The History of Nebraska
Furnas
County
by William G. Cutler
Transcribed by Dale Baldwin
Published
by Andreas' Western Historical Publishing
Company
of Chicago, Illinois, 1882-1883
Below
is a fascinating account of the
early history of Furnas County.
Written in 1882 by
William G. Cutler, it has become
a popular publication readily available
to historians. For the full version,
go to http://www.kancoll.org/books/andreas_ne/furnas/index.html
Written
in 1882
Furnas
County
FURNAS
County lies in the southern tier
of counties in Nebraska. It is twenty-four
miles in extent from north to south
and thirty miles from east to west.
It is bounded on the north by Frontier
and Gosper Counties, on the east
by Harlan County, on the south by
the State of Kansas and on the West
by Red Willow County. The county
contains 460,800 acres, of which
368,760 acres are susceptible of
cultivation, the remainder being
occupied by the beds of streams
and the rough lands bordering them.
The
streams of the county are the Republican
River, flowing across the northern
part of the county, from west to
east: Beaver Creek, flowing in the
same general direction and across
the center of the county, and the
Sappa, flowing a little north of
east across the southern portion
of the county, and uniting with
the Beaver in the extreme eastern
part of the county. These streams,
with their numerous smaller tributaries,
make Furnas a well-watered county.
Most of these streams afford water-powered
sufficient for manufactures.
Along
the banks of the streams there is
considerable natural timber. Though
not of much value for building purposes,
it is sufficient in extent to furnish
an abundance of fuel. The principal
kinds are elm, cottonwood, ash,
maple, box-elder, hackberry and
willow. There are also many thickets
of wild plums and grapes.
Along
the valleys of the streams are fertile
bottom lands, while the bluffs or
hills, that in many places intervene
between the bottoms and the uplands,
are covered with rich grass and
furnish excellent pasturage. Then
come the uplands themselves, which
are gently rolling, and afford the
finest of farming lands.
The
completion of the Denver Extension
of the Burlington & Missouri
River Railroad, in Nebraska, opens
a market to the mining regions of
Colorado and the Territories, which
must necessarily be a good one,
and will insure good prices for
farm products throughout the Republican
Valley. Top
Early History of Furnas County
The
first settler of Furnas County was
Benjamin Burton, who, in the summer
of 1870, pushed on far in advance
of all civilization and settlements,
and established a ranch at the mouth
of Deer Creek, on the north side
of the Republican River, about six
miles above the present town of
Arapahoe. The place of his settlement
is now known as Burton's Bend, that
name having been given to the bend
of the Republican at that place.
At that time there was no other
settlement in the Republican Valley,
except the ones just started at
Red Cloud and Guide Rock, nearly
one hundred miles distant. Here
Burton lived with no near neighbors
until the settlement of the county
began the following year. Burton
still resides at the place of his
first settlement: he is one of the
leading men of the county, and has
been very prosperous.
But
this was not the only settlement
made in the county in 1870. In September
of that year, Galen James made his
way from the Melrose stockade, which
had just been established in Harlan
County, to the junction of the Beaver
and Sappa, in the eastern part of
what is now Furnas, but then known
as James County. Here he built a
dug-out and lived all alone, having
no family or associates with him,
and no neighbors, as he was the
first settler in this portion of
the Republican Valley, and only
saw any white men when he made occasional
visits to the stockade. For a year
and a half he had no neighbors,
but during the latter part of this
time, there were a few families
on the Republican in the northern
part of the county, which he occasionally
visited. James remained here about
six years, struggling with adverse
circumstances, but left the county
and removed to Washington Territory
a poor man.
The
life of these two settlers of 1870,
Burton and James, must have been
a truly wild and exciting one, surrounded
as they were by Indians, who had
but a few months before been very
hostile. Buffalo, deer, antelope
and other kinds of wild game were
very numerous, also wolves and other
animals common to the Western prairies.
In
the spring of 1871, Theodore Phillips
settled with his family on the Republican
River, at the mouth of Turkey Creek.
This formed the nucleus of a large
settlement that was soon made in
this locality and known as New Era.
Shortly after this, John and Benjamin
Arnold settled near Dry Creek. Top
part 2
Early
in the spring of 1871, a town company
was formed at Plattsmouth, Neb.,
for the purpose of locating a town
in the present county of Furnas
and on the Republican River. An
exploring party, consisting of Capt.
