Greeley County, Nebraska
1882 County History

Greeley County is situated a little northeast of the center of the State, and is twenty-four miles square, and contains 368,640 acres. It is bounded on the north by Wheeler County, on the east by Boone, on the south by Howard and on the west by Valley.

Natural Features

The county is well watered by small streams. The only stream of great size is the North Loup River, which flows across the southwestern part of the county. The stream next in size is Cedar Creek, which flows across the northeastern part. Between these streams are numerous other creeks, tributary to the North Loup, that render running water accessible from almost all parts of the county.

The valleys of all these streams are broad and level. Then come high and steep bluffs, intersected by numerous deep gulches and caņons. These bluffs and hills extend back for some distance, though the divides are not much broken. Where the streams are not far apart, the hills extend from the bluffs of one to those of the other; but when they are far apart, the divides form a comparatively level table-land for several miles in extent.

The soil of the county is fertile. In some localities there is a great deal of sand, but not enough to prevent the raising of good crops. The level bottom lands are all fertile, and suited to farming purposes. The bluffs and hills have a very fair quality of soil, covered with a rich growth of grass, but they are too rough and steep to be cultivated. The table-lands on the divides are quite level, fully enough so to be readily tilled. The soil here is deep and very productive. In many places in the bluffs near the streams is found stone that is said to be suitable for building purposes, though it is not of the best quality.

Early History

In the fall of the year 1871, when the immigration to Nebraska was very great, several parties came up the North Loup, making examination for the purpose of selecting a favorable location for their future homes. One of these parties consisted of a committee sent out by a colony of Seventh-Day Baptists, which had been formed in Wisconsin, for the purpose of selecting a location in Nebraska where they could be apart from the people who observed the first day of the week as the Sabbath. The committee sent out returned to Wisconsin with glowing reports of the North Loup country, and particularly of the portion around where the towns of Scotia, in Greeley, and North Loup, in Valley County, now stand. Though they only viewed the land from the opposite side of the river--fording being impossible--the broad and level bottom lands near where the town of Scotia now is were selected as the most favorable location. Another committee was soon sent out, and they returned with the same story of the beauty and apparent fertility of the lands in this vicinity. This, therefore, was the spot chosen for the settlement of the colony.

A few homestead claims were entered in 1871 by members of the above-mentioned colony, and by others who had selected their future homes in this locality.

It was not, however, until the spring of 1872 that the county began to settle with any rapidity, and the families of the homesteaders began to arrive. The Wisconsin colony arrived and settled on the North Loup, in Towns 17 and 18. The greater number of the Seventh-Day people, however, settled in Town 18, in what is now Valley County, but the reports of the country had induced many others to come, and, during the spring, quite important settlements were formed in the southwestern part of Greeley County, on both sides of the river. About twenty families came to the county this spring and summer. As soon as the settlers arrived, they went to work immediately to build houses and make the other improvements necessary in opening up new farms. A great deal of prairie was broken, and preparations made to put in crops the next year.

During the spring and summer of 1873, there were great accessions made to the little settlement on the North Loup, and improvements went on rapidly

Progress of the County

During these years, the settlement of the county continued to increase. The settlers were enterprising and industrious, and soon opened up productive farms and made the necessary improvements. With the exception of the grass-hopper years, when the ravenous insects laid waste all this portion of the State, the crops had been good, and by 1877, the settlers began to flock to the county in large numbers. Gen. O'Neill, who had conceived the idea of forming settlements of Irishmen in this and neighboring counties, selected a location in the center of the county, on Spring Creek and other small streams, and in the uplands in the same locality, at once set to work to colonize it with his countrymen. A town was laid out not far from the center of the county, and called O'Connor, in honor of the Roman Catholic Bishop of that name, and was platted by Gen. O'Neill and John McCreary on November 27, 1877.

The first settler in this vicinity was James L. Reed, who came before the projection of the settlement of the Irish Catholic colony. Patrick Hynes located here in the spring of 1877, and was appointed as a local agent for the association. By his efforts, it was not long until about twenty Irish families had located in the central part of the county.

In October, 1877, the first newspaper in the county was established, at Scotia, by two young men from St. Paul. The paper was called the Greeley County Tribune.

In 1880, the population of the county had increased until it was now 1,461. The Irish settlement now numbered about sixty-five families. The Catholic association, through Gen. O'Neill, had purchased 25,000 acres of land in the center of the county, and now a fresh impetus was given to this settlement, as the association was using every effort to settle up this land. A new town called O'Connor was laid out about three and a half miles from the old town site of O'Connor, on a site selected by the Bishop himself, and a town was started at once. The first town of that name that was laid out never was built up.

In 1881, the settlement of the county increased very rapidly. This was notably the case with the Irish settlement near O'Connor. A settlement was also started by the Irish in Cedar Valley, and a town laid out.

The county has continued to progress very rapidly during the past year, and the population now numbers about two thousand.

Public improvements, such as bridge and schoolhouse building, have kept pace with the settlement of the county, but no county buildings of any importance have been erected. The court house is only a little one-story building, with one small room.

Organization

Early in the fall of 1872, measures were taken by the citizens to organize Greeley County and to elect county officers. In accordance with an application made to him, Acting Governor William H. James issued a proclamation ordering an election to be held on the 8th day of October.

The only settlement at that time was in the southwestern part of the county.

At the election on the day appointed, thirteen votes were cast, and the following officers were elected: Commissioners, A. P. Fish, T. C. Davis and A. Shepard; Clerk, E. B. Fish; Treasurer, S. C. Scott; Sheriff, G. W. Babcock; Judge, George Hillman; Surveyor, Mansel Davis; Superintendent of Schools, J. G. Kellogg; and Coroner, C. H. Wellman.

Location of the County seat.--As yet there was no county seat, but on the 20th day of January, 1873, the first meeting of County Commissioners was held at Lamartine Post Office and all necessary business transacted, and an election for the purpose of selecting a county seat was ordered to be held on the 11th day of February, 1873.

The election for the purpose of locating the county seat was held on the appointed date, two points being voted for. The result was as follows: For location on the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 23, Town 17, Range 12, eighteen votes were cast; for location of the county seat on the northeast quarter of Section 9, in the same town and range as the above, seventeen votes were cast. In accordance with this result, the county seat was located at Lamartine by a majority of one vote.

In November, 1874, another vote was taken on the location of the county seat. This time there were two points only little more than one mile apart contesting. These were the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 9, Town 17, Range 17 west, and the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 16, of the same town and range. At this election, the former place received sixteen votes and the latter ten votes; therefore the county seat was declared located at the former named point, where it has ever since remained, and is known as the town of Scotia.

Several years later--December 6, 1881--there was another county seat election, Scotia and O'Connor being the two principal contesting points. The result of the election was 171 votes for Scotia, 196 votes for O'Connor and 33 votes for the county farm. Though O'Connor received the highest number of votes cast, Scotia retains the county seat, a two-thirds majority being required for its removal.

History of State of Nebraska, 1882
Submitted by Cathy Danielson

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