Elijah Filley Stone Barn

The village of Filley is a station thirteen miles out from Beatrice on the Burlington line of railroad. It is situated in the midst of a fine section of the county and since its founding has been the center of a wealthy farming community. It is located on the northwest quarter of section 28, in Filley township. It was founded by Elijah Filley, the owner of this tract of ground, in the spring of 1882 at the time of the Tecumseh-Auburn branch of the Burlington Railroad was constructed. The plat of the village was filed for record by the incorporators, Elijah and Emma Filley, April 22, 1883.

Passage source: History of Gage County, Nebraska; a Narrative of the Past, with Special Emphasis Upon the Pioneer Period of the County's History, Its Social, Commercial, Educational, Religious, and Civic Development from the Early Days to the Present Time, published 1918.

The first mercantile establishment in Filley was the general merchandise store of Lewellen & Axtell. This was followed by a hardware store belonging to Charles G. Dorsey, of Beatrice, but managed by John W. Wright, who later acquired the stock by purchase from Dorsey. Both these pioneer merchants, Lewellen and Wright, remained in business in Filley for many years and both amassed sung fortunes. Lewellen is now a prominent citizen of Thedford, Thomas county, Nebraska, and Mr. Wright died a few years ago, deeply mourned by his entire community. Dr. I. N. Pickett, now of Odell, was the first physician to locate here, though Dr. L. D. Boggs, now of Oklahoma City, who had settled on a farm in that neighborhood in 1874, had practised his profession as a physician continuously from that date and for many, years thereafter, in Filley and its vicinity. His son. Dr. Charles S. Boggs, is the present resident physician.

Passage source: History of Gage County, Nebraska; a Narrative of the Past, with Special Emphasis Upon the Pioneer Period of the County's History, Its Social, Commercial, Educational, Religious, and Civic Development from the Early Days to the Present Time, published 1918.

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Read the whole chapter on Filley Township - 906 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.