Early History

Hall County is one of the oldest in the state, having been organized in 1859. It is situated west from the Missouri River and about 150 miles west from Omaha.

It is bounded on the north by Howard County, on the east by Hamilton and Merrick, on the south by Adams and on the west by Buffalo.

What is now Hall County, Nebraska, was settled in the summer of 1857, by a colony consisting of a number of Germans and a few Americans, from Davenport, Iowa.

This colony was formed under the following circumstances:

Sometime during the winter of 1856-1857, A. H. Barrows, of the banking house of Chubb Bros. & Barrows, of Davenport, Iowa, Washington, D. C., and Boston, Mass., conceived the idea of founding a town on the Platte River.

Accordingly he went to William Stolley to get him to help organize a colony and locate a town. He told Stolley that wealthy and influential parties, some of whom were members of the United States Congress, would aid in the project, and that it was thought a railroad would be built up the Platte valley at an early day and that the national capital would eventually be removed from Washington to some point near the geographical center of the United States.

The object of Barrows and his associates was to locate a town as near the center of the country as possible, secure land, and then secure the removal of the capital to this point.

At this time the surveys in the Territory of Nebraska, did not extend west of the town of Columbus. The lands north of the Platte, with the exception of a small reservation, had just been deeded by the Pawnee Indians to the United States, and the Sioux claimed all the lands south of the Platte River.

According to the plan , four or five men were to be sent to find a suitable location and make surveys;  Stolley declined to become a member of the company to be formed, but agreed to undertake the work and to form a settlement.

But on account of anticipated danger from the Indians he proposed that twenty or thirty young men be engaged, which proposition Barrows acceded to.

A town company was formed, consisting of A. H. Barrows, W. H. F. Gurley, and B. B. Woodward, who empowered Wm. Stolley and Fred Hedde to engage a number of men under certain conditions and make a settlement.

By a Nebraska territorial law, then thought to be legal, every person who was a single man or the head of a family could claim 320 acres of land, by making a settlement.

The contract entered into, with the proposed settlers, by the town company, was that each settler should enter and hold 320 acres of land wherever the company's surveyor should direct. The town company was to furnish funds to purchase the land, and each settler contracted to deed one-half of this land to the town company immediately after he had secured a title to it. Each settler was also to have ten lots in the new town, and all parties who were without means were to be furnished with provisions for one year, by the company; these they were to pay for as soon as they could. A party of Americans and Germans was made up on above conditions.

The Americans were:

R. C. Barnard, and Lorens Barnard, surveyors from Washington, D. C.;

Joshua Smith, David P. Morgan and Wm. Seymour from Davenport, Iowa.

The remainder of the party was made up of Germans, the most of whom had been in America but a short time. They were:

Henry Joehnks and wife

Marx Stelk

Henry Schoel and wife

Fred Doll

Wm. Hagge

Wm. Stolley

George Shulz

Fred Hedde

John Hamann

Fred Vatge

Hans Wrage

Peter Stuhr

Wm. Steer and wife

Detlef Sass

Cay Ewoldt

Henry Egge

Cornelius Axelson

Nicholas Thede and wife

Anna Steer

Christ Menck

The above were all from Holstein, Germany.

There were also:

Henry Schaaf and Mathias Gries, of Prussia

Fred Landman of Mecklenburg

Theo. Nagel, Waldeck; Herman Vasold, Thuringen; Christ. Andresen and wife, Schleswig, Germany.

 

After they had become thoroughly organized, a surveying party, consisting of R. C. Barnard, and all the Americans of the colony, with Fred Hedde, and Christ. Menck, left Davenport, Iowa, about the middle of May, 1857.

William Hagge and Theo. Nagel were appointed to go to St. Louis to purchase a supply of ammunition, arms, and provisions, blacksmith tools, and to ship them to Omaha in time to meet the main party there.

On the 28th day of May, 1857, the main party left Davenport with five loaded wagons, drawn by sixteen yoke of oxen, and in charge of Wm. Stolley. This party arrived at their destination on the 27th of June.

On July 4th the party laid out a town very near the present site of the city of Grand Island. On the next day, the survey of their town was completed and stakes driven. The town was called Grand Island, after the large island in the Platte.

It was decided, in order to meet the present needs of the colony, four log houses should be built, each house was to consist of two rooms, with an entrance large enough for a door.

On August 15th, some of the settlers moved into the new houses, and by the 27th, all of the houses were completed. These houses were built on the part of land where the farm owned by Christ Menck now stands.

