Scott Township
Location – Second tier of townships, second from west
Sartoria Township on the north
(Sartoria community, no towns)
Grant Township (Amherst) on the south
Armada Township (Miller) on the west
Rusco Township on the east (Peake
community, no towns)
Deer Creek flows west to east through the northern part of the township,
emptying into the Loup. It has some tributaries. There are also some
tributaries to the Wood River in the southeast part of the township.
Mixed farming and grassland.
Electricity – Early 50’s.
The last portion of the county to be
covered by REA
Sub-station at Miller.
Served remaining portions of
northwest corner of Buffalo County – Harrison, Sartoria, Armada, Scott
townships.
First settlers –
First was Benjamin Scott, 1873, who settled on Deer Creek.
J. J. Moore came in 1778. He also
lived on Deer Creek.
Another early family was the
Sohrweids who still have descendants in the area.
5 sections apparently had no
residents in 1910
10 sections currently have no
residents – (2004 Farm & Home Plat & Directory)
Taylor Precinct – 1881
Taylor Precinct was made up of present day Harrison and Sartoria Townships
and the north three tiers of sections in Scott Township.
Residents in what was to become Scott Township included:
J. S. Seeman (240 acres), Ben Scott (160 acres), and John Swensen (80
acres). He also owned 160 acres four miles north in Sartoria Township.
Formation of Scott Township - Aug. 27, 1887
Joint meeting of Sartoria and Scott
townships.
Part of Sartoria township (three tiers of sections) went to Scott
township
Township property had to be divided with Scott township getting 1/3.
($8.25 and one road scraper)
Other three tiers apparently came from Grant township on the south.
Schools –
District 80 – Liberty Hill –
Located in the NE ¼ of Section 27 (5 miles northeast of Amherst)
1884 – sod schoolhouse, 15 children,
Poor attendance because of weather,
disease and farm work.
1887 – Built a frame building.
1923 – Replaced with a new building which was used until the district
dissolved in 1986.
1990 the building serves as the Liberty Hill Community Hall.
The schoolhouse also held religious
services in 1889 and was a polling place for many years.
In the early days there were Indians in the surrounding hills. Students were
told not to tease them or treat them rudely. On one occasion a boy threw a
clod at one, who retaliated. The children and teacher rushed to the security
of the schoolhouse and prayed for deliverance. They must have been safe
because one student was Paul Taubenheim, who was the first of four
generations to attend Liberty Hill.
[Paul had a son, Elmer, who had twin sons, Tom and Terry. Tom passed away
recently (summer 2004). Terry lives in Amherst.]
District 90 – Maple Grove/Prairie Rose –
Located in the NW ¼ of Section 5 (about 9 mile north of Amherst)
The district was organized in 1885/6 and called Maple Grove.
The first building was sod.
A frame building was constructed in 1889/90.
1957 - The district merged with District 89.
School was held in the Dist. 90 building and the name was changed to Prairie
Rose.
1958 - This combined district merged with Dist. 111
1970 - Merged with Amherst Dist. 119
District 102 – Lone Star –
Located in the SE ¼ of Section 19 (6 miles east & 4 miles north of Amherst)
This district was organized in 1886.
For the first year school was held in a home. Then in 1887 a sod schoolhouse
was built. A frame building was built in 1892.
No classes met after the 1942 school
year. When the district was finally dissolved in 1953 part of it was
attached to Dist. 80. The last school board served from 1938 to 1954.
Another school in NE corner of Section 10 in 1919
Not near enough to Amherst to be
included in their book
Immanuel Lutheran Church school –
Started in 1882.
Met in the sod church until 1892 when a frame schoolhouse was built.
The pastor taught the school until 1911. Then teachers were hired.
The school closed in 1950.
Church/Cemetery – One
Immanuel Lutheran Church was located in the SE corner of Section 20.
They met in homes until a sod church
was built in 1885.
When a new building was built in
1889, stone for the foundation was quarried from the hillside by the Wood
River. A caravan of 24 wagons brought building materials from Kearney.
It served 87 years, was torn down in
1972 when the church disbanded and its members joined Trinity Lutheran at
Amherst.
All that remains on the site now is
the cemetery.
T. J. Parrish –
Born in Shelby County, Indiana, September 28, 1848 (according to Bassett)
Lived on the home farm until 17
Began clerking in a hardware store in
Franklin, Indiana
1874 – came to Kearney. Clerked in the hardware store of V. B. Clarke 5
years.
Secured a homestead and timber claim
in Sartoria township
1879 – Established his own hardware store in Kearney.
Some of his customers were Indians.
1885 – Sold hardware store and bought a ranch on the Loup River near
Sartoria which he and his brother, Frank, operated.
Bought railroad land and accumulated 2000 acres.
He raised pure bred Polled Angus cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs.
He also owned a farm north of Glenwood School
T. J. continued to live in Kearney.
Married Miss Letitia Megran, a native of Stevens Point, WI (a social event)
Four children –
Frank – worked with his father in
ranching business
(father of Virginia and Arlene – Mrs. Delbert Kahle)
Leo – in insurance business in Boise,
Idaho
Jay – an attorney in Boise, Idaho
Ina – married Frank L. Empey of
Kearney
Active in the community - stockholder in the cotton mill, in a military
school, a bank and in other enterprises which have contributed to the
welfare and improvement of the community. He was one of the first trustees
of the Presbyterian Church.
Died in 1925 (at age 75 according to Kearney Cemetery records.)
|