E. B. Murphy, George W. Love, William
Cunningham, W. R. Colvin, W. H.
Orr, R. A. Van Orman, H. Taylor
and John Hinchman was sent out at
once. Upon arriving, they chose
the present location of Arapahoe
as a town site, and some of the
party entered claims.
After
a long and tiresome trip, the explorers
returned to Plattsmouth and made
a favorable report, upon which a
small party was organized to make
a settlement there. This party consisted
of George W. Love and family, H.
M. Crum, Henry Brainard, O. Moreoff,
Lewis Davis, W. R. Colvin and G.
W. Colvin. They arrived on the 6th
day of July, 1871, and, on the 18th
of the same month, the town site
of Arapahoe was surveyed on a tract
of land about half way between Elk
and Muddy Creeks. George W. Love
and G. W. Colvin were left to hold
the claims and town site, and the
remainder of the party returned
to the East. H. M. Crum had taken
a claim early in the spring, the
first one entered in the county,
and he remained until August, when
he proved up on his claim, and returned
to his original home in New York. Top
part 3
There
was but little settlement made in
1871, but, in the spring of 1872,
there was quite an immigration.
There were upward of 150 settlers
came that year, and most of the
best land along the streams was
taken up. The first post office
was established at Arapahoe in the
spring of 1872, with George W. Love
Postmaster.
The
first settlers to follow James in
the settlement of the south part
of the county were Eugene Dolph
and John Mitchell, who settled on
the Beaver and Sappa, in April,
1872, after which time until fall,
the settlement along these two streams
progressed rapidly, and the most
of the valuable land was settled
as far up as the present town of
Beaver City. This town was located
October 9, 1872, by J. H. McKee
and Jacob Struve, and a post office
was established.
In
May, 1872, Carlos A. Wilson, James
A. Gibson, J. R. Johnson and John
Soaper passed on up the Beaver and
began the settlement known as Wild
Turkey, and afterward, Wilsonville,
in the western part of the county.
In the spring of 1873, a post office
was established there, with Miss
Jennie Plumb, Postmistress; but,
in August of that year, L. M. Wilson
built a store in the settlement,
and the post office was then removed
there and called Wilsonville.
There
were, of course, no crops raised
to speak of in 1872, as the land
had to be broken up for the new
farms. During this year and before
crops could be raised, the settlers
had to go from 100 to 150 miles,
to Jewell and Republican Counties,
Kan., for food and supplies, and,
there being no bridges, the streams
had to be forded. This was many
times very difficult, and many privations
were endured during many of those
trips. Top
part 4
The
first birth in the county was that
of a child of Frank Griffith's in
June, 1872, and before there was
a physician in the county.
The
first marriage in the county was
that of Benjamin Luce and Miss Lanver,
some time in 1873. The license was
issued and the ceremony performed
by H. W. Brown, the first County
Judge.
There
was also a great deal of trouble
in getting mails by the settlers
of 1872, as for quite a long time
the nearest post office was at Alma,
twenty-five miles distant, and at
first some of the boys would take
turns and bring the mail every Sunday,
after which it was carried by a
man hired for the purpose. It was
carried to Beaver City by him until
early in 1873, when a route was
established by the Government.
In
the early days of settlement, and
until the building of the railroad,
in 1880, all goods had to be hauled
from points on the line of the Union
Pacific Railroad. The nearest point
was Plum Creek, about sixty miles
distant from Beaver City, and most
of the shipping was to and from
this point. The other points where
considerable trade was carried on
were Hastings, 115 miles distant;
Kearney, eight five miles distant,
and Lowell, ninety miles distant.
In
1873, the settlement of the county
continued to progress with great
rapidity, and extended throughout
all parts of the county, and improvements
on the new farms were made to a
great extent. A large crop was planted
on the land broken the year before.
The
first Fourth of July celebration
was held in 1873, both at Beaver
City and Arapahoe. At the former
place, Dr. Hobson made the address,
and at both places a grand celebration
was had, not differing much from
the celebrations common to new countries,
where people, before unacquainted,
but all having interests in common,
meet to form new acquaintances and
associations.