Soon after the Grand Island settlement, another one was formed at the mouth of Wood River. A town was laid out and called Mendota. Four houses were built. This town was settled by David Crocker, Wm. Roberts,  M. Potts and Wm. Painter. Owing to a lack of means, this town was soon abandoned, and the town was settled by Crocker as a farm. Later he sold it and removed to California.

They spent the fall making preparations for the coming winter. The teams sent for provisions had not yet returned, and they  were worried that the winter would set in before their arrival. Should this happen, unless the teams could make their way through the snow, the settlers could see nothing but starvation in store for them.

A big snow storm set in on November 6th and in this storm a number of the settlers came near losing their lives. A hunting party, comprised of Lorens Barnard, Henry Joehnks, Wm. Roberts and Wm. Painter, started out to try to kill some antelope and ducks. Barnard and Roberts went up the creek and Joehnks and Painter went down. At night fall it began to rain, and they started home. The wind suddenly changing to the north a heavy snow began to fall, the weather became so blinding that the travelers soon lost their way. Barnard and Roberts reached the settlement with no further harm than being very cold and wet. But Joehnks and Painter were unable to find their way through the

storm, when darkness set in, they decided to stay where they were. But soon decided that to keep from perishing in the cold, they walked all night. By daylight the snow was eighteen inches deep, and the storm was still raging.  They tried to reach the settlement , but it was impossible to find their way through the blinding storm.

The settlement sent a party out to look for them, but were soon driven back by the drifting snow which was so blinding that it was impossible to face it. The storm began to die down, and soon Joehnks reached home, so weak and exhausted from the effects of hunger and cold and was almost unconscious and unable to speak. As soon as he recovered his voice he managed to tell them that Painter had lain down in a dying condition not far away.  Parties went out to look for him, and he was soon found nearly dead. He was quickly taken to a house and every means tried to save him, but he only lived a few hours. This was the first death to occur in Hall County. Joehnks was badly frozen but finally recovered.

The teams sent to Omaha for provisions, in September, had not yet returned, and on November 10th the settlers sent a team to meet them at Columbus. They reached the banks of the Loup River, opposite Columbus, on the 14th. The provision train was there, but it was impossible to cross the river. There was a ferry boat but it was unsafe at the best of times, and now that the river was full of drifting ice. Two of the men belonging to the provision train saw the team across the river, and succeeded in crossing over in a small skiff.  An attempt was made to use the ferry boat, but it was unsuccessful. They then resorted to the use of the skiff, and by making frequent trips they succeeded in getting several hundred pounds of flour and a few other articles over. The team returned home, taking with them two of the Columbus party, who were sick with a fever. They arrived at Grand Island, November 18, 1857.

The first Indians that appeared at the settlement were a large number of Pawnees, who stopped here a short time on their return from a hunt, during the winter. As the settlers knew little of the Indian character they were somewhat fearful of them, but in a few days the savages departed peaceably.

The first fire in the new settlement occurred January 8, 1858. The houses of Henry Schoel and Wm. Steer were burned and little was saved. They were, however, assisted by the other settlers.

By this time the lack of provisions began seriously to be felt in the settlement. There was plenty of flour, but that was all. Several weak oxen were killed for food, but the meat proved of very poor quality. For weeks there were no candles or soap in the settlement. The winter was a mild one, but this was worse for the settlers, as the Loup did not freeze over enough to allow the teams to cross from Columbus.

The provision train did not arrive until January 25, 1858, almost four months after leaving the settlement for Omaha.  Their arrival was the signal for great rejoicing at Grand Island. The settlers had been on half rations, and even less, for some time, and many were feeble and weak.

The first white child born in the settlement was Nellie Steer, daughter of the wife of Wm. Steer, born March 3, 1858.

In June, long before the arrival of supplies, their stock of provisions ran so low that they again had to resort to half rations and some of the time even less. This was a very busy season of the year, they had to work very hard, and soon many were so weak they could hardly stand. But on Thursday, June 24th, the wagon loaded with supplies arrived from Omaha. Again the settlers were saved from the starvation, and in a short time all were strong again.

On July 5, 1858, another party of settlers arrived from Davenport. This consisted of twenty people, who brought with them ten horse teams, twenty yoke of oxen, and a number of cows and young stock.

On August 27 the Pawnee Indians again visited them, they were perfectly friendly and no damage was done by them, other than stealing a small quantity of corn and potatoes.

