Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, November 14, 1909, Page 19

THAYER COUNTY COURT HOUSE, HEBRON, THINK of ploneer life as a thing of the past, something the of from thelr school books or 53(:1 historics. ilere and there are e survivors of that historic migra- tion, actors In the stirring drama of half a century ago, from whose lips our children ay learn of the mode of life of the ploneer ettlers of o We shake our heads regretfully d say: “We shall not see its ilke again The day of the ploneer Is over, for no longer is there any frontier. The last west Is gone. Yet, lhwmh few are aware of It, there are, schttered throughout the remote districts of the western part of Nebraska, scores of wettlers whose homes and home-life are unchanged from the era of the ploneer. Here, far from the beaten trall, time has Arod still. Here we may step back into an era that we thought existed only in books and see perfectly reproduced, the daily life of the early ploneer Thayer county has been very successful in subduing the wilderness Many years ago the free rural mail box and the tele- phone pole drove back the frontier all along the lize. Thayer county is in the southernmost tler of counties in Nebraska. It is the fifth west of the Missouri river, from which it is distant 100 miles, and is the ninth ocounty east of the Colorado line, from which It is distant 235 miles. It is sixty miles southwest of Lincoln, the caplial of the state, and 120 mliles in the same direc tion from Omaha, the metropolls of Ne braska, The surface of Thaver county is what is generally termed a “high” rolling prairie. There are no “hills” in the general ac- ceptation of the term, but there are oc- casionally prominent “bluffs’ (o be seen along Little Blue river. While there are many tracts of plain land, there are none 80 flat &s to lack natural drainage, or so level as to be monotonous to the eye. There 18 no sameness to the surface, but an ever-changing and agreeable varlety. The streams run through valleys from a quarter of & mile to two miles or more in width, and are bordered generally by trees. It slopes to the east. To galn & clear conception of the ty- pography of the county, one must cross the valleys and divides nearly at right angles. The observer will by this means discover that the most rolling lands gen erally border the valleys or bottoms. As he advances, the rolling and Ssometimes broken character of the surface disappears ® when the divide Is reached which sep- arates it from the next dralnage stroam. Here the land swells out into a gently undulating plain, presenting an appear ance of great natural beauty, and poi ing characteristics only met on the west- ern side of the Missouri river. The flat, tiresome monotony of the prairies of cen- tral and southern Illinois is entirely lack- ing while in Its stead is the appearance of the graceful contours of an ocean's un- ing swells suddenly solidified—its trausformed into fruitful sofl and in rich verdure. No questions relative to & new country are of more importance than those rel ing to its climate. Upon the climate of & ntry very largely depend not only the fi: productions, but comfort and B healthtulness of the inhabitants. The tem- perature of the winter months, December, January and February, Is somewhat higher than that of central Illinols and Ohlo. It ls by no means an uncommon slght to see farmers plowing during the winter months. There are, however, ‘!orms of cousiderable severity, but the ryness of the atmosphers renders them more endurable than storms of a less de- gree of cold further east. The mean tem- perature of Thayer county during the year 18 about b4, In the fall there is no loveller country to live In than Thayer county. Although the sun shines brightly in the summer, with frequently oppressive heat, yet this s tempered with a gentle breese, which is constantly blowing. The nights are cool and refreshing and sleep is afforded, and thus nature is recuperated. With its splendid climate, the purest water and ex- cellent crops, this county is attracting the attention of parties locating in the west Many ocauses combine to make the at- mosphere exceptionally eclear and pure. Among these causes may be mentioned the mean elevation of Thayer county, 1,860 feet above the sea, its fine siliclous soll and perfect natural drainage, its constant bresses, and its freedom from swamps bogs and wloughs. Fogs are rare, and ex- copt in autumn, even h does not occur. The rainfall is inore ing from year to year, and corresponding changes in the eams and vegetation are taking place. Yo buffalo grass that omce covered the country has now almost entirely disap- peared before grasses indigenous to mols:er climates. The growth of native timber has largely increased. The mean volume of water Is also Increasing. It s thought that the planting of trees and the incresa- ing absorptive power of the soll, resulting from cultivation, are the principal causes of the increased rainfall But it is also probably trug that the great rain belt is moving westward from the Atlantic coast in obedience to some great periodic law. No place is absolutely free from disease, but this part of the state is singularly ex- empt from its severer forms. Nearly every one who comes Into this county from the cast feels & general quickening and elastic- ity of spirits. Digestion and appetite ex- perience a wonderful improvement, and the mind and body respond to Mveller im- pul All the cercal grains common to this lati- tud ‘produced in Thayer county. Corn ™ or, the principal crop, sand