Frankfort

 

 

Frankfort was first settled by S. Loeber, recently deceased; in 1856 he opened an Indian trading post here, Smutty Bear had the camp of his tribe across the river, making this a good trading point.

 

In the following year Mr. Loeber was joined by his brother, Justus Loeber, Esq., the present proprietor of Frankfort.

 

The town was laid out in 1857, and the plat filed in St. James, the then seat of justice of Cedar county, and was afterwards burned with other records of that county.

 

Fifteen or twenty men located here and a number of houses were built during this year, and, at one time, it was thought that Frankfort would be the town on the Upper Missouri.

 

The people here also had their trouble with the Indians. One undertook to kill S. Loeber in 1857, but Wm. Loeber snatched the gun from him and drove him away.

 

Goods and provisions were brought from Sioux City at this time with ox teams.

 

In 1856 it is said that the highest water occurred ever known in the Missouri at this place, the entire lower portion of the Frankfort bottom being over flowed.

 

Of the old settlers now living about this place:

 

Louis Steltner came to this county in 1856

Justus Loeber and Charles Mischke in 1857

Leonard Weigand, John Buhrow, John Leeder, deceased, and Mr. Mettsler, in 1862

 

These men all came to the county possessed of but little property, and they have since been steadily accumulating until they have become quite wealthy.

 

One of them, at least, Mr. Weigand, values his property at thirty thousand dollars, and has raised nine children in the meantime.

 

The remains of wagons, with wheels made of sawed sections from large logs, used by some of these men when they were too poor to afford anything else, can still be seen upon their farms.

 

Twelve or sixteen years ago, these men were poor; now they are rich, and have made their money in this county.

 

As they have done, so other men of industrious, economical habits can do.

 

 

Breckenridge

 

 

Now Santee Agency, was located in 1857 by Maj. J. Shaw Gregory, Dr. Joel A. Potter, the PMiberg Bros., and others.

 

This place has the honor of having the first mill in the county. It was a wind mill, and ultimately proved a failure.

 

Some of these men subsequently became interested at Niobrara, and the improvements made here were suffered to go to ruin.

 

Lands, however, were entered near here, and have recently been patented to the heirs of Alexander Cook and Anthony Jenick, and one-quarter section on the Bazile patented in 1861 to M. Huddleston.

 

 

 

 Running Water

The Running Water settlement, now Pischelville, on the Niobrara, was commenced in 1858 by Judge T. N. Paxton.

 

He lived here five years, and was compelled to leave by the Santee Sioux Indians. At the time of leaving, the judge had the best farm in the county, and certainly had one of the finest locations in the West.

 

A William Steel and William Smith also lived here for a while, and, had it not been for the trouble with the Indians, we probably should have had the best farming community at this place to be found in our county.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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