The settlement had been made under the town company for the purpose of speculation, and the original town site laid out, consisted of 1,440 acres. But the speculation was not a success and, during the financial crisis of 1857-58, the great banking-house of Chubb Bros., Barrow & Co. became bankrupt, and the town company soon fell to pieces.

The provisions furnished the settlers were to be paid for as soon as the settlement become established. Fred Hedde was appointed to distribute the goods and keep the books. He still has the books in his possession, the disbanded company never having called on him for them, or upon the settlers who for payment of their dues.

Of the members of the company:   A. H. Barrows and W. H. F. Gurley died many years ago. A few years since B. B. Woodward was president of the Davenport National Bank, and it is believed that he is still living there. The five Americans who have been named as having been members of the colony, left during the early years of settlement, and never again returned. The German settlers were then left to keep up this new settlement by themselves as best they could.

In 1858, another settlement, composed of Mormons, was started some miles west of them on Wood River. The center of this settlement was on the spot where Shelton, Buffalo County, now stands. This was about one-half mile west of the present limits of Hall County, but the settlement was scattered along Wood River for a few miles in this county.

On January 18, 1859, an event took place, that struck terror to the hearts of all. This was a terrible prairie fire that swept over the settlement.

Three men supposed to be from Florence, Nebraska, who were on their way home from the gold fields of California, became angry with some of the settlers as they passed through, after they had got out a little way, declared with an oath, he would burn out the Dutch settlement and at once set fire to the prairie.

Eight of the large houses were burned to the ground. Besides this a great deal of damage was done to other property.  The principal sufferers were William Stolley, William Hagge, John and Henry Vieregg, Christ Menck, Marx Stelk, Fred Vatge, Hans Wrage, Mathias Gries, and Rudolph Mathieson.

In the fall of 1859, the settlers, through William H. Stolley, secured a government contract for the delivery of 2,000 bushels of corn at Fort Kearney. During the winter many of the settlers also found work at the fort, and their days of suffering were at an end.

Another thing that now contributed to the success of the settlers was the fact that the overland travel to the west began to pour up the Platte Valley. Gold had been discovered at Pike's Peak, and emigrants and freighters, on their way to Oregon, California, New Mexico, Montana and Colorado, began to travel up the valley by the thousands. This was the commencement for the Grand Island settlement of prosperity that continued for several years. Everything they had to sell brought a high price.

Every day large trains were moving up and down the valley. The teams generally used were oxen, and the settlers did a good business buying up lame cattle and young calves from the emigrants and freighters, who were willing to sell cheap. This soon became one of the most prosperous settlements in the State and for several years the settlers made money rapidly.

After the organization of the county, ten of the settlers left the settlement. These were Fred Hedde, Christ Andresen,  D. Sass, William Steer, N. Thede, M. Greis, Theo. Nagel, C. Axelson and H. Vasold.

Fred Hedde, Christ Andresen, D. Sass returned in a short time and remained, becoming leading men. None of the others ever came back.

In 1859, the settlement had acquired so great importance that it was determined to organize a county under the territorial laws of Nebraska. Before this the Grand Island settlement had been a part of Platte County, but in this year Hall County was organized, and officers elected.

The first officers were:

Judge, Fred Hedde

Clerk, Theo. Nagel

Commissioners, Hans Wrage, James Vieregg, and Henry Egge

Sheriff, Herman Vasoid

Treasurer, Christ Andresen

Justices of the Peace, R. C. Barnard, and Wm. Stolley

Assessor, Fred Doll

Constables, Christ Menck and M. Greis

In the winter of 1858-59, the stage line had been extended from Columbus to Fort Kearney, through Grand Island and this first brought "Pap" Lamb here as the first stage driver and station keeper.

The first post office was established in the spring of 1859, with R. C. Barnard, Postmaster. The first mails were weekly, but changed to tri-weekly in 1860. The first weekly stage from Omaha to Fort Kearney was put on the route, October 1, 1858.

From Grand Island, the first party to venture to the Loup country started in October, 1860. They started with two teams, one of horses and the other of oxen. Their route was up Wood River to a point north of Fort Kearney, where they crossed over the divides to the north. They were gone about three weeks and returned with loads of game and furs.

The first term of school ever taught in the county, was in 1862, and was taught about one mile south from the present court house of Grand Island. There were but six pupils in attendance, and Theo. Nagel was the teacher.

Source:  Andreas History of the State of Nebraska