Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1878-02-08
NIoBRARA, Neb., Feb. 4, 1873.

NIoBRARA, Neb., Feb. 4, 1878.
Last Friday, in company with A. F. Nc
Auley, we left Springfield for the purpose
OF paying Il visit to Niobrara. The road
between these W points lies on the bluffs
near the Missouri river, and is consequently
very uneaven and through a sparsely settled
section. A rapid ride-ior Mac. owns a
good team and knows how to handle the
ribbons-brought us to Il point opposite our
destination, and here further progress by
team was stopped, as the Missouri river at
this point is open and has been all winter,
and transit between the Nebraska and Da-
kota shores is made by fiat boat and skif..
We found the ferryman, Mr.. Storms, at his
post, and leaving McAuley to return with
the team to Springfield, We crossed the river
in a skiff, and were soon treading for the
first time the streets of Niobrara.
This is one of the Oldest towns in north.
ern Nebraska. DR.. B. Y. Shelley and r.
Cowan came here in 1856. and were the
first settlers. They were soon followed by
VIM. Bigham and his mother, VIM. La
mont, II. Westerman, H. w. Hargis, T. N.
Paxton, Henry Brooks, and others whose
names we canno now recall. With the
exception of r. Cowan, and II. W. Hargis,
ell these persons still reside in Niobrara and
vicinity. DIR. Shelley continues the prac-
tice of his profession VIM. Bigham is an
employee in the Pioneer office, and resides
with and supports his aged mother; H.
Westerman and VIM. Lamont are mer-
chants I. N. Paxton is a hotel keeper, and
Henry Brooks resides On the opposide side of
the river in Dakota, and is farmer.
In 1857 a town company. consisting of
DR.. B. Y. Shelley, A. W. Hubbard, Joseph
Holman and S. H. Cassiday, Of Sioux City !;
Hon. A. G. Dodge of Burlington, Iowa;
Dudley A. Nye and Horace c. Dodge, Of
Council Bluffs; R. Cowan and H. w. Har-
gis, was organized and the town of Niobra-
ia laid out and plated. The town grew
rapidly in popularity and favor, and for a
while Its star was in the ascendant, and
and shares changed hands at fabulous
But tic disastrous financial revul.
sion of the fall Of 1857 SWEPT over the
country. and Niobrara shared the common
of all other towns IN the then far west.
a few years the old company Was dis.
banded and another company organized in
which DR.. j. A. Potter, j.. Shaw Gregory,
Judge Tufts, Maj. Lewis, aad ether Yank-
ton men were interested. This COMPANY
until q few years ago, when the
property was apportioned between the sew
eral members and the company ceased. TO
Niobrara is located on tae Missouri river,
sholt distance below the mouth of the
known Niobrara or Running Water
river aud occupies a handsome site. The
bottom here is about two and half miles
vide, and from the mouth of the Niobrara
o where the bluffs trend to the Missouri
he distance is about eight miles, embracing
bout sixteen square miles of land that is
'lmost as level as a flor, yet high enough
o be above high-water mark, aud entirely
rec from sloughs and marshes. A large
of the settlers in Niobrara aud
'ici0ity are Bohemians, who settled here
bout the time the Bohemian colony settled
y Yankton county. They are an industr;-
US, frugal people, and have generally
prosperity. The Bohemian settle
lelt extends 70 the mouth of the Verdi
rfS civ ,1i1oc ort F.,r, ,.... -.
miles above the Keha Paha,
ighty miles from the Missouri, and the
NIT of the settlement in that direction, the
'ttlers are mainly Americans, Irish and
The Niobrara valley is famed
r" Its beautiful scenery, the fertility of its !,
oil, and fine timber aud water. 1t is des.
ned to become one of the best settled and
ost productive vallies in the west, and if ,
re expec' atoms Of the people are realized i
build up Nio5rara to. be one of |
re most important commercial marts on c
e upper Missouri. .
This town is one of the points on the i
2vington, Columbus & Black Hills railroad. t
A>""L sl'IiuS liz Couutf Soteu ~, fUU 10 I
e railroad, on the conditions that twenty r
lies of grading should be completed aud {
n miles of the road in operation in the /;
'unty by the 18th day of November last, Z
nd that the bonds should not pass into the t
ands of the trustee until th.se conditions I
ere complied with; but by some means the !
onds were issued and delivered to the trus- !
Jonn II. Charles. Alta meeting of the
mmissionere last fall the time in which
ne railroad company was to comply with
. part of the contract was extended to Sep
'mber ], 1878. The people here arc con- !,
dent that the road. will be built according
the amended agreement, and that before =
mother winter the shrek Of the iron horse
ill echo along the valley OF the Niobrara. !
Niobrara is the county scat OF Knox :
ounty. aud the several county offices are
here. The county government Is