ordi- Nebraska prairic JOHN RODENBURG'S narily proves the most profitable when fed ta stock. Wheat, oats, barley, rye, al- falfa, sorghum, millet, timothy and clover are among the most important crops raised, and the average yleld will compare favorably with the best agricultural states. One of the best watered countles in the state is Thayer. It has a2 number of beau- tiful streams, chief among which is the Little Blue river. Rapldly flowing, almost centrally, through the county from west to east, with many turns, through one of the lovellest valleys in the west, it atfords many scenes of quiet rural beauty, charm- ing enough for the brush of a Landseer. The volume of water is large and constant, the bottom often rocky, the current rapid and the banks firm. These qualities render it an excellent stream for water power, fop which purpose it has no equal in the state, It Is said this stream possesses water power sites every two or three miles along its course through the county. The other principal running streams arp the Little Sandy, Big Sandy, Spring creek and Rose creck, nearly all of which are clear and beautiful. Big Sandy and Rose creek each afford water power for flour- ing mills. On no other deposits, except the solid rock, can there be such excellent roads. From twelve, to twenty-four hours after the heaviest rains, the roads are perfectly dry, and often appear, after being traveled & few days, like a vast floor formed fromt cement and by the highest art of man. Railroads and telegraphs are among the most Important factor in the development of the west. Thayer county is well provided with railroads and telegraphs. The Chicago & Northwestern raliroad has 441 miles of tracks, St. Joseph & Grand Island, 2.5 miles, Chicago, Rock Island & Paeific, 2637 and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, 273 miles. Total miles In the county is 9.08. No quarter section in the oounty FARM, FOURTEEN MILES WEST OF HEBRON, HAZARD] SHOO is more than elght miles from market. A writer would find it difficult to properly deseribé the general Intelligence, enterprise and morality of the citizens of Thayer county without apparent exaggera- tion. Few, if any counties, east or west, contain a more generous combination of the best elements of good soclety. The religlous interests of Thayer county are actively MAIN STREET, HEBRON, LOOKING BAST. advanced. There are about twenty-five with the or seven denominations. to be well supported. enterprise church organizations representing some slx possesses would prove carly all appear the state in these respects. The fruitful soll, rich grasses and genial In nothing do the citizens of Thayer take climate of Thayer county have especially warmer iInterest or more pride, than in the fitted it for farming, public schools. Her school system is among ralsing. the best and her school fund among the braska largest. Tt Is to be expected that a county grow better or Cora is the maln No where in the world does corn larger returns for vield datrying and crop for Ne- Henvan Migh Gewoot HEBRON HIGH SCHOOL. care and cultivation. The heavy corn yl of this county has paturally caused the most profitable of all kinds of agrioulture, farming and stock ralsing combined. By this plan the farmer finds a good market for his corn at home. He feeds it to his cattle and hogs, and ships the product in condensed form. In other words ‘“he sells his corn on the hoof." Those farmers in Thayer county who engage in this ousi- ness rapidly accumulate wealth, Of all branches of agriculture business, it is the most profitabl Butter, eggs, fruit and poultry can be profitably produced and finds an acc ble and ready market in Denver and other western citles. In short, aimost all farm products, Including mortgages, can be suc- cessfully ‘“raised” from Thayer unty land, if one is willing to work, and young men who are growing up on eastern farms, where the boys !ncrease faster than the acres, will find it much more profitable to work for themselves on a quarter section of Thayer county land than to work as “a hand” for some of thelr nelghbors, or seek employment in the over-crowded cities It additional proof were needed of the fact that tillage Increases the rainfall, one has only to note the annually increasing volume of water in the Blue, the Sandy Rose and Spring creeks; the thousands of acres of growing corn and grain which are living witnesses of the truth of the state- ment that the rainfall increases as the cultivated land is extended. In conclusion, 1 would advise those who are always com- plaining of bad luck, who are waliting for something to turn up, who are always tired, or who expect to get something for nothing to stay away from Thayer county and Indeed from the whole western coun- try. There Is no room for them there— they are only In the way. Alexandria is located at the east part of the county. The town s pleasantly situ- ated on the north side of the Big Sand: Hero of P O HAVE lived through the form- ative days of the great west, when life meant strite and vio- lent with so many, as ploneer, plainsman, merchant and pro- moter, three times crossing the wilds to the Pacific coast by ox train, without 80 much as an encounter or ad- venture is the unique life experfence of Samuel R. Johnson, a leader among the earlier business men of Omaha. Mr. John. son, in the hearty good spirits of a man T years young" and successful, is enjoy- ing a visit to his sons living here “Adventure? Why I aidn't have any. 1 was too bu sald the old gentleman mildly. He smiled as he spoke, and his §00d natured countenance radiated the atisfaction of a long lite of hard work that had conquered. His years rest lightly. White haired as he is, with the line in his face that bespeak long experience with men and varying conditions, Mr. Johnson looks more the man just turning 60 than he who Is nearly the end of four score. “Of course, when I crossed way back there In the 60's, plenty of chance for wasn't what I wa: the plains there was trouble, but that looking for. “Why really I felt safer out there in the wilds, camped with the wagon train with thousands of Sloux roaming the prairie, than I would on the street of Omaha to- night. Those Indians were, not so bad as long as they were let alone. 