Arago Precinct

Arago Precinct

The town of Arago gives the name to the precinct. This town was founded by a colony of Germans from Buffalo, Xew York, in the summer of 1858. Owing to its location on the ^Missouri river, where it had a boat service both up and down that stream, and its other flattering prospects as a town, the sale of town lots was quite lively. Judge C. H. Walther was the pioneer merchant of the place, antl there also was at the time Hon. Lewis Algewahr, who was then running a saw-mill, surveying the township, etc. Somerland was with the Burchards, Fredericks (Uncle Peter), the Neitzels, Nutzmans, Stock and Wirth among its citizens. The first and greatest attempt at a packing house was the pork-packing establishment conducted at this place, by Mr. Lewis Algewahr. As a grain market Arago stood second to no other place in the county in the early days. It had dry goods, drugs, meat market, pork-packing establishment, cooper shop, flour- and saw-mills, grain merchants, brewery, furniture store, jewelry, blacksmith, tin, and shoe shops, hotels, saloon, a singer hall, a fine brass band, etc.. etc., besides a jolly, good-natured population.

The precinct embraces some very fine land, and is well supplied with those essentials for farming purposes - timber and good water. The land in some portions of the precinct is a little rough, but is used as pastures. The population is now, as in the older days, largely German, as any one can see not only from the dialect and customs prevailing, but from the thrift and prosperity exerywhere prevailing.

The German settlement was first commenced by a colony from Buft'alo. to which we ha\e already alluded as founding the village of Arago in 1858. Rallying around the little nucleus formed at Arago, the settlement rapidly extended until it became a large and distinctive element in our population. Prior to the organization and location of the German colony, there was some settlement made in this precinct, but mostly from Missouri. The lands of this i)recinct being altogether on the Half-Breed Reserve, were allotted to half-breed Indians.

Among the early settlers in this \icinity were Houston Xuckols, Stephen Story, Steve Lyon Picotte, William R. Cain. Mr. Cain remained on his farm for many \ears an honored and honorable citizen, Ijut in later years reniined to balls Citv, where he spent his declining years. Houston Nuckols has passed from this stage of action "to that bourne from whence no traveler ever returns. '" Who among the old settlers can forget Houston Nuckols and his schemes? How he ruled the limited world in which he moved; how he carried on his real-estate transactions, much as boys would swap jack knives, and how, after a few years of active and, in many respects, successful strife with the world, he at last fell a victim to the fatal cup. St. Stephens, which was founded Ijy Nuckols and Story, flourished for a few years as a trading post and ferry crossing the Missouri, but was Anally absorbed by the more enterprising town of Arago. Many of the pioneers crossed on this ferry, with its captain, sometimes called "Pap Price."

The precinct made very little progress until the coming of the Germans from Buffalo, since which time it has improved steadily and rapidly until at the present time it is one continuous field of highly improved farms.

Winnebago Branch runs through this precinct from northwest to southeast, and the Half-Breed Branch from the north through the entire length of the precinct to the south, with many diverging branches that afiford an abundant supply of water.

The soil, location and exposure of the lands in this precinct are well adapted to the culture of all kinds of fruit. It must take first rank in this respect. The precinct is well supplied with schools in the hands of very competent instructors and as a consequence contains a highly intelligent class of people. The advantages of soil, water, etc., together with the energy and enterprise of the people, combine to make it a powerful community.

The first permanent settlement made in Richardson covmty was at a point now embraced within the limits of what is known as Ohio precinct or township.

During the summer of 1854 John Level settled at Archer Grove. He was the first white man who broke the solitude of this beautiful expanse of prairie wilderness: the first of a population now numbering many thousand people. He did not have time to sing "Oh! solitude, where are thy charms," for he was quickly followed by others and in a few months a settlement was formed and the town of old Archer laid off at which the seat of government was at once established.

The Half-Breed Reservation complication which arose about this time soon ruined the prospects of the new town, the seat of government departed, and with it the glory of Archer.

of Ohio township. Prior to the laying- out of old Archer and early in the year of 1855 Uncle Billy Goolsby located on Goolsby Branch at Goolsby Grove, where he at once inaugurated a vigorous war of extermination upon the wolves and wildcats of that section, which he prosecuted as long as a wolf or wildcat could be started within five miles of the premises, and where he lived for many years in the possession of one of the most beautiful and valuable farms in the county. At about the same time or perhaps a little earlier John F. Harkendorf settled on Muddy creek, near the present crossing of that stream, known as the Harkendorf bridge. He was probably the first German settler in the county and a fair representative of that thriving and prosperous class of our citizens.

These were among the first settlers of the county. In the spring of 1856 the Widow McElroy settled on McElroy Branch and gave name to that stream. Since that time, each succeeding year, saw an influx of immigration. The settlement of this township was for most part in the ordinary way, by people from different states and countries. In the northeast part of the township a settlement of Germans had been formed who, with their usual industry, rapidly improved their lands.

Within two years antedating 1870 the most important event in the settlement of this precinct was the advent of a large class of Dunkards. They were sober and industrious in habits, normal and upright in principle and possessing energy and intelligence and means, which made them ever useful and desirable citizens.

The natural resources and character of the land entitle it to especial notice. The soil is the best, being deep, rich and fine. From the location of the principal stream through the southern part of the township the lands nearly all lie to the south, causing grass and grains to start earlier than with any other exposure. It is well watered. The Muddy creek runs entirely through the southern part of the township. Three smaller streams empty into it from the north, affording abundant water in every section. These streams are all fed by unfailing springs of excellent soft water, and do not dry up in the dryest season. The lands lie smooth down to the water's edge, there being no bluffs or rough lands in the whole towaiship. The valley of the Muddy is from one to two miles wide and consists of first bottom lands. From the Muddy northward the land rises gradually to the north end of the precinct.

