Brief History of Dodge County copyright © 2000 Renee Bunck, Dodge County NeGenWeb Coordinator http://www.rootsweb.com/~nedodge As Told in Centennial Address From Address of H G Wolcott, Delivered at Centerville, l July 4, 1876 FIRST INSTALLMENT In the columns of the aged copy of the Fremont Weekly Herald, luckily found by the local carpenter, M A Mark, between the floors of a house once owned and occupied by the late pioneer, H P Beebe, whose name appears written upon the margin, there appears a "Centennial Address," purporting to have been delivered by the late H G Wolcott, at Centerville, Dodge county, July 4, 1876. Inasmuch as this address of the late Mr Wolcott's embraces in essence a brief history of the early settlement and growth of Dodge county, it cannot fail of being of an immense interest to everyone. With that belief, The Herald has decided to reprint this "Centennial Address," of which the first installment is here presented: Formation of Dodge County Mr President and Fellow Citizens of Dodge County: I do most heartily wish that you had chosen some other and abler person to address you on this occasion. But, sir, I believe that no citizen of the Republic who has a proper public spirit, will lightly refuse to perform a public duty of this nature, or will excuse himself therefrom on the ground of mere personal reluctance; and so, I stand before you in obedience to your call, to present without apology, however imperfect and faulty it may be, a grief sketch or outline of the formation, settlement, growth and present condition of this county. On the 21st day of November 1854, Hon T B Cuming, acting Governor of Nebraska Territory, issued his proclamation for a general election, for which purpose he divided the territory into counties and gave names to the same. Named After Iowa Senator This county was named in honor of A C Dodge, U S Senator from Iowa, and its boundary lines were of generous extent, beginning at a point on the Platte river over 20 miles west of Bellevue, thence west along the Platte river to the mouth of Shell creek, thence north twenty-five miles, thence east to the dividing ridge between the Elkhorn and Missouri rivers, and thence southerly to the place of beginning. The election was held at Fontanelle on the 12th day of December, 1854, eight votes being cast, and resulted in the choice of Dr M H Clark, as member of the territorial council, and Judge J W Richardson and Col E R Boyle, as representatives. So few were the settlers at this time, and so slight their hold upon the soil, that, during the session of the territorial legislature at Omaha in the winter of 1854-5, while the three members from Dodge county were sitting therein, their constituents at home numbered just two persons, viz: Col Wm Kline(still a respected citizen of Fontanelle) and a half-breed Indian by the name of Joe, of whom history contains only this mention, that he was at that time one half the resident constituency of the county and must have been, therefore, "a host in himself." The county at this time was as heavily officered as a French man-of-war or Artemus Ward's regiment of Brigadier Generals. First Legislators Able Men But these first legislators from Dodge county, though they could boast of hardly a constituent apiece, were men of ability and the councilman, Dr Clark, whose early death is a loss we may deeply regret, had a mind of unusual breadth and comprehension. Acting Governor Cuming, in his message to his first general assembly, urged their attention as one of the principal subjects of general interest, the Pacific Railroad. During the session a bill was introduced, chartering the Platte Valley & Pacific Railroad company, and on the 16th of February 1855, Dr Clark, as chairman of the committee on corporations, submitted thereon a report of such masterly ability, showing such a clear understanding of existing facts, and such far-sighted grasp of the future of this great enterprise, that, did time permit, I would gladly quote a few of its passages, both for their interest in themselves, and to show the insight and practical wisdom of the men who laid the foundation of our prosperous young state. But, for the sake of brevity, I content myself with quoting only the concluding paragraph, as follows: "In view of the comparative cost of the wonderful changes that will result, your committee cannot believe the period remote when this work will be accomplished, and with liberal encouragement to capital, which your committee are disposed to grant, it is their belief that before fifteen years have transpired, the route to India will be opened