Nemaha Precinct

Nemaha Precinct

It was most fitting that one of the precincts of the county should bear the name of the great river which traverses and drains the county from one end to the other, the Great Nemaha river, mentioned by the first white men to explore the country, as they passed by on the Missouri and known to the Indians for centuries before.

Ne-ma-ha is an Indian name and the word belongs to and is a part of the language of the Omaha Indians of this state. The tribe is now on a reservation north of the city of Omaha in this state and that city was named in their honor.

Henry Fontenelle, a descendant of the early French Indian fur traders and related to the Omaha tribe of Indians, in his writings of the word Nemaha, says: "Ne-ma-ha": Name of Nemaha river, meaning "Omaha's river." From this it would seem that the prefix "Ne" before "maha" indicated the possessive, meaning "river of the Omahas." Whether this trilje of Indians ever had any connection with this part of the state is more than we are able to say, but from a perusal of the earliest maps obtainable, always will be found the name "Xemaha" in reference to the river so well known in Richardson county.

Nemaha is one of the best watered townships in the count\ . The S<nith Fork of the X^emaha runs through the entire northern part of the precinct, and Honev, Rattlesnake, Easley, and Four Mile creeks all empty into the

Nemaha from the south. Portions of the precinct afford very fine farming land, while some parts are rough, but all can be used for grazing. There is an abundance of stone in this vicinity, affording cheap and desirable ijuilding material.

In the early days a flouring and grist mill and postoffice at Well's mills, accommodated the community of that part of the county with the staff of life and mail facilities.

The Wells family of that precinct established the mills aliout i860 and were among the first settlers of that locality. David Barrow was a one-time proprietor of the mills. Hon. O. C. Jones was one of the early settlers of that region. There was a population in 1870 of about four hundred within the limits of the precinct, and about si.\t\- improved places or farms.

Colonized By Swiss Immigrants

The many hills, winding streams and sequestered valleys of Nemaha and Speiser precincts proved an incentive to the rugged and honest mountaineers of Switzerland in the pioneer days, and many of them with their characteristic love of freedom and industry, settled among the hills and breaks of a wilderness between the Nemahas, where few of the native born would have cared to undertake the task of making homes. Most of the dauntless pioneers who first settled along the state line in these precincts have long since passed to their reward, leaving behind to the younger generation the legacy of rich homes, nestling in sheltered valleys that would be the envy of an old world prince.

Among the early settlers of this precinct were the Wittwer brothers, John and Gottlieb, soon to be followed by their other brothers, Frederick, David and Christian, and William Wrighton, who came in the late fifties. The farm homes at that time were few and far between. Middleburg ( in the edge of Speiser) was in full bloom as a town, with a sawmill owned by Peter Emeigh and a store run by a Mr. Tindale. The sawmill and store moved away and left nothing but a postoffice, which, with a town hall used for dancing and social entertainments, remained for years. The early settlers thought that the\- would always have all the range for cattle that the\ would need, but in a few years the range was fenced into well-improved farms. Salem was the nearest town, but two or three trips each year had to be made to St. Joseph for clothing and implements. During the year 1868 the first school district of tlie precinct as organized three miles .s(|uare, known (14) as district No. 70, or the "Rattlesnake District." This district has always remained as originally laid out. The residents of this district made a "bee" and built a log school house near its center.

A subscription was taken up for the floor, doors and windows. The seats and desks were home-made. Charles Nelson taught the first school for twenty dollars per month and "board around." Twenty pupils were all that were enrolled. The first school board was composed of John Wittwer, Mr. Rodgers and William Wrighton. In 1879 the present house was built and furnished with all modern conveniences. The school population has grown until there has been as many as eighty in attendance and the teacher's wages have kept apace until fifty dollars is paid.

In 1873 a church was organized in the old log school house, that has been well attended ever since, and during the summer of 1895 a new church, twenty-eight by forty-five feet, was built, which is known as the Reformed church.

It is impossible at this time to give a complete and accurate list of the earlv Swiss pioneers of this precinct, but among those prominent and whom we now call to mind were, besides those enumerated : M. VonBergen, Julius Schmitt. Gottlieb, John and Fred Marmott, S. C. Duryea, John O. Stalder, Charles Dankmeyer and Frederick Feldman.

Porter Precinct

The storv of the organization of Porter precinct is briefly told in the following minutes copied from the record of the commissioners court :

Petition to organize and establish a Voting Precinct in Township Three range Fourteen signed by Twenty-six voters was presented to the Board of Commissioners, said voting place to be at the house of T. Workman and known as "Porter Precinct." all of which was granted by the Board. - From page 27 of Minute Book No. i of the records of the county clerk's office of Richardson countv.

Precinct Population At Different Dates

Reference to the charters of these cities discloses the fact that authority was jjenerally vested in the city council, consisting of a mayor and three aldermen ; a recorder, assessor, marshal and treasurer, all electixe officers being chosen for a term of one year, b\' the voters of the entire \illage, the powers of these officers iieiug s]jecified in detail. The maxnr was ex-officio police judge and the marshal, the officer of the court. The powers conferred were regulation of health, order licensing of various business and entertainments by an occupation tax, establishing of streets and alleys, and the fixing of penalties for violation, b'unds were raised by selling at public auction by the marshal of lots upon which delinquent taxes were due and deeds for same were executed by the marshal or mayor. Under such charters the city government was allowed ' to lx)rrow money for any purpose and in any amount, when authorized to do so b\- a two-thirds majority of the legal voters assembled in a regularly notified town meeting. (General incorporation acts passed by the state Legislature in 1864 and 1869 made an end of the special legislation granting municii)al charters to Nebraska cities and villages. While succeeding .sessions of the Legislature have made many changes in the laws, yet the early plan of reposing authority in the ma\or and council has largely remained.

Municipal Debt Population And Industrial Statistics

The total population of Richardson county, according to the 1910 census, is 17,448, of which 81.3 per cent is reported as rural. The density of the population is given as twenty-six per square mile. The rural population is uniformly distributed throughout the county. There has been a slight decrease in the population since 1900.

Falls City, the county seat, with a reported population of 3,255, is located in the southeastern section at a junction of two railroads, and is a distributing point for farm implements and supplies. Humboldt, Rulo, Stella, Verdon, Salem, Preston, Dawson, and Shubert are other towns of local importance. Straussville is a, railroad point. Barada and Nim City are small inland towns.

Richardson county is well supplied with railroads, few points beingmore than nine miles from a railroad station, except in the northeastern part of the county, where the greatest distance is about thirteen miles. The Missouri Pacific (Omaha and Kansas City line), crosses the county from north to south, giving direct connections with Omaha and Kansas City. The main line of the Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy from Denver to Kansas City crosses from east to west, and gives direct access to the markets of Lincoln, Denver, and Kansas City. The Nebraska City line of the same system extends northward from Salem and terminates at Nebraska City. From Rulo the Atchison and Rulo branch extends southeastward into Kansas. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific (Horton branch) tnuches the extreme southwestern corner of the county.

There are many excellent graded roads through the county, including the Omaha-Kansas City highway. Most of the roads follow section or land lines. All the roads are of earth, and little attention is given to the minor roads. The more important highways are dragged as .soon as the ground permits after each train. There are no toll roads.

Rural mail delivery and telephone lines reach practically all parts of the county. Most of the public schools are well kept, and are accessible to all communities.