all its history and never had a real bad fight or had anybody killed in a drunken brawl. County Division The agitation for a division of Cheyenne county started rather actively as early as 1884." One of the leading spirits in 'this movement was Theo. Menges, a real estate agent at that time. He unceasingly …

A futile effort to submit the question was made in January, 1888, when a petition signed by Charles Anderson and 122 others was filed, asking the board to set aside a territory named therein into a county to be called "1 'otter" and a vote be taken thereon at the next general election. The board found that this petition did not contain a majority of the legal voters residing …

The proposition made for a count}' that would give Potter a county-seat placed Sidney right on a county line and would deprive her of any county seat, and drove Sidney to a point where her adherents had to favor the final division proposition. The division adherents figured if they would make the next trial on a plan that would give Lodgepole and Potter county seat chances and …

M., thence west on township line between Townships 16 and 17, North, to a point where the line intersects with the east boundary line of the Territory of Wyoming, and thence south along the west boundary line of the State of Nebraska to a point where said line intersects with the north boundary line of the Slate <<\ Ci >li >- rado, and thence east ah ng the south boundary line …

vicinity), 101 for, 3 against; Sidney, 74 for, 241 against; Lodgepole, 14 for, 145 against; Potter, 3 for, '101 against; Chappell, 159 for, 1 against ; Big Springs, 41 for, 84 against ; Dix, 7 for, 26 against : Pumpkin Creek, 39 for, 3 against ; Bronson, 29 for, 21 against; Bushnell, 3 for. 21 against; Hull, 19 for. 63 against; Long Springs, 38 for, 66 against; Wright, 51 for …

A brief review of the vote cast in November, 1887, on the first proposal forming two new counties, and making three counties out of Cheyenne, would serve the purpose of showing the divisions by precincts and communities that Cheyenne county had then been formed into. Lost Creek, 2 for, 5 against; Tabor, 2 for, 7 against; Coulton, 3 for, 19 against; Antelope (now Kimball Kiowa …

B. Evans, justice of peace and assessor by election that fall, for Antelope precinct. In 1874. J. J. Mcintosh was justice of the peace and road supervisor and T. B. Evans, justice of the peace. H. V. Redington was justice of the peace and road supervisor for Potter, and also served about this time as county commissioner from Potter and vicinity. Officers who served Antelope …

At a jail election held on May 13, 1879. the voting for Antelope precinct was done at the Union Pacific railroad station at Antelopeville. This election called for the submission of a five mill tax to build a jail, and in Cheyenne county as a whole carried by a vote of 236 to 12. At a special election on April 5, 1881, the proposition of issuing $20,000 of bonds for funding of …

Dix vicinity of the eastern portion of present Kimball county. He was born in Province of Ontario, Can., at a place named St. Andrews, June 17, 1850. and married in Omaha,. Neb., in 1871, to Miss Mary Heelan, of Chicago, III. His wife died in April, 1875. By their union they had two sons, John Thomas and James L. He was married again at a later date in Sidney, to Miss Mollie …

Chattborg, as judges, and IP Vogler and John Clausen as clerks. When Kimball count)- was given separate organization in 1888, its first officers were Samuel Woolridge, county clerk and clerk of district court; N. IP Carman, county treasurer; J. B. Timmony. county attorney; George W. Beard, county judge; I'M Rathburn, sheriff; Rufus Cooley, county superintendent of schools; L …

Beard became treasurer, and his successor in 1916 was the present county treasurer. Isaac Roush. County Attorneys The record of county attorneyship will pretty well reflect the history of the Bar of Kimball County, for most of her lawyers have been honored with the public prosecutorship at one time or another. After J. B. Timmony, the next county attorney was James W. Davis …

Marshall undertook this office, and his successor was W. J. Leoning. In 1895, H. H. Prouty became judge and in 1899, Gus Linn was elected judge. H. H. Prouty then resumed the office and served for about ten years. Geo. W. Wright then became judge for a term and he was succeeded by P. Schwenk, and in 1913 a second long incumbency began when the present efficient county judge …

In 1901 Alice Wilkinson assumed the office, and two years later B. K. Bushee returned to the work. In 1905 Alice Wilkinson returned to the office and served until Nellie M. Crandall took office in 1910. In 1912, Claude L. Alden succeeded to this office, and his successor was Ethel McElheney, who held until the advent of the present superintendent, Racheal McElrcy, who has …

Drake has held this post in recent years and is the present incumbent. County Commissioners As heretofore noted, the first board of commissioners to undertake the administration of the affairs of Kimball county consisted of L. W. Bickel, James Newell and Henry Cholberg. In 1889. Newell remained over with J. H. Campbell and J. V. Brady as new colleagues. In 1890 J. T. Jefferson …

