Deuel county, one of the smallest in the state and the
most south easterly county in the Panhandle of Nebraska, lies in the most southerly tier of counties and in the third east from the western boundary of
Nebraska.
At the present time it is bounded on the north by Garden county, on
the east by Keith county, on the south by Colorado and on the west by Cheyenne county.
Like all the rest of Nebraska the early inhabitants of this county were the roving
bands of Indians that inhabited the plains before the white man came and before
the territory in which Deuel county lies was known to the whites who settled
the continent. Like the rest of Nebraska this land belonged, to Spain, France, and then became a part of the United States.
For a number of years after Nebraska Territory was created, and the western part of the state laid
out in counties, called Lyon, Taylor, and Monroe. Deuel county territory was
then principally in Lyon county. After Nebraska became a state, Deuel county was comprised in old Cheyenne county, and much of the early history of that county
is a part of Deuel
county’s history. Many of the early events of Deuel county
are to be found in the history of “Old Cheyenne.”
By the election of 1888, the
eastern third of Cheyenne county was erected as Deuel county and later the
northern portion of Deuel county became Garden county. In the early
history and general treatment of the Panhandle, will be found stories of Deuel
county, long before Nebraska became a state.
Also reference will be found to the
ranch life in this section when the cowboy held it as a range. The county was
named after a man who was connected with the building of the Union Pacific
railroad.
The general topography of Deuel county is high rolling
plains, ranging from cliffs along the streams to the
Level land of tables and valleys. The high plateaus have been called tables
and received various names. Along the tables go the valleys, and the county is
noted for the tablelands used for grazing also for the fertile valleys.
The
Lodgepole valley is the longest in the county; it enters at about the center of
the western boundary, flows southeast and a little west of the center of the
southern boundary passes out into Colorado.
The Platte valley crosses the southeastern corner of the county
and while not so long as the Lodgepole, is wider. In addition to these major
valleys there are smaller valleys.
Lodgepole creek and
the Platte river are the streams and it is from them that the
water is secured for the irrigation carried on in Deuel county.