and the way across this continent will be the common way of the world. Entertaining these views, your committee report the bill for the Platte Valley & Pacific Railroad, feeling assured that it will become not only the basis for branches in Nebraska, but for surrounding states and territories." Dodge Without County Seat On the 6th of March, 1855, the legislature fixed the county seat at Fontanelle, where it remained until January 12, 1860, when that portion of the county lying east of the Elkhorn was cut off and attached to Washington county, leaving Dodge without a county seat. In February of the same year a vote of the people located the county seat at Fremont. In March 1867, Nebraska territory became a state, and that same year Logan precinct was restored to Dodge county and its name changed to Logan Creek precinct. After various changes, the present boundary lines were fixed, permanently , we hope, by an act approved February 25, 1876. They are on regular lines of government survey, except on the south, where the boundary for the greater distance is defined as the south bank of the Platte river. Estimating this irregular river boundary, I find that the area of the county approximates closely to fifteen full townships, or 540 square miles. It is of this territory, the present Dodge county, that my further sketch will treat. Honor to Early Pioneers On this glad "Centennial Day," when the broad stripes and bright stars" of our flag are floating in every breeze that stirs a leaf, from the surf-sounding shores of the Atlantic to the blue and placid waters of the Pacific - from the forests of Maine and the belt of Great Lakes to the glades of Florida and the tropical shores of the Gulf - when from rock-ribbed New England to golden California - from lake-jewelled Minnesota to the broad savannas of Texas, the sons and daughters of the Republic are gathered in exulting crowds; while a thousand cannon are belching thunder and sulphurous smoke from their grim throats, and ten thousand bells are clanging their iron tongues against their brazen sides in glad acclaim; as the eloquent story of the hundred years is voiced to the multitude by their chosen orators in every county and city, from the great exposition at Philadelphia to the remotest hamlets in the forests and on the prairies; as American citizens, we have a share in it all. Washington and Lincoln and all their great co-workers, and every wise statesman, every great inventor, every gallant soldier and seaman of the United States, belong to the whole nation, and belong to us as much as to those who dwell in sight of the white dome of the Capitol or of old Independence Hall or the monumental shaft of Bunker Hill; and we have a right today to thrill with gladness at every memory of the glorious deeds and noble men of the nation. But it is our special duty today to remember and honor the worthy settlers who did the pioneer work in this county, and begun to fashion it as one fair stone in the national temple. The story is not a tale of a century, but only of a score of years, for within that time the work has been done. Birdseye View of County Let us then imagine that twenty years ago today, at nine o'clock in the morning, an observer was nicely anchored in his balloon above the spot where the city of Fremont now stands. We will place him with his back to the sun and a powerful telescope in his hand, and consider his view of Dodge county. At his back is the low, broad valley lying between the Elkhorn and the Platte, covered with rank grass, through which an occasional gleam of a half-hidden thread marks the course of the Rawhide, which furnishes the secondary drainage of the valley; and a few broader streaks of reflected light mark the location of a lake or spreading slough. But here is no sign of civilized life or settlement in that direction. The main portion of our county has a descending slope from the northwest to the southeast, so that our observer, facing northwest, sees the landscape rising before him and looks directly upon its face. Its green undulations of upland, slope and valley are relieved by the darker fringes of timber which line its streams, and enlivened by millions of bright-hued flowers, which, like gems, adorn its bosom. It is a fair picture from the hand of God, with scarce a dint of man's footsteps upon it. Realization of a Dream On his right hand, sweeping round to the front, his gaze ascends the valley of the Elkhorn, whose doubling curves and deep bends give shelter to many a heavy grove of forest trees. Looking up Clark creek, Logan creek, and Cuming creek, which flow into