H. Amos. In 1911, John Claussen returned t>. duty upon the board and served with Amos and Johnson. In 1912. Charles F. Snyder succeeded Johnson. J. Pedrett came on in Amos' seat the following winter. Pedrett and Snyder remained in 1914 with Joe Peverly as the new member. In 1915, Snyder remained on duty, but W. D. Atkins and Henry Phillips were the new members. These three …

Rodman is the present and only other member of the house of representatives from the county, serving his second term. I'.. K. Bushee was the first member of the state senate from Kimball county, now serving his fifth term, and once serving as president pro tern of the senate. William L. Bates was the first and only state official to be elected from Kimball county, and he is …

The county consists of a moderately rolling plain, dissected by the valley of Lodgepole creek, from one to two miles wide and about 200 feet deep, extending across the center of the count}' in an east-west direc tion. It is sharply defined, with broad areas of undulating table-land on each side. The valley ' is characterized by steep upper slopes, or bluffs, with gentle …

Along- the lower courses of the larger draws, however, the valleys are sharply cut into the plain and are defined on their outer edges by steep slopes or bluffs, which in a few places are rugged and barren of soil. The floors of the small valleys, however, are comparatively wide and nearly level. Small, isolated, leveltopped hills or buttes and low, rounded knolls seldom more …

Short draws occur throughout the upland, so that no part of the county is poorly drained, except some of the low bottom land along Lodgepole creek. The draws are dry throughout the year, except immediately after heavy rainstorms. Lodgepole creek has a small flow of water. It is a perennial stream, although for a few miles of its course in the eastern part of the county it …

The average date of the latest killing frost in the spring is May 16, and of the first in the fall, September 21, giving a normal growing season of 128 days. However, frosts frequently occur as late as June and as early as August. The earliest recorded date of killing frost in the fall is August 25, and the latest in the spring, June 5. The grazing season lasts ordinarily from …

Stockraising continued the dominant industry until about 1905, when a federal law was enacted under which the public land could be homesteaded in tracts of 640 acres, and the lands rapidly passed into private ownership. This had the effect of breaking up the large cattle ranches and giving an impetus to farming. Many of the homesteaders, however, practiced farming for only a …

It seems to be the general experience that the winter wheat slightly exceeds the spring wheat in yield. Corn is generally grown on the upland as a feed crop for use on the farm. The varieties grown produce smaller stalks and smaller ears than those of the eastern part of the state. The White Cap Dent seems to be one of the most successful varieties, and good yields have been …

On the upland alfalfa is both planted in rows and cultivated, and seeded broadcast, the yields being considerably less than on the irrigated land. The quality of the alfalfa grown in the county is good. Irish potatoes constitute one of the special cash crops of the county. This crop is grown principally under irrigation in the Lodgepole valley. The yields are commonly 150 to …

Small numbers of cattle, sheep, and hogs are fed for market in good crop years. Alfalfa is the principal feed crop, while corn, barley, beet tops, oats, emmer, and such other feed and forage crops as may have succeeded during the season are utilized. I >airying is carried on to a small extent, but is a comparatively unimportant industry. Sufficient milk and butter is produced …

The law-makers at Washington either did not know (.r did not take into ci nsideration the fact that there was a whole lot of land in southwestern Nebraska that doe- not belong in the sand hill classification and is a virtual garden spot, but it came within their laws all to the fortunate and yet deserving efforts of these settlers whose goi d judgment led them to that …

The Farmers Union Co-operative Association of Bushnell was organized May 19, 1917, with the following charter members : E. T- McKinnon, G. A. Millett, G. E. Bloomfield, Arthur Olson, L. N. Van Pelt, Geo. Schindler, Lee Hall, Glenn Williams, H. J. Miller, H. C. Bloomfield, J. L. Miller, W. F. Choffer. W. E. Daniels, S. H. Wright, H. L. Wright, Lon Van Pelt, Mrs. F. U. Van Pelt …

Huff, Lee Reed, Thomas Phillips. Walt J. Blackmail and Miss Esther V. Ernst. The Kimball Farm Association was flourishing as early as 1914. The officers for that year were : President, Geo. Ernst ; vice president, John Tucker; secretary, E. O. Ulrich ; treasurer, F. J. Bellows. The governing board was John Irwin, John Rassmussen, John Clausen, D. K. Atkins, Jake Pedrett, Will …

A roster of the workers of this association shows who had been the active business people and agricultural people of that vicinity in recent years. E. E. Coding. John Clausen, C. O. Anderson, D. K. Alkins, Hans Gunderson, A. B. Beard, L. C. Christenson, Claude Alden, Hans Hansen, Fritz Rotke, Emil Anderson, John Blake, J. A. Irwin, Louis Nielson, Foster Lumber Company, John …

The group in attendance made a trip to Fort Collins and Greeley, potato region, from Kimball and made a special study of potato experiments. Farm Bureau Kimball county was one of the first counties in the state to take up the farm bureau work. It was first organized in 1915, and has shown a steady growth from year to year. Since the organization there have been five countv …

