County Firsts

First Postoffice

Without question the first postoffice on Pumpkin creek was at Redington. The first within the

present boundaries of Banner County was at Livingston with Mrs. Livingston the postmistress.

 

In August, 1887, E. M. Cowen was appointed postmaster for the newly created office at

Freeport.  Mail was brought from Redington.

 

In October of the same year William Ashford was named postmaster for a new office at

Ashford and the Redington-Livingston route was extended for the service.  Practically at the

same time Centropolis postoffice, the antecedent of Harrisburg, came into existence with

C. H. Randall as postmaster.

 

Banner and Hull soon followed in the call for mail service. A. B. Hull was appointed at the

latter point and Mrs. Harvey Ransier at Banner.

 

Getting the mail from the railroad was the problem, but this was solved by a star route from

Kimball to Gering in late 1887.   Jones M. Clapp was the first carrier. For many years,

Emery Lewis who resides near Harrisburg in 1921, drove this route on the north end and

also kept the route going from Ashford to Redington.

 

The Harrisburg-Scottsbluff division is now maintained by Roy Lewis, and a Dodge car has superseded the rattling old stage of years ago. The trip is made in an hour or two that formerly

took half a day.

 

Ham Lilly and C. A. Forsling for years attended the Harrisburg-Kimball portion of the

route, and the same is now operated by Eloyd Lewis, with the same improvement in character

of service.  

 

Emery Lewis, the veteran stage driver, resides at Harrisburg, and is retired to his farm

south of town.

First Stores

The date of the first mercantile establishment in Banner County I cannot give with certainty.

 

In 1887 A. S. Alexander had a store in the Lone Pine country where we used to go seventeen

miles for mail. But I believe L. D. Livingston had the first store. It was running as early as June,

1886, the grout house being built the previous year. Lightning struck this grout house and

cracked the walls soon after it was built and the family thereafter lived in the log house and

used the new house for mercantile and postoffice and for the merry parties of the olden time.

 

 

Charley Wurdig opened a store in Freeport as early as 1887 and perhaps at an earlier date.

Will Clampitt had a store in Big Horn the same year.

 

Dooley & Logan built the large store building in Ashford soon after and here was carried one

of the most complete lines of merchandise in the county. In later years this building was torn

down by John E. Logan and removed to Gering. The hall over this store was used for several

years as a gathering place and for parties of all kinds.

 

Around Ashford were gathered in those early years a jolly set of young folks:

 

Logans

Dooleys

Schooleys

Eckersons

Smiths

Newt Sperry and others.

 

W. W. White,

C. T. Gil-pin and some others were a little more solemn

and looked upon the future a little more serious.

 

 

For some time Luft & Enderly conducted a Store at Ashford. Enderly Brothers had a

store at Harrisburg for years and one of the present merchants of Harrisburg was associated

therein.

 

J. M. Wilson, familiarly known as "Doc" because he was first a druggist, was in the Enderly-Harrisburg store which he later acquired. While he served the county in various

capacities and Mrs. Wilson the government as postmistress for many years they have always

kept the main store of the town and at times fed the hungry traveler most excellent meals.

 

J. M. Wilson is the Dean of Banner County mercantile life.  Of late years there have been

other good merchants in Harrisburg—the Zorns among them; and there were others.

First Fire in Banner County

The first fire in Banner county—outside of prairie fires—was when E. M. Cowen's residence at

Freeport burned to the ground with all its contents.

 

This occurred in June, 1887. The folks had little to subsist upon until the return of Mr. Cowen from

Sidney.  There were numerous fish in the creek and they were easy to catch. This was the main source

of provender for a few days.

 

 

First Funeral

 

 

The first funeral was that of Mary Rose at Livingston June 25, 1887.

 

Dicky Brown had lost two children who had been buried near Wright's ranch at a date prior to the

coming of the grangers.  Mary Rose was twenty-two years of age, and lived with the Livingstons,

and often visited for several days with Mrs. S. J. Robb at the head of the creek, where the Bay

State ranch was located.

 

She was buried at Livingston and her neglected grave is there yet enclosed in barbed wire.

 First Weddings

The first wedding in the valley or in Banner County territory was that of Miss Dude Wright

to E. A. Boots which occurred at the old Wright Ranch and Elder Leslie Stevens came from

Sidney to perform the ceremony.  

 

The next wedding of Pumpkin Creek people was that of Ellen Anderson and Chris Streeks.  

Elder Stevens also performed this ceremony. The wedding occurred at the Metropolitan Hotel

at Sidney and cowboys from far and near were in attendance.  They cleaned up the Thoelecke Jewelry Store of all its supply of silverware for presents to the uniting couple.

 

Miss Oliver and Samuel Abbott were also married at Wright's place.

 

 

Tom Hughes (on the Niobrara) paid Judge Robert Shuman $100 to come out

to his place and perform a marriage ceremony.

 

T. D. Deutsch the present mayor of Scottsbluff City went to Sidney a distance of

about one hundred miles to get his marriage license; then seventy miles to Kinball

to get a minister  As he puts it, "I bought a couple "Hereford" shirts and we were married

in a dugout."

 

 

 

  

  

Hampton Golden Wedding

 

Some years ago there was celebrated at Harrisburg the golden wedding of Mr. and Mr.

W. R. Hampton, the only event of the kind that we know in Banner County.  

 

The affair was at Hotel St. James at the northeast corner of the court house square.  

Many of the friends of the pioneers of Banner County attended this affair.  

 

Since then both of the elder Hamptons have gone on to the New Country.

Source:  History of Western Nebraska