the Elkhorn from the north, he sees in all their valleys and in the table lands between no mark of cultivation. Returning on the hither side by Pebble creek and Maple creek, the western tributaries of the Horn, and lingering as well it might on the perfect beauty of our own Maple valley, let us suppose that his eye rests for a moment on this spot where Centerville was not but is to be. Surely his imagination must have been wilder than ours in this day, to have roused in his thought the dream that within twenty years this enclosure would stand here, and that four successive and successful annual agricultural fairs would have been holden therein. First Settlement in County Near the mouth of Maple creek he discovers the first settlement made in this county. Here in April 1856, John and Arthur Bloomer, Thomas Fitzsimmons and Maurice Wogan, crossing from Fontanelle, had taken their claims, and early in May the Bloomers had broken twenty-five acres of prairie and planted it to sod corn. On our observer's left is the broad Platte, its swift waters rippling in the sunshine. Almost at his feet, but two miles west, lies the settlement of Mrs Wealthy Beebe, with her sons, John, Martin, and Charles, and her son-in-law, Abram McNeal, and family, who came here May 25, 1856, and had now a shanty, a corral for stock and some breaking, and had begun to build a log house. Looking up the valley to the spot where North Bend now stands, he sees a party of emigrants, twenty in number, unyoking their cattle from the wagons, gathering wood and bringing water to prepare a breakfast. They had, that very morning, twenty years ago today, arrived at the locality of their future homes. This party, originally from Scotland, had left Lake county Illinois, with the intention of settling in Kansas, but at Des Moines Iowa, learning more fully the state of the border troubles in Kansas, changed their purpose and determined to come to Nebraska. From Fremont Herald 02 Feb 1923 6:1,2,3 SECOND INSTALLMENT North Bend Pioneers There were ten adults, namely: George Young and wife, John Miller and wife, George McNaughton, William Miller, Alex Miller and Eliza Miller - now the respected wife of Mr W H Ely. There were ten children belonging to the party. Prior to this time there were a few settlers up the valley of the Platte, but only one of them was within the present limit of this county, Mr George Emerson had taken a claim some three weeks before, about five miles west of North Bend, and built a shanty and broken some eight or ten acres. Possibly our observer may have seen some military courter, to or from Fort Kearney, moving in rhythmic gallop along the valley; and a Mormon hand-cart train, crawling along the foot of the bluffs; some roving Indians on their ponies - but it is believed that no settler, hid in any nook or corner of the county, has escaped his sight and mention. We will let him come from his perch and have his dinner, whilst we glean some further items of settlement and growth during these past twenty years. Adventurous spirits were finding out the superior attractions of this section, and, though the land west of range nine had not been surveyed by the government, claims were taken under squatter law, and improvements begun. Laying Out of Fremont On the 12thday of August, 1856, a party of seven men stuck stakes for the town of Fremont. These men were James G Smith, E H Barnard, Robert Kittle, Seth P Marvin, John A Kountze, Robert Moreland, and George W Pinney. William E Lee, William B Lee, Leander Gerrard, Charles A Smith, Towner Smith, William and James G Bowman, and others, soon joined the settlement, and in October, 1856, Rev I E Heaton came with his family, settling in Fremont. Rev Heaton knew little of the place, but was attracted thither by its name, judging, as he said, "That a colony that would so name their town during that campaign, must be the right kind of people to settle with." A rival town settlement at the mouth of Shell creek, named "Buchanan," has not been equally prosperous. On Sunday, November 2, 1856, in the house of Seth P Marvin, Rev Heaton preached the first sermon in the county, and on the following Sunday he begun regular church services in the log house of Robert Kittle, near the west end of Military avenue. Martin, Henry and Chauncey Beebe and Eli Hager and their families settled west of Fremont in the fall of 1856, and some others came into the county. George J Turton was elected commissioner: Silas E Seeley, representative; Robert Kittle and George Young, justics of the peace. The people of Fremont went here to vote until the spring of 