1 have fre- quently had them come about the camp, but they never took anything that wasn't given to them, and they never offered to harm us." Mr. Johnsop mow has his homs in the sunny valley of Santa Clara, a few miles to the south of San Jose, Cal. His attach- ment for the golden west was formed in the days before he became of promince in the commercial affairs of the then young city of Omaha. He made his first journey into that far country from Missouri in 1863. That was 0 long ago that the dream- ers who suggested the possibility of a transcontinental rallroad were scoffed at 48 ilnsane. The tedious overland journey in the Sulsum valley not far from San Fran- clsco, Mr. Johnson, with & caln fastness ¥ : of purpose which the gold fever could not shake, settled down to farm “You couldn’t get rich in & day farming in Celifornia cven In those days re- marked Mr. Johnson, “but it was certain that the soll would produce something every season, while there were lots of gold hunters who starved to death.’ This observation is quite typical of the attitude of mind that has carried Mr Johnson so smoothly along his life jour- ney. For two years Mr. Johnson woed the soll of the Sulsun valley. Then he returned to the Missourl river valley, locating finally at Sidney, Ia, where he engaged in the mercantile business. Bleven years later he opened a wholesale grocery house In Council Bluffs. This marked the beginning of his commercial life here, which became so largely occupled with movements con- cerned with the development of Omaha. He took in D. M. Steele as a partner and the firm of Steele & Jobnson became widely known in the west. Alert to the possibilities of the growing city of Omaha this firm established a bouse on this side of the river in the course of the business developments of the day. The enterprise prospered and In the years that followed Mr. Johnson became interested in many projects. The first cable street car company was formed here In 1584 and Mr. Johnson be- came the president. The company erected the old power house at Twentieth and Harney streets. The cable company was absorbed by the horse car company, which in turn was taken over by the electric trac- tion company. “If you never ran a cable raflway com- pany, you don't know what griet 1s,” re- marked Mr. Johnson, sighing in the mem- ory of the struggles of the young concern. I think that you ean spend more money, st into more trouble and grow more gray bairs in the cable business than in any other form of investment. “At the same time we were In the In- tancy of the Omaha Water company. That was % project that my friend Nathan Shelton, an old timer, who came here with the Union Pacific, got me Into. There was some work about that, too, However, we g0t the water works established and it wasn't such a very bad financial transac- e SAMUEL R. JOHNSON, @iy eace Defies Crucible of Frontier Strife tion, either,” sald Mr. Johnson, with evi- atistaction Johnson was president of the first company. He was also president of the Nebraska National bank at its founding in 1882, Despite his numerous other activ- fties Mr. Johnson kept a hold on his wholesale grocery business, and all of his enterprises prospered except one. “But then, that was only an insurance company, anyway,’ says the old man cheerfully. “Fine experience, too. In 188 Mr. Johnson sold out his Omaha interests and went out to California, the country he had visited back in the ox team days. Down in the Santa Clara valley he owns a big fruit ranch. He lets the sun- shine and soll grow prunes and apricots with the aid of an army of empl “I'm good for a day's work yet, too, repiled, when it was suggestad that was taking life easy after his long and erduous experience in the world “Why, people don't know what work is like, nowadays; that is, real hard work Back In the big timber In Indlana, where 1 was born, we had to hack a field out of the forest before there was room to plant anything. That was work commerelal never saw a prairie until T was 16 yeers old, and that was just a stretch of Indiana prairie on the road to Lafayetts at that. Chop down an acre of timber. Then rick it up and burn it done, you will know work. Mr. Johnson saw a good deal of frontler life in his early days. His father, Isauc Johnson, removed to Towa Point, Mo., in 1M6, and there the young man saw an- other country in the making. There he helped to reduce a bit of the virgin land of the “Platte purchase” to the purposes of a farm. It was at Towa Point that the youth heard the call of the Pacilic coast and started on the long trek 10 the Sulsun valley. Three of Mr. Johnson's family, Frank B. Johnson, president of the Omaba Print- ing company; Mrs. Edward Wiliams and William Johnson, live here. His other son, $. E. Johnson, is on the frult ranch mear Ban Jose. ‘. when that is mething about From its fortunate location In the center of o large