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Howard County was organized by a special Act of the Legislature,
approved March 28,1871.
It
is located in the central part of the State, and is bounded on the north by
Greeley, east by Nance and
Merrick, south by Hall and west by Sherman
County, containing 576
square miles, or 368,640 acres.
On
the 9th day of January, 1871, J. N. Paul, accompanied by:
Major Frank
North, Ira
Mullen
A.
J. Hoge
Joseph Tiffany
Enos Johnson
J. E. North
Luther North
Charles
Morse
Gus. Cox
S.
M. Smith
All of whom afterward settled on Spring Creek, except
J. Rand Frank
North. .They entered the present
limits of Howard County for the purpose of making an
exploration of the North and South Forks
of the Loup, and their tributaries, with a view to selecting the most desirable
locality for settlement.
So well pleased were they with the country,
its numerous well-wooded streams, and fine soil, that favorable sites were soon selected and located upon.
On
the 31st of March following, thirty-one additional colonists arrived under the
escort of Mr. J. N. Paul, and
made a temporary camp in a cottonwood grove in section 28, town 14, north, of
range 10 west.
The next day, Apri1, the party crossed the
river and located claims in the vicinity of the present County Seat.
Among
those who settled at this time were:
T. McNabb
D.
Aleshire
A. G. Metcalf
J.
Peters
J.
0. Lewis
N.
Z. Woodruff
H.
M. Copeland
F.
M. Crowell
R.
E. Cockerel
F.
Godfrey
N.
Baxter
A.
Robinson
Lawrence
Fleming brought the first load of pine lumber into the County on the 4th of
April, 1871.
Under
the provisions of the special Act of the Legislature, approved March 28, 1871,
I. N. Taylor,
Probate Judge of Platte County, on the 17th day of
April following, appointed:
N. J. Paul
J. C. Lewis
L. H. North
Commissioners
for Howard County. This Board, on the 9th of May,
located the temporary Seat of Justice at St Paul.
The first election was held at St. Paul on the 10th day of October, 1871; fifty-four votes were polled.
At the general election, in 1874, the permanent County
Seat was located at St. Panl by vote of the people.
In
May, 1871, a Danish colony from Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, made up of:
Lars Hannibal
John Scehnsen
Niel Nelson
Jens Wilkenson
Fred. Ohlson,
Paul
Anderson,
Loren Erichson
They
made a settlement on the South Loup, near the month of Oak Creek; and in the following year a large colony of Canadians located on the table land between Turkey Creek and the North
Loup.
At
an early date, steps were taken for the erection of a substantial bridge
across the South Loup, to
facilitate the settlement of the country on
the west side of that stream, where lay much of the finest
land
of the County.
Subscriptions
were solicited at Grand Island and other places, by J. N. Paul, who succeeded
in raising
$650,
of which $392 were paid; and on the 27th of April, 1871, a site for the
proposed bridge was selected on
sections twenty-one and twenty-eight, town fourteen north, range ten west.
On
the 4th of May following, Dr. Beebe arrived to superintend its construction; a
camp was established at
the bridge site, for the accommodation of the workmen; and on the afternoon of
the same day, work was
formally begun.
A
week later, Captain Munson arrived at the bridge site with a company of
soldiers, who rendered valuable assistance
in its construction, and remained until its completion, June 10, of the same
year.
The
great storm which occurred in April, 1873, will long be remembered by the
people of Central Nebraska,
and Howard County especially, for its terrible severity and the suffering it entailed.
On the afternoon of Sunday, the 13th, a steady rain set in, which continued till late at night; on the morning of the 14th, the people awoke from their slumbers and found that a terrific gale was in progress, from a little west of north.
The air was so filled with drifting snow that it was impossible to discern an object beyond a few yards.
On Monday night, the gale increased to an alarming height, and the strongest buildings creaked and shook to their very
foundations. It continued with unabated fury all the next day, and until the
afternoon of Wednesday, the 16th, when
it lulled somewhat, and people dared to venture from their houses to look after
their stock and ascertain the extent of the damages. Although great loss of property, and perhaps life, was anticipated, yet the people were unprepared for the startling news that the families of Cooper and Haworth had perished in the storm.
On
Sunday, before the storm began, James Cooper, of Coates-field, was unexpectedly called to Grand Island on important business. His only son had in the morning crossed the river to
visit some friends for a
few hours, and being unaware of his father's absence, did not return on account
of the rain, thus leaving the mother and two daughters unprotected.
On Tuesday morning, when the storm was at its height, the roof of the unfinished
dwelling was blown off. The
two daughters volunteered to go for help. Carefully covering their mother with
blankets, carpets, etc, and
feeding, watering and sheltering the horses, they went out into the storm, not
to be seen again till the afternoon
of Wednesday, when, as the gale was subsiding, Emma, the younger sister, was
seen to fall on the
prairie while approaching the house of Capt. Munson, then occupied by W. T.
Wyman.
On
being carried into the house, she informed them of the helpless condition of
her mother, and that her sister Lizzie lay dead in a canyon. Search was made,
and the body of the sister was found, as described, at the head of a
canyon, near the Dannebrog and Cotesfield road.
The mother was found the next day, lying dead on the prairie, about a hundred yards from a neighbor's house.
Among the sad incidents in the meanderings of the girls, is the fact that on Tuesday night they found a dugout or cave about a hundred yards from Capt. Munson's house, and tried to force an entrance; but failing in this, they left it, supposing they could safely reach the house.
There was exhibited all through the long hours of their mental and physical sufferings, that inflexible and resolute spirit by which the body clung to life with the greatest tenacity. It was actuated by such a spirit that led Emma, in the darkness of the night, while lying in the snow
by the side of her dead sister, to exclaim, I will live! I will live to tell the story!" and then begin anew, bareheaded, barefooted, and almost destitute of clothing, the battle for
life with the storm king, that for suffering and endurance for the next twelve hours— for indomitable determination to conquer, to tell the story,if then but to die—has few parallels in history.
Meanwhile,
diligent search was being made on Spring Creek for the family of Billon
Haworth, son-in-law
of M. Crow.
On
Friday, the 18th, the mother and two children were found lying in a snow-drift.
The mother and eldest child were dead; the younger daughter, two years old, was still alive, and after tender care was restored.
On
Saturday afternoon, the husband was found dead in the hills, about four miles
east of the creek.
Allen
Cozens, a resident of the North Loup, was also found dead after this storm,
making a loss altogether of
six lives in the County, besides a large amount of stock and other property.
The first child born in the County was a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. John Ellis, in the summer of 1871. The child died a few weeks after it was born, which was the first death in
the County.
The first marriage in the County was that of Mr. Benjamin F. Johnson to Miss Mary T. Thomas, on the 30th of May, 1872.
The first school district was organized at St. Paul on the 29th of April, 1872. Miss Lizzie Cooper—who perished in the storm of April, 1873—taught the first term.
Johnson’s
History of Nebraska - 1880
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