Like
many towns on the Plains it owes
its founding to the railroad. The
Union Pacific constructed its tracks
through
here in 1867.
About
1870, from one of the workers
camps, Kimball was began. One
of the first settlements was
named
Antelopeville, which, later became
Kimball. And became the county
seat in 1885.
Kimball county was named in honor of Thomas L. Kimball , vice president and general manager
of the Union Pacific railroad.
Kimball county was formed from part
of the western third of Cheyenne county by vote November 6, 1888.
Kimball
County did not come into existence
as a separate entity or division
of the state government until 1888
when
its division from Cheyenne county
was effected.
But
before that time settlers had entered
the western corner of great Cheyenne
county and started Antelopeville
now
Kimball and Bushnell.
The
first permanent settlements of Kimball
County were made about 1868. This
was about the time Union
Pacific
railroad was extended through the
county.
The
early history of Cheyenne County
dating prior to 1888, inseparably
involves a great deal of the history
of
Kimball County.
Among
the pioneer families of this county
were James English and James
J. Kinney, who came in the early
days
with the Union Pacific Railroad.
Other
families arriving during this first
period in the history of the county,
when it was still a part of Cheyenne
County,
were:
The
purchase by Hon. L. T. Clarkson,
from the Union Pacific Railroad.
Company of all of their lands
lying
south
of the railway, from the vicinity
of Potter, near the western edge
of the present Cheyenne county,
across
the
present Kimball County, to the Wyoming
line, was the first step toward
the settlement of the western end
of
old Cheyenne County, or the present Kimball
county.
"Kimball ,formerly called Antelopeville,
is located in the Valley of the Lodgepole, only a short distance from
that beautiful stream, having in fact a promising location.
This town has six stores, all doing well— two are general stores (The Pioneer Store, Randall & Co., and that
of Schaeffer Bros.) and each carries a good stock of goods.
There is also one hardware store, a drug store, a shoe shop, and a first-class lumber yard.
The Bank of Kimball was recently established and opened in a neat and commodious building.
A newspaper, the Nebraska Observer, was started here in the spring of 1885; it has flourished and done much
to promote the settlement of the country.
The fact that Kimball is sure to become a county seat when the county is divided has caused it to grow very
rapidly. A glance at its location on the map will convince any one that this anticipation is well founded.
Kimball now contains about two hundred people, and has a good, well
attended school.
The first court house was built in 1880.
When Kimball county was given separate organization in 1888, its first officers were:
Samuel Woolridge, County Clerk and Clerk of District Court
N. E. Garman, County Treasurer
J. B. Timmony, County
Attorney
George W. Beard, County Judge
Ed Rathburn, Sheriff
Rufus Cooley, County Superintendent of Schools
L. R. Markley, Coroner
H. R. Stevens, Surveyor
L. W. Bickel, James Newell and Henry Cholberg, County Commissioners