Westerville Township

Westerville Township

was given the place because of a near-by bridge which the settlers had built across the creek and which was constructed of elm logs taken from the canyons. Other business men located there that winter and the following spring, and in honor of the first resident, James Westerv-elt. the new town was christened Westerville. It was here that Custer county's first newspaper, the Custer County Leader, was born, on. June 13. 1881, with George Trefren, publisher, and Samuel G. Beebe. editor. The Leader continued at Westerville until 1883, when Mr. Beebe moved with it to Broken Bow, where the county seat had been located the previous fall. Mr. Beebe continued to edit the Leader until 1888, when he was appointed postmaster of Broken Bow, by President Harrison. The Leader fell into tlie hands of the Central Nebraska Bank on ( )ctober 26th of that year. It was for a short time edited by J. H. Inman, then by R. H. ]\Iiller, after which the plant was leased to Jake Horn, of Callaway, and W. O. Chapman, of .Ansley. Fred S'hafifer succeeded Horn and Chapman, as editor. Mr. Shaffer, after a few months' experience, discontinued the publication and moved to Denver, where he continued in the newspaper business. He invested in mining stock that in a few years made him rich. The frequent changes in management went against the Leader and the material was sold to other offices.

The first newsi)a]>er published in Broken Bow was founded, by Robert H. Miller. June 29, 1882. Mr. Miller had been in the newspaper business at Wood River, Hall county, Nebraska. In transferring his plant from Wood River it was freighted across the country, nearly 100 miles, by wagon. The town of Broken Bow had been platted only a few weeks previously. For lack of lumber or railroad facilities, and the great distance from any ])oint that lumber could be procured, the first office Iniilding for the h'epiil'lieai} was built of sod. on the corner now occupied by the Broken Bow State Bank, northwest of the Public Square. Tlie building was occupied by the

The Repuhliean continued luider the management and control of its founder until March 3, 1887. On that day the plant was purchased by D. M. Amsberry. who at that time was serving his third term as county superintendent of schools of Custer county. The office was continued in the sod building until July of that year, when it was moved to its new quarters in the Custer Block, which was built by Trefren, Talbot, and Amsberry. In later years the Republican, under its new management, was owned by a stock company, and its equipment was enlarged by the purchase of the type and machinery of the Broken Bozi' Times, a Democrat paper established by George Trefren and Sam INIeserauli. The stock company was finally discontinued and the stock taken over by Mr. Amsberry. who continued as editor and publisher of the paper until 1''14. It was under his management of the Repi(blican that a campaign against the licensed saloon was inaugurated, in the spring election of 1888, and continued from year to year until the open saloon was voted out of Broken Bow. During the years of the saloon agitation, the Republican was strongly opposed to the saloon business. In 1914 the ownership of the Republican jjassed into the hands of a young man by the name of Norman Parks, who after a few months turned the plant back to Mr. Amsberry. A few months thereafter the plant was sold to E. C. Shea, who continued its publication until the spring of 1916, when he sold the plant to James K. Hewitt, of Alliance, who is the editor and publisher of the paper at this time. It is now the oldest newspaper in the county.

Mork I'Apers For Westicrvii.Le

Tlie H'estcr-iille Times was started at Westerville in 1883, by C. II. Dalrymple. The jiajier was of short life and after a few months the ]ilant was moved to Nonpareil, a town in the northwestern part of the state. The third jiaper. and fourth in Custer county, to be published at Westerville. was the Jl'esterrillc Echo, whi.-h was started in 1884. by a young

Englishman named Knox. Air. Knox soon became tired of journalism, and disposed of the Echo to James Westervelt, who put his son Eugene in charge. In 1886, on the occasion of the building of the B. & AI. Railroad up the Muddy valley, the village of Ansley was platted and established by the railroad company, and the Echo was one of the institutions moved to the new town, where Eugene Westervelt had full charge of it.

Now Comes Axslev

In April, 1887, the paper was sold to J. H. and W. O. Chapman, two practical young newspaper men, who came from Cambridge, Illinois. The name of the paper was changed to the Ansley Chronicle, and it was published by the Chapmans until 1895, when it passed into the hands of Tom Wright, a young Scotchman who was then but eighteen years of age. Mr. Wright continued to publish the Chronicle until 1912, when he was appointed postmaster at Ansley. by President Roosevelt. He then disposed of the paper, to A. H. Barks, who consolidated it with the Argosy, which had been founded by C. H. Hargrave.

Later on the Ansley Argosy was purchased from Barks by Harris & Maltman. In a few months Maltman retired from the business, and the publication was continued by N. A. Harris until 1914, when the plant was destroyed by fire. As Tom Wright had established the Ansley Herald about this time, no efifort was made to rebuild the Argosx plant, thus leaving the town, as it had been for several years, with but one newspaper. Mr. Wright continued its publication until June, 1918, when he sold the plant to James Wallace, who is editor and publisher of the paper at this writing.