Buffalo County
Courthouse
A. Building the
First Courthouse in Kearney
County records were moved to Kearney in October 1874
with the promise that the railroads would build a
courthouse building.
But it was not an easy process.
In 1875:
6 July – County Commissioner
decisions after 6 months of discussion and debates:
Webster
Eaton, newspaper publisher, was to receive
proposals for court house location
It was to be within 5 blocks of UP railroad
It was to be located on Wyoming Ave (now
Central Ave)
It was to include at least one block of
lots.
Commissioner Walsh protested (probably
Patrick Walsh representing Shelton Township)
17 July
– Eaton’s reports on proposals was deferred
31 July – Proposal for courthouse
site made by
the UP Town Site Company
the South Platte Land Company
and the B&RR.
The block bounded by Wyoming on
east (Central)
Colorado on west (1st Ave)
4th St (15th St) and 5th St (16th
St)
(That's the current location of the
courthouse)
18 Sept – UPRR & South Platte Land
Company offered the block (described above) as site
of court house & jail
Also offered one other block on
south side with sale of lots to be used to erect
courthouse
They would erect a court house worth
$1,500
(Compared to the over $5,000 for the jail, it's no
wonder one source called this first courthouse a
“cheap building.”)
26 Oct – Commissioners agreed to pay
rent for 10 months 24 days, for use of Chandler
Building as the clerk’s office
(So they did decide to pay the rent for the 10
months the county’s records were kept in the
Chandler Building before moving to the Dart
Building.)
Also agreed to pay D Westervelt rent
12 months, for probate office space
6 Dec – Accepted the building erected
by B&M and UP, which was being completed.
In 1876: (a couple items of interest)
Started the
year in the courthouse; construction on the jail had
begun
July 5
– William H Scott was paid $11.33 for taking out and
bringing to Kearney the vault door from the Gibbon
courthouse
D(avid) Anderson paid for teaming [hauling] for the
County, moving County. records, for cleaning the
court house & for cutting hitching posts.
B. What to
do with the Gibbon Courthouse
1875
16 Jan – Discussion by
Commissioners of what to do with Gibbon court house
27 Feb – Committee reported
Gibbon court house was worth $5,000
$ 800 to take
it down
$4,200 worth of material worth
$5,000
Would cost only $350 to repair
Commissioners preferred to make it house a
high school
20 April – Decided to advertise sale of
Gibbon court house
29 May - No bids were received
on Gibbon court house
31 July - School District 2
leased Gibbon court house from the county
Only high
school in central & western Nebraska
Farmers institutes held in the building
1874-1880
1882 –
Building used by the Nebraska Baptist College
Moved to Grand Island in 1885
1885 – Building used by the United Brethren
college
Moved to York in 1888
1888 – 1904 – Building used for Commercial
colleges under three different professors
Sometime in the 1890’s the building was sold
by the county to the Gibbon school dist. of $1.
1908 – building was torn down and Gibbon high
school built on that site
C. Some
Other Events in 1876
Jan 19, 1876 –
Jack Winterbottom, drunk on a little whiskey,
threatened Metz Hurely, stabbed horse, jailed by
Marshal Keys.
Keys had trouble making arrest. His clothing
torn. He had to use handcuffs
Sept 14, 1876 – Newspaper reported it was
dangerous to be on streets on south side, so many
buildings moving
There were complaints of loose stock
in town
About 11 o’clock last night screams
were heard on the south side. A hired girl was
drunk. Her master horsewhipped her
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