1858, when the claims of the North Bend Townsite company was jumped by John M Smith and M S Cottrell, the company having neglected to make the requisite improvements. Terrible Winter of 1856-7 As nearly as can be ascertained, about 100 persons spent the winter of 1856-7 in this county-and a terrible winter it proved. Beginning on the first day of December, with a driving snowstorm of great severity, for two months storm followed storm, with intervals of but two or three days between. The snow was two and a half to three feet deep on a level, and drifted entirely over the cabins, stables and haystacks. Some of the settlers''cattle perished in the storm and some were smothered in the stables, which were filled by the drifting snow. By applying strychnine to these carcasses, the settlers obtained very many wolf-skins and somewhat thinned out the ranks of these pests. In their rude cabins, hastily built, the settler were illy prepared for the rigors of such a winter, and the story of their hardships, and sufferings, and of their indomitable pluck, will never be fully told. Omaha was the nearest point where they could procure provisions, and for milling they had to go to Nishnabotna, Iowa. Perished in Snow Storm On the 2nd day of December, in that first fearful storm of the winter, Mr Steadman Hager, in attempting to drive from North Bend to his home west of Fremont, lost his way and perished in the storm, his death being first in the county. His remains were found the following April, and his were the first funeral services held in the county, Rev Mr Cooly, a Disciple minister, officiating. The first birth in the county was that of twin daughters to Abram McNeal and wife, August 8, 1856. The second birth was that of Seth Young, at North Bend, November 30, 1856; and on the 20th of December the mother died, leaving her infant only three weeks old. Her coffin was made of rough cottonwood boards (part of the house flooring, and the best that could be obtained), and she was laid to rest under the pitiless, driving snows of that howling winter. Here was the second death in the county-the third that of Seth P Marvin, who was drowned April 6, 1857, in crossing the Elkhorn near Fontanelle. The first marriage in the county was that of Luther Wilson to Miss Eliza Turner of Fremont, August 25, 1856; and this first bride in Fremont was the first woman who died there. Within the first five years eleven marriages are recorded. Early Indian Troubles To the difficulties of that first dreary winter were added dangers from the hostility of the Indians, who had a large village on the south bank of the Platte, about three miles from Fremont. The Indians who roamed over this county cannot be said to ever have really possessed it. A sort of joint ownership existed between the Omahas and the Pawnees, but the Omahas, ignoring any claim of the Pawnees had sold it by treaty to the United States. The Indians looked with ill favor on the settlers. In their superstition, they thought the white men had brought the snow and were "bad medicine." The Pawnees were much incensed and made incessant claims on the whites and threats against them. They specially claimed pay for all timber cut, and at one time gave the whites notice to leave within three days, or they would burn them out and take their scalps. The settlers sent James G Smith to Omaha for assistance. He obtained two boxes of army muskets and eight volunteers, who returned with him. Mustering all forces-some twenty-five men-the whites made the greatest military demonstrations possible, and passed the crisis in safety. Pawnee Friendly to Fremont The whites always assured the Indians that their "Great Father," Uncle Sam, would pay for everything and make it all right. Fortunately, ere long a treaty was made and their claim brought out. Finding the promises of the settlers thus fulfilled, the Pawnees became the firm friends of the Fremonters, and even in the Pawnee troubles in 1859, though they traveled through Fremont, going north, they did not begin depredations until they reached the settlements on Maple creek. The spring of 1857 brought quite an influx of settlers, who located at various points in the valley. Among them, in May, came Harland P Wolcott (a brother of the speaker), who was joined in August by O W Wolcott. Their claims were northwest of Fremont, at the foot of the bluff, adjoining the Elm Grove, claim of Frank Fox and brothers, which soon after passed to the hands of Mr John Batie(who came over from Fontanelle) and is now known as the Knoell place. Messrs O A Himebaugh and H C Campbell, at Jalapa, and Bingham