Riverdale & Collins Townships

Location –
3rd Township from the west after Elm Creek & Odessa, before Divide in the east side of Kearney
Big township
    Has extra mile on the west side to accommodate the earth’s curve
    Evergreen Road on west -- Ave N on east
        Was originally 8 ½ sections deep to the Platte
115th Road on north -- Platte River on south

Except the area within the city limits of Kearney

Division into 2 townships –
Sometime after 1919, before 1942, it was divided roughly in half north/south
Riverdale Township – Top 4 rows of sections – 115th Road to 56th St. on south
Collins Township – Lower 4 rows of sections – 56th St. to Interstate on south
            Plus 1 row of partial sections – Interstate to the Platte River

Collins Township

Doesn't require any tax funds.
When Alfalfa Center School was dissolved, the school board gave the school to the township.
The township sold the school land and building
Using the interest from that sale to pay expenses.

Features of both–
 

Water

Platte River on south border
Wood River – enters 2 ½ miles from western boundary from the north, winds southeast to exit on east side about 2 Ό miles from the north boarder.
Kearney Canal & spillway to the Platte – Cottonmill Lake and Kearney Lake

Transportation Routes –

        East/west – same with all townships across bottom of the county
            Mormon Trail
            Union Pacific Railroad
            Highway 30 – east/west on 25/24th St.
            Interstate 80
       North/south – unique to Riverdale & Collins to have all of these
            Highway 10 – north up 2nd Ave
            Highway 40 – from Glenwood northwest up Wood River valley
            Former freight route to Broken Bow
            Former proposed route (& mail route) to Black Hills
            Union Pacific spur northwest (former Kearney Black Hills Railroad)

Schools –

        Riverdale – organized in 1873 a mile south and ½ east of the town site.
            Church was held there when a circuit rides came by.
        Alfalfa Center – Collins Township near railroad (Stevenson Siding)
        Glenwood – Was a 10-grade school at one time
        Dove Hill – In Sec. 20 & then a 1 mile west, merged with Green Hill
        Green Hill – Dist. 120 - Last one organized in the county

Cemeteries –

Kearney Cemetery – The present site was apparently selected in 1871
    Site approved in Oct. 1875
    Land owned by Asbury Collins. Sold it to the city in 1877
    Earliest burial was Rev. Nahum Gould who died in 1875
        Presbyterian missionary minister.
        Born 1798. Became a minister in home state of New York.
        In 1834 he moved to Illinois where he organized several churches.
        In 1871 he came to Kearney
        Filed on a homestead northwest of Kearney Lake
        Alternated services at Collins home with Asbury
        Built a house on the side of a hill. [down into Kearney Lake]
        It had 3-4 levels and ended up sitting deserted and known as a haunted house
        Was 76 when he died in 1875.
        He was over 70 when he came here.
    2 headstones with earlier death dates – moved here
        Mary E. Esty – d 18 Jan 1866
        Evan Jay – d 22 Feb 1861 – husband of Hannah Jay who came here in 1872/3
    Another cemetery at north end of what became Kearney Lake.
        [must have been near Nahum Gould place.]
        Bodies moved to Kearney Cemetery when lake was formed.

Riverdale Cemetery – First organized meeting of Cemetery Board was May 12, 1899.
    First burial in June 1899 but was a Prascher child buried there who died 1882.
    3-4 burials were moved from the Stanley Cemetery as soon as this one was opened.
    Dora Prascher’s account of the Riverdale Cemetery history says land was owned by Mrs. Frederick Frederick.
    A Come Back Letter written in 1923 by Elizabeth Looker Brown wrote
        "…my father died nine years ago and is buried in the Riverdale Cemetery

        a corner that he donated from his farm."

Dove Hill Cemetery – Located north of Highway 30 on Dove Hill Road about 2 miles.
    Organized for use by surrounding homesteaders in 1886
    A. J. Crossley donated 1 acre
        His notebook records family buried there in 1880 & 1883
    Named for Dove Hill School which was located across the road before it was closed
    No written records exist – that we know of
    Register of Deeds office shows land still set aside as a cemetery

Towns – Incorporated and unincorporated

Kearney – east edge of township, half way down
Glenwood Park/Corner – flour mill, dam, park
Stevenson Siding (Alfalfa Center) – on Dove Hill Road ½ mile south of Highway 30 by railroad
Riverdale – 1 ½ miles from western boundary, on north edge of the township
        6 miles north and 4 miles west of Kearney, up Highway 40
        Post office was open from 1883-1886, re-opened in 1890 when the railroad came
        Founded in 1890 – railroad came through.
        Depot was built.
        August Raymond built a general store beside it.

Route to Kearney from Riverdale area in 1870’s –
 

        East down Wood River valley,
        Over the hills to where Kearney Lake is now,
        Down that valley to where the football field is now

Farms had names –
        Valley view farm

        Green view alfalfa farm

        Homestead farm

        Louis grove farm

        Grand View farm

        1733 Ranch

Settlement
Rapid growth of Kearney after location
    1871 – 17 24 in Center Gibbon Homestead Colony
    1872 – 42 33
    1873 – 26 19
    Drought years

People
1871
First 2 – Smith Bros. who filed on Sec. 2
Marsh & Evan Jay who filed on Sec. 4
Rev Gould who filed northwest of Kearney
W. W. Patterson

1872
George E. Smith – Second filing
A. M. Gay – Came with Collins family, one of original members of Methodist Church
Ashbury Collins
F. W. Dart – first store in Kearney
F. G. Keens – Leading Kearney business man
L. B. Cunningham – Homesteaded near Riverdale, published first newspaper in Kearney
I. Webb

F. Cuddebach

J. Cuddebach,
Wm. Morse – first official pastor of Methodist church

1878—15
N. Campbell – One of first mayor’s of Kearney
M. Nevius – Brother of first teacher in Kearney
H. E. Swan – ancestor of Swan’s furniture Swan??
Joseph Black – Born in (West) Virginia, moved with family to Illinois and then Iowa.
    Came to Buffalo County in 1875.
    Owned ranch on the South Loup & another on an island in the Platte south of Kearney.
    From 1885-88 had a mercantile business in Kearney.
    [lived in south Kearney according to someone’s Come Back letter memory.]
    Active in county and Kearney politics.
    Served as county treasurer for 2 years, and was a county commissioner.
    In Kearney
        he was mayor for 1 year,
        on school board for 8 years,
        library board for 20 years.
    State senator for 3 years.
D. Lowenstein (& another Lowenstein came the following year