Arlington Township

Arlington township is one of the oldest settled parts of the county. Early in 1855 Corydon Whitford settled on land a few miles east of the present site of Arlington. This farm is now owned by August Dunklau.

Early in 1856 John Mattes settled near him and Silas Masters located, in the same year, on a tract near Mattes.

In the fall of the same year, O. Colby took up a homestead.  There were several other temporary residences in that neighborhood during these early years.

In 1857, A. Masters located in this section and in 1859, George Pemberton and John S. Bowen settled there.  John S. Bowen purchased and operated the first gristmill in that neighborhood.  

The supplies that those early settlers used were transported from Fontenelle and Omaha, usually by ox teams, to the various homesteads.

The houses in this region were built of logs, plastered with clay, a few were chinked, and the roof of poles was covered with grass.

During the severe winter of 1856-1857, the livestock practically all succumbed. Silas Masters was able to keep a team of horses alive during this hard winter. It was a difficult problem to secure wood for fuel, which had to be secured from a distance of three to five miles, in many cases, and hauled on hand sleds.

At this time, Arlington precinct is fully settled with progressive farmers and they have secured some of the finest farm land in Nebraska. All of the original settlers have either moved away or have died, but their heirs have kept the first homesteads intact and have progressed with the ever rising tide to build a better Washington County.

Source:  History of Washington County, Nebraska