The local organization also belongs to the Nebraska Potato Exchange. Their county exhibit took first place at the state show. The sugar beet growers were organ ized into an association of thirty-two members and secured a modern dump at ( Iwasco. Experiments were conducted with the following miscellaneous crops: kaffir, feterita, broom corn, and limine grass. A strenuous …

The splendid agricultural record of Kimball county is reflected by the various achievements of its citizens at the state and county fairs in the past few years. In 1913 Kimball and three neighboring counties carried off fifty-one prizes at the state fair. Premiums awarded Kimball county were : First on red spring wheat in bundle, Nelson. First on Durham wheat in bundle …

In the irrigated divisions, Morrill, Lincoln and Keith carried away the honors. District Honors Kimball county won sixty-two per cent of all prizes at Rushville show. Kimball not only landed the 1920 convention of the Western Nebraska Potato Growers, but carried away sixty-two per cent of the prizes at this year's meeting. Kimball sent 1,600 pounds of her choice spuds to the …

Bradt, first; Pearl, E. J. Horrum, second ; Pearl, Henry Yogler. third; Pearl, C. S. Bradt. fourth; Blue Aletors, C S. Bradt, first ; Blue Victors, Conrad Trout, second; Downing. Aug. Gadeken, first ; Downing. Aug. Gadeken, second ; Triumphs. Gus Forsling, third ; Cobbler, Reuben Peterson, first ; Cobbler, Reuben Peterson, second ; Russet Burbank, Aug. Gadeken. first; Russet …

In more recent years the granger came and settled in the valley and on the table lands surrounding, producing good crops by scientific methods of dry farming. Forty per cent of the land in the district is under cultivation. But to the minds of the settlers the fact has been apparent for man}' years that eventually where practicable the country should be, and must be irrigated …

It is estimated by many irrigation experts that one acre foot of water is sufficient to irrigate one acre of land, but the Kimball project is not dependent upon this calculation because it is the first and only reservoir filling on the creek and its water appropriation entitles it to approximately 9.000 acre-feet of water during the year, which can be obtained by refilling …

A rocky ledge on the south side of the reservoir furnishes a natural spillway of ample capacity to take care of the situation in the event the reservoir should be filled to overflowing, providing the necessary outlet for this surplus so that none of this water can go over the dam. A second reservoir site is owned by the district, which is located on the same creek six miles …

As previously stated, an important feature of the Kimball project is the close proximity of the storage reservoir to the land which it is intended to irrigate. The outlet canal is only one-half mile long, and at the point where it reaches the land of the district, divisii n gates are located. At this point two main canals branch off. One is known as the South canal and is …

This is especially advantageous for the raising of heavy tonnage crops such as potatoes, sugar beets and alfalfa. The organization of the Kimball Irrigation District was consummated on November 6, 1909. at an election of land owners in the district who were qualified voters. There was not one dissenting vote at this election. Their organization wa- brought about through the …

These were issued under date of July 1, 1911. They were sold during 1911, the purchasers being mostly local men. When the Kimball Irrigation District formation was attempted in August, 1909, the petition was signed by Irving Walker, Will Davies, C. A. Eorsling, Henry Vogler, Fred Morgon, Thos. Wilkinson, Chas. Dillon, A. H. Amos, G. S. Brady, J. Pedrett, H. A. Clarke, L. H …

He is an expert on irrigation projects, having been a resident of the Greeley, Colorado, district for more than thirty years. The preliminary survey for the district was made in 1905 by H. O. Smith, who at that time was deputy state engineer of the state of Nebraska, and the first estimates were made by him for Messrs. W. Walker, Maginnis and Forsling, Mr. Lemon not being a …

The contract was let to Atchison and Dailey of Fort Morgan, August 14, 1910, and by December 1, 1911, the entire work was practically completed, a few details only remained. The cost of construction was $235,000, or approximately $33.00 an acre. No irrigation project was ever completed in such short time, and the promoters point with pride to the fact that the cost was …

These cost $35,500 in place. The largest flume is 1100 feet long and has a maximum height of fifty-six feet. The financial condition is A-l. There are no unpaid interest coupons, all semi-annual interest on bonds has been promptly paid since issued. Very few registered warrants on general fund, said warrants taken at par by the banks. Cost of maintenance for 1914, sixty cents …

Lodgepole Irrigation Company The Lodgepole Irrigation Company was organized in November, 1913. with $250,000 capital stock. The announced intention of this company upon its organization being to put the Bennett Live Stuck Company's range, overtake all fertile acres into irrigation and divide into eighty-acre tracts for sale to settlers. This range was then composed of …

The progress of the county to its present high state of development in this, or in other lines, is fairly well measured by the evolution of its transportation and highway facilities whose first entrance for proper facilities beyond the original trails and the tourist was of course the arrival of the U. P. "Trans-continental Railroad." This long preceded the establishment of …