The first sermon was preached in the county in June, 1871, at the residence of Judge Van Laningham, by Rev.

John W. Whiting, a one-armed ex-soldier. The services were held under a large cottonwood tree, a few rods from

the door of the house. There were somewhere from thirty to forty persons present, and all listened with eager attention

to the first religious services ever held in the county.

 

The first store in the county was established at Franklin about September 1, 1871 by O'Bannon.

 

The first child born in the county was Franklin Durand, born October 1, 1871; the next birth in the county was

Maude Peery, born during the same month in 1871; she still resides with her parents on the old homestead, where

she was born.

 

During the spring of 1871, the first plowing or breaking of the prairie had been done, but so diligently did the settlers

apply themselves, that by the middle of summer many farms had been opened. The houses built were generally

constructed of logs or sod. As soon in the spring as breaking the prairie had commenced, corn was planted on the sod.

 

The first marriage license issued in the county was March 1, 1872, by Judge C. J. Van Laningham to a couple

from Harlan County.

 

The first post office in the county was established at Franklin during May, 1871; J. A. Perry was appointed Postmaster,

and a postal route was established between Franklin and Kearney Junction.

 

The first death that occurred in the county was that of Samuel W. Ashby, who died June 2, 1872, aged sixty-three

years, at the old town of Franklin.

 

The first Fourth of July celebration in the county was held in 1872, in a cottonwood grove, near the Republican River,

on the farm of J. F. Pugsley, whose generosity added much to the enjoyment of the occasion. There were upward

of one hundred persons present, twenty-seven of whom were from Rebecca Creek, on the south side of the river.

J. F. Zediker read the Declaration of Independence, and his wife, Mrs. Julia M. Zediker, read an essay on

"Nebraska Ten Years Hence." Her prophecies of the churches, villages, railroads and other improvements have

been more than fulfilled. Among the speakers were Jacob Graff, J. C. Delano, James L. Thompson,

J. F. Pugsley, Dr. A. J. Weston and Rev. Mr. Benton. Music was furnished by several of the participants, among

whom were Judge L. M. Moulton and G. L. Pugsley. The flag floated from the boughs of a large tree and a grand

pioneer banquet was spread beneath it. The dainties were rich and abundant, and general sociability and good feeling prevailed. The pioneers now living here remember this as one of the most pleasant of early events in the history of the

county.

 

The first school district in the county was what is now the Bloomington District, and was organized in the summer of

1872.

 

The first school was taught here this summer in a dug-out, about one-half a mile west of the present town. Miss

Maria Peery, now Mrs. Jesse Davis, was the teacher. During the same summer and beginning a little earlier, there

was a school taught in the Franklin District by Miss Emma Hammond.

 

The first marriage in the county was that of Charles H. Townsend to Miss Elizabeth J. Peery. The ceremony took

place August 2, 1872, Rev. P. W. Townsend officiating.

 

The first newspaper in the county was established at Bloomington, in August, 1872, by J. D. Calhoun, former editor

of the Brownville Advertiser, and was called the Bloomington Guard

 

The population had, during the year 1872, increased very largely, and an immense acreage was added to the cultivated

lands of the county. . The Government land in the county had been nearly all taken along the river and its tributaries, and settlements were extending out upon the upland prairies. As early as the fall of 1871 and the spring of 1872, several settlements had been commenced in the north part of the county, and more particularly, that of North Franklin, in the northeastern part. Among the more prominent of these settlers were C. E. Burlock and M. S. Budlong, the former

of whom did the first breaking here in the spring of 1872, and the latter, this year, made arrangements to start a nursery

and planted out more than one thousand fruit trees.

 

In June, 1873, the Franklin County Agricultural Society was organized, of which M. S. Budlong was elected President,

and Dr. A. J. Weston, Secretary. The first agricultural fair in the county and the first in the Republican Valley was held

at Bloomington on the 1st day of October, 1873. Gov. R. B. Furnas delivered the agricultural address, and

complimented the farmers and citizens on the remarkable progress they had made, and on the large and magnificent

display of products. The crops of 1873 were indeed good ones.

 

It was the first year that small grain had been planted to any great extent, and the harvest was particularly gratifying to

the men who were demonstrating the adaptability of the county to crop-raising. Corn and vegetables also yielded

largely this year. During the summer, the influx of new settlers had been great, and an immense number of acres were

added to the cultivated lands of the county.

 

 

In the fall of 1874, the first herd of Short-horn cattle, numbering about one hundred, were brought in by A. R. Gage, who settled on Crow Creek.

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