Early Settlement in Buffalo County

First Movement through the county

1811 – First fur trappers traveled through along the Platte.
1836 – First wagon train to Oregon
1846 – First Mormon wagon train
1848 – Ft Kearny opened.

          A corner of the Military Reservation was on the north side of the Platte River in what is now Buffalo Co.

First Settlement in the county

1850 – No census records for what is now Nebraska - Indian territory then

May have been white people living in what is now Buffalo County but there is no record.

People came through on the Mormon Trail; if they liked it they stayed or came back; squatted

1854 – Nebraska Territory was created

– Buffalo County created by Nebraska Territorial Legislature
– Hall Co took care of its business until 1870

1857 – All land in Buffalo County except that corner of the Ft. Kearny Military Reservation were considered Indian land

1858 – Wood River Center – Joseph Johnson
        – James Boyd came to Buffalo County to the Boyd Ranch
                       How long had the ranch been there? Unknown by Bassett

1859 – Nutters traveled from Philadelphia to Utah.

1860 Census – Buffalo County

Nebraska Center only address in Buffalo County
29 residences and 12 unoccupied places = 114 people

1860 – Olivers came from England
           Spent winter in a log cabin along the Wood; may have been a deserted cabin

Homestead Act

1862, May 20 – Homestead Act passed (year after Civil War began)
          Claim 160 acres (1/4 section)
          Live on and cultivate the land for 5 years
          US citizen who was head of a family or single over 21
          Immigrants could file if they filed Intention of Citizenship
          Land office for filing on Buffalo Co. land was in Grand Island, never Kearney

1870 and 1872 – Amendments to Homestead Act (related to military service)

Serve at least 90 days in Army or Navy during Civil War

 
Get 160 acres on alternate sections within railroad 20-mile limit of alternating sections.
Others could only claim 80 acres within the railroad limits

Had 6 months in which to start living and cultivating the land
Soldiers could have an Agent file for them, others had to go to the land office in person
Soldier’s filing fee $18.00; citizen’s filing fee $14.00

5-year residence on the land had to be verified by 2 witnesses [in newspaper] + $4.00 fee
Had 2 years after 5-year period was up to make proof

Or

 

After 6 months the claimant could buy the land
          $2.50/acre within the railroad limit
          $1.25 beyond the limit

Time requirement for ex-military:
          Deduct time served (or enlistment period if wounded) from the 5 years
          Must put in at least one year

1909 –Enlarged Homestead Act
        Claim 320 acres (1/2 section)
        targeted dry-land farming

 
1916 – Stock-Raising Homestead Act
        Claim 640 acres (whole section) For ranching

1976 – Federal Land Policy and Management Act
        Ended homesteading in all states except Alaska

1986 – Homesteading ended in Alaska

[A Federal program that actually stopped spending!!]

Only about 40% of those making an initial claim completed the requirements
1.6 million homesteads were granted = 10% of US public land

Continue the Settlement Timeline

1862 – Nutters returned from Utah and settled 2 miles east of Wood River Center (in Hall County).

                     Purchased “Squatter’s rights” to the place

           Aug. 1864 – Nutters fled from threat of Indian attack
           1869 – returned and settled east of Gibbon

1863 – Joseph Owens came to the county, married Sarah Oliver

1866 – Construction of Union Pacific Railroad through Buffalo County
           Buda Station
           Elm Creek Station

1867 – Buffalo County surveyed and open to settlement
           Dec. – First land filed upon – James Boyd, Boyd Ranch
           1867 Tax list
                  Only two families were here in 1860 for census & on 1867 tax roll
                       1. James Boyd & family
                       2. Henry Dugdale & family
                   – 18 tax payers in the county
                            James Boyd – value $6,830 & Joseph Boyd – value $600
                            Henry Dugdale – value $940
                            Ed Oliver – value $335
                            Sarah Oliver – value $540
                   – 3 were gone by payment deadline in1868

1868 – 21 taxpayers

1869 – 20 taxpayers
1870 – Reorganization of Buffalo County; first County Board
           38 taxpayers
             2 filings for land

1871 – Gibbon Homestead Colony
           First settlers in Kearney Junction
           165 land filings –Gibbon Homestead people

1878 – Next big jump in filings due to opening up of military reservation

Settlement Pattern as Seen in First Filings by Township

(Name of Township; year of first filing; number of filings that year)

 

Harrison – 1879 – 7	Sartoria – 1878 – 2	Loup – 1874 – 8	Beaver – 1873 – 2	Garfield – 1874 – 5	Cherry – 1876 – 1
Armada – 1873 – 5	Scott – 1873 – 2	Rusco – 1873 – 1	Cedar – 1873 – 12	Schneider – 1874 – 4	Gardner – 1874 – 7
Logan – 1878 – 2	Grant – 1872 – 4	Divide – 1872 – 6	Thornton – 1873 – 8	Valley – 1871 – 2	Sharon – 1871 – 22
Elm Creek – 1871 – 4	Odessa – 1871 – 2	Riverdale - 1871 – 17	Center – 1871 – 25	Gibbon – 1867 – 1	Shelton – 1870 – 2

 
1867 – Gibbon –1 filing (James Boyd)
1870 – Shelton –2 filings
1871 – Gibbon Homestead Colony people file on their claims
        – First filings in Platte River valley row of townships & around Gibbon & Shelton
        – Filings also by squatters who feared losing their land – John Nutter, for example
1873 – filings indicate settlement up through the center of the county
        – Last land to be settled claimed was north of Miller in Harrison & Sartoria townships

 

And Also: Reviving an Old Cheer
          Following a Veterans Day Parade in November 1892:

Kearney Daily Hub – Nov. 7, 1892