and DeRay, on lower Maple were early settlers, but at dates unknown to the speaker. Messrs E H and L H Rogers, R W Hazen, Theron Nye, J J Hawthorne and others whose names do not occur to the speaker, were also among the early settler in 1857-8. Hard Straits of Pioneers In the fall of 1857 came the financial panic, which brought hard times to the whole country. The settlers here felt its full force and money became a thing almost unknown. The speaker well remembers the interesting letters received from the brother mentioned, giving graphic descriptions of affairs here, but concealing the desperate straits to which they were reduced. In 1857 those letters ceased, and we learned long afterward that they did no because he could no longer raise a single stamp to pay their transmittal. In 1857 considerable prairie was broken up and some sod corn and potatoes raised thereon. The corn was mostly of the kind known as "squaw corn," the seed being obtained from the Pawnees. The season of 1858 was so extremely wet that little was raised except sod corn and some soggy potatoes. These furnished the staple diet of the settlers for a year. One might stand here for hours relating the strange and true stories of odd straits to which the settlers were reduced at this time. Think of men trying to plow on a diet of cucumbers and milk! Of others coming in to meal after meal, when their best was a kettle of boiled potatoes and a little coarse salt-"only the fortunate ones being those who had both meal and potatoes at the same time. Many left for Iowa and farther east, seeking work and food. Pike's Peak Excitement The season of 1859 was a favorable one, and brought not only good crops, but the Pike's Peak excitement, which sent hundreds of men pouring up the valley, seeking the "New Eldorado." Many of them came back a few months later, bankrupt and disgusted, and some settled here. The business of freighting with ox-team to Fort Kearney, Denver and other western points, soon grew into large proportions and many of our citizens engaged in it profitably. In 1858 the townsite of Fremont was "entered." And lots were in the market for some years at $1.50 to $5, which have since sold at $100 to $1,000. In the fall of 1862 this county furnished about twenty-five volunteers to Co A of the Second Nebraska, a nine-months cavalry regiment, which under its colonel R W Furnas, garrisoned at Fort Randall and other frontier posts. First Railroads Built On the 24th of July, 1866, the Union Pacific railroad track reached Fremont. Immigration now began to flow in freely, and the past ten years our progress has been rapid and continuous. On the 12th of February, 1869, the BC & P RR made its junction with the Union Pacific at Fremont. The Elkhorn Valley RR was began November 6, 1869, and its first ten miles completed December 31, 1869. There are now 61.37 miles of railroad and an equal length of telegraph lines in the county. First Things in County The first postoffice in the county was established at Fremont in the spring of 1857, but no mail by public conveyance was received until July, 1858, when the Western Stage company put on a tri-weekly stage line from Omaha to Fort Kearney, delivering mails at Fremont and North Bend. There are now twenty postoffices in the county, seven of which received a daily mail. The first grist mill in the county was built by Harvey J Robinson in the summer of 1859, on Maple Creek, between the places of A A Himebaugh and J E Dorsey. If I am rightly informed, this man also built a mill on Logan Creek, where the Briggs Mill now stands, and a mill at Pebble, where Mr J B Robinson now has a mill. The first steam saw-mill was brought from Cleveland, Ohio, by M S Cottrell, John M Smith, James Humphreys and Alex Morrison, and put up at North Bend in July, 1857. In the spring of 1858 they added a small iron mill for grinding corn, but in the fall of that year a prairie fire burned them out. The first brickyard was established at Fremont in 1857 by William McCartney and E H Rogers furnished bricks for foundations, chimneys and wells for some time. Fremont Weekly Herald 09 Feb 1923 page 6:1,2,3 THIRD INSTALLMENT Schools Established Early The first day school was a private one, kept by Miss Charity Colson, at Fremont in the summer of 1858. The first public school was opened at North Bend, April 16, 1859 (or 1860 - the records were burned and recollections are conflicting) by Miss Mary E Heaton, who had nine scholars. Her wages were $1.50 per week and board - the district drawing $11.20 public money. In 1860 there were eight public schools: One in North Bend, by Miss