Muddy Precinct

]\Iuddy precinct is at present composed of a single township, witli two voting places, the one at Stella and the other at Shubert, and for convenience known as east and west Muddy. Formerly it embraced about onefifth the area of the entire county, including the Muddy creek for several miles and all north of that stream to the county line. As at present bounded it comprises a fine body of land on the north side of the Muddy and extending to the county line. Sardine branch and several other streams pen*"- trating it in various directions, afiford to this part of the county an abundance of good water. The soil, like that of most of the uplands of the county, is a rich, sand)' loam, well adapted to the culture of corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley and potatoes. The supply of timber within the precinct is not \ery good.

The first settlement of this precinct was made as early as 1858. About this time G. B. Patterson and C. Slagel located on Sardine branch : C. Van Deventer and the Wilkinson family on "Johnny Cake ridge," and the Hays family on Muddy creek. A large amount of lands in this precinct early fell into the hands of land speculators, who proved a curse to the country and much retarded the early and rapid settlement, holding their lands until the sweat and toil of the pioneer had enhanced prices and enabled them to obtain enormous returns upon their small investments. The lands are now among the best and command the highest prices paid for land in the county. The land warrants with which they were entered cost the speculator from seventy-five to eighty cents per acre. Of course the increased value was owing to the increased value made by the actual occupants, and it is not strange that all manner of expedients were resorted to. to oblige the capitalists to pay for a small portion of the improvements in the way of school houses and road taxes.

The large amount of these speculators' land for a long time accounted for the light populatiou of this precinct, but in time, like in all the country, this impediment was swept away and the precinct is now as well settled as any and as prosperous as the best.

The citizens of Muddy are intelligent and wideawake and have always taken an active interest in the political and material questions connected with the history oi our county.

The vote of the precinct has always been counted as being solid for tiie party of progress. Since the first settlement in 1858, schools have been maintained in the different neighborhoods of the precinct. In the earlier times mail facilities were poorly arranged and mail from this point was routed to cross the Missouri river and thence was carried north nearly to the Iowa state line, where it again crossed the Missouri at Aspinwall and thence to its destination in Liberty precinct.

Muddy is the home of two of the liveliest towns of the county, Stella and Shubert, the former in the extreme west and the latter in the extreme east part of the precinct, both having railway connection, the former on the Missouri-Pacific railroad and the latter on the Nebraska City branch of the Burlington railroad.

Porter Precinct

Porter precinct, named in honor of Colonel Porter, the first settler in this locality, is situated in the northwestern part of the county. It contains thirty-six sections of as fine land as Nebraska affords. There was early a scarcity of timber in this part of the country, but wherever settlements were made groves and hedges were planted so this deficiency was not long felt. The branches of the Little Muddy, a tributary of Muddy creek, waters the township.

The precinct settled slowly from the fact that large bodies of the land was held by speculators, who were slow to part with it; but in later times it got more and more into the hands of actual occupants, who speedily went to work in a way of making development of the same.

Dr. R. S. Molony, Sr., of Galesburg, Illinois, was the owner of one of these tracts containing some four thousand acres. This tract was put on the market in such a way as to prove profitable to the new owners and convenient to many persons of limited means, who were seeking homes. The owner, Dr. R. S. Molony, sold alternate sections in farms of eighty to one hundred and sixty acres on ten years' time at ten dollars per acre, with ten per cent interest. He rapidly found purchasers for a considerable portion of his land, and a live, energetic settlement of people was soon formed in that vicinity. His son, R. S. Molony, a very enterprising young gentleman, soon made a fine three hundred and sixty acre farm adjoining this tract and acted as agent for the sale of the remainder of the land. This land, which is accounted among the very best in Richardson county today, and readily sells for more than two hundred dollars per acre, was originally bought by the senior Molony with school script during war times for the very meager sum of but a few cents per acre.

One of the very earliest settlers in this part of the county was J. E. Crowe, who for a number of years carried on farming operations in this precinct on an extensive scale. About i<SCi8 Mr. Crowe sold the s,n-eater part of his fine tract of three or four thousand acres, and his fine farm, known and famed in the west end of- .the county as the "Crowe Farm" to Capt. W. T. Wilhite. who occupied it for many years and was ably assisted for a time in its cultivation by his brother, Hon. J. R. Wilhite, afterwards and for many years county judge of the county and now a resident of Falls Citv. About the same time a brother of Mr. Crowe - John Crowe - opened a fine large farm in the same neighborhood.

Barney Mullen, James Cornelius and J. Corwin Fergus and E. C. Hill, Sr.. were early and substantial settlers of this precinct and possessed of many hundred of acres of the finest land in the precinct, the two former of whom are still living residents of the county.

The prairie land of this precinct was exceptionally fine and smooth. The attention of farmers in this locality has heretofore been tinmed largel\- to the cultivation of wheat, which succeeds well.

The stock both of cattle and hogs of this precinct is of a superior quality, owing to the enterprise and intelligence of the leading farmers in improving breeds.

This locality, being remote from market, its growth was for a time greatly retarded; but this inconvenience was removed by the building of the town of Humboldt, which immediately, by its rapid growth, supplied the facilities for buying and selling so essential to successful farming. The improvements made have been generally of most substantial character and th*^ precinct is amply supplied with school houses and churches.

The postofifice at Monterev in the early days accommodated the people with mail facilities but in these later days the rural mail routes supply each farmer with the mail he receives.

Porter i)recinct is now in the forefront of the precincts of the county, having as small a percentage as any of unusable lands and is the home of some of the wealthy and most extensive farmers of the county.