Hall County and central
Nebraska have a rich history. That history begins in the distant past
when Native Americans roamed the valleys and the prairies of Nebraska.
Then came the first Europeans, explorers and fur trappers making
their way along the Platte Valley to the Rocky Mountains and beyond. During
the 1840s and 1850s thousands of travelers followed the valley
in wagon trains, bound for California, Oregon, Utah, Colorado and other
points west.
Although most of the Europeans
who first looked upon this prairie country concluded that the treeless
land was little more than a desert, succeeding generations perceived
opportunities to be had in this new country. In Davenport, Iowa,
a group of enterprising businessmen shared a vision concerning the Platte
Valley and central Nebraska. They foresaw the day when a railroad would
be built west along the Platte River and decided to build a town in the
Platte Valley. They were confident that in time their investment would
return a substantial profit.
They recruited a small band
of Americans and recently arrived German immigrants and dispatched
them to build the town. Arriving near the mouth of the Wood River in
July 1857, these pioneers set about building the first permanent
settlement in what was to become Hall County. Among the German
settlers was Peter Stuhr. His son, Leo, was instrumental
in establishing the museum that bears the family name.
As the Davenport investors
had envisioned, a transcontinental railroad was built through the
Platte Valley, and in 1866 the Union Pacific Railroad laid
its rails through Hall County. Prairie pioneers rushed into the new country,
some taking up land for farms, other putting their energy and resources
into building towns. |