agricultural and stock raising district, it has made a large area of the country tributary to its business interests Just outside of the town the outskirts ot the timber stretch southward for the dis- tance of half a mile, giving a charm to the surrounding landscape. Belvidere is located six miles north ot the center of the county, on the St. Joseph & Grand Island rallroad. This town was 1aid out fn 1873 by the Nebraska Land and Town company. The town is situated but & short distance from the confluence of the Big Sandy and the Littie Sandy and there is in consequence some broken land in the immediate vicinity. However, but a short distance north and south of town, are some of the finest lands our state affords and here are farms that will do for a model for any country. Water 18 obtained at a dopth of fifty to sixty feot. Tame grasses, which have not been cul- tivated until the last five years, are now extensively raised. There are hundreds of fine groves of forést trees to be seen through the country and bearing orcharls are numerous. There is a large amount of grain and stock shipped from this point annually. Located on the south boundary of the county, partly on Kansas soil, is the town of Byron. For amount of grain, stock and produce shipped, it is not far behind some of the older and larger towns. It Is sit- uated on the “divide” between the Blue and Republican, and Is consequently n possesalon of & view that will be promis nent for many miles In every direction. Carlton is situated In the northwestern part of the county, on the St Joseph & Grand Islund road, two and one-halt miles | south of Fillmore county and seven miles east of Nuckolls county. The town draws trade from an area of wbout 150 square miles, while trade is brought here exclu- sively for about ninety-six square miles. The trade at this place is brisk the greater part of the year. There were shipped in one year from this station 597 cars of corn, 330 cars of other grain and fifty-three cars of cattle and hogs. After meking eareful Inquiry from farmers concerning season and average yleld for the last five years, we must say it will compare favorably with Tllinols and Towa, where success in agriculture fs never questioned. The village of Chester s near the south line of the county and about midway east and west. It fs situated on the B. & M. railroad and fs the south terminus of the branch to Hebron. The population is about 50. The town is finely looated on upland rolling prairie, and for a nieely built, well painted, and in every manner neat, this little place cannot be beat in the county. It has the trade of about seventy square miles of territory. Cattle, hogs and sheep seem to thrive well at all seasons of the year, and for evidence that the farmers are wide awake, your atten- tion is called to the fact that In one year there wero shipped from this station 300 cars of corn, fifty cars of other grain and elghty-five cars of cattle and hogs. Davenpori is very pleasantly located near the northwest corner of Thayer county, on the St. Joseph & Grand Island railroad, on a divide, which is beautifully undulating, with the Little Blue river on the south and the Big Sandy creek on the north, Settied mostly with people from Pennsylvania, Illinols, Iowa &nd a few Germans. All and all, it s one of the most select spots of Nebraska. To the south of the Little Blue fs a long stretch of very fine undulating county which 1s not quite so smooth as on the divide between the Blue and Sandy, but is very fine land and altogether desirable for {uming and stock raising, and is settled with Americans and Germaus. Go- ing north across the Big Sandy, you arrive at the southwest portion of Fillmore and Clay counties, which is most beautiful land for many miles in each direction, ana is settled with @ goed class of Americans and Swedes Deshler {s located on the Little Blue, six miles west of Hebron and is the cen- ter of a large and flourishing German settlement. The first German settler, J, .J Kern, came in 187 In 1877 a postoffice was established here. Tho village has a population of 300 and is & prominent ship ping point for a large amount of grain and live stock, Hebron, seat and principal town, is located in the geographical cen- ter of the county—in the broad and pic- turesque valley of the Little Blue river, Practically & young town in & young ste It has & population of wbout 2,000 in. habitants, and s noted for its beauty and thrift. It has a new and very beautiful court house, costing about §1500, The large two and three-story brick business blocks, fine residences, costly chureh edi- fices, excellent school bufldings, water works, electric lights and other lke im- provements show the energy and push of its people. Amcig the other enterprises, they have a water-power flouring mill with & capacity of 100 barrels per day. It has been truly styled and designated, the “Queen City" of the Little Blua. The name It has merited leads us to say that it is & beautiful little city in & prosperous and productive country and is inhabited by & noble, generous aud happy peopls, who extend a welcome to both small and great who wish to locate within her borders. Hubbel Is situated on the Burlington & Missourl River rallroad in the ewtreme south part of the county, seven miles from the east bountry, It contains about 4% iohabitants and is enjoylng the trade of & large extent (ubout eighteen miles square) of thrifty ecountry, The country in this vicinity ls drained by Rose ereek and fts tributaries, & stream which affords (Continued on Page Foun) the ecounty