Mary E Heaton; one at Fremont by Miss Helen McNeal, and one between those two at Timberville by Miss Charlotte Heaton. In 1861 a fourth was added at Jalapa. The first church organized was the Congregational church at Fremont, August 2, 1857, with two members, Rev Isaac E Heaton, pastor. The second was the ME Church at Fremont in 1858, with fifteen members, Rev Jacob Adriane pastor. The first church building was fitted up by the Congregational society in Fremont in 1861. There are now fourteen church edifices in the county and about twenty church organizations. There are twenty-eight Sunday schools, enrolling 1,300 scholars, and having 1,530 volumes in their libraries. Their expenses last year were $590, and nearly 9,000 Sunday school papers were distributed in them. A large amount of good work at very little expense. Herald Was First Daily Paper On the 24th of July, 1868, the Fremont Tribune, edited by J Newt. Hays, was first issued. In August 1871, the Weekly Herald was established, William T Shaffer, editor. This paper soon passed into the hands of Mr R D Kelly, who, on the 1st of March 1872, began a daily issue, which is still sustained. Since the 24th of May, the Tribune has also issued a daily. The first agricultural fair was held on this spot in the fall of 1872. In closing this account of the formation and settlement of Dodge county, and of the beginning of things therein, I desire to thank various gentlemen for information kindly furnished, and especially Dr L J Abbott of Fremont, from whose valuable collection of historical facts and incidents I have been allowed to select freely. We will now present some statistics of the progress and present condition of the county.: 309 People in County in 1860 The populations in 1860 was 309, of whom 135 were under twenty years of age, leaving only 174 adults. There were 184 males and 125 females. Two hundred and forty-one were natives of the United States and sixty-eight foreign born. In 1870 the population was 4,212, and the valuation of property, real and personal, was $2,776,000; taxation, state and county, $74,319. Public debt $170,000. The basis of valuation and assessment being now much lower than in 1870, our valuation this year is $2,390,681.25 (exclusive of railroad property), being nearly $287 to every person in the county. The population by precincts in 1870, was as follows: Noted in order: Precinct, Total, Native and Foreign. Fremont 1,708 1,127 576 Logan 728 281 442 Maple 456 319 137 North Bend 809 613 196 Pebble 521 216 305 Totals 4,212 2,556 1,656 Of native born, 575 were born in Nebraska; 361 in New York; 302 in Ohio; 265 in Illinois; 209 in Pennsylvania, and 120 in Iowa. Of foreign-born, 854 were born in Germany; 200 in Sweden and Norway; 123 in Ireland; 103 in England and Wales; 89 in British America, and 73 in Scotland. The population by the assessor's census this year was 3,332. Its activity has not been tabulated. Some Early Day Statistics Of the 345,600 acres of land in this county, I estimate that fully one-third lies in the valleys of its streams; that at least 85 per cent of it is good tillable land, and nearly all the rest valuable for pasturage and timber. In 1870 we find there were 25,392 acres of improved land, something over one- third of the whole. In the same year the value of farms was $15,209,300; of farm products, $150,505; of livestock,$327,276. In 1876 we find 1,5203 farmers cultivating 112,700 acres, nearly one-third of the whole, and about 75 acres apiece. Bushels of wheat in 1869, 86,181; corn, 123,468; oats 116,252; barley, 4,146; potatoes, 15,927; pounds of butter, 9069; cheese, 3,300. Since then the increase in acreage and bushels of grain has been prodigious. The shipment of grain from this county the past year was estimated at over 1,000,000 bushels, while enormous quantities of corn yet remained in store. The number of horses in this county in 1860-344, of cattle in 1866, 1380; 1868, 802, of cattle in 1868, 1,623; 1870, 1,382, of cattle in 1870, 6,607;1875, 3800, of cattle in 1875, 7,640; 1876 4,228. Facts About Early School In 1861 there were 103 children of school age (5 to 21) in this county, and 70 of them attended in the four schools then existing. The total resources for that year were $330. In 1868 we find 559 children of school age and 16 school districts formed. In 1870 we find 1,100 children of school age, of whom 415 attended in the 14 public schools taught, and 40 in the private schools. School Figures of 1875. At present there are sixty-two school districts and two fractional ones. Of 2,635 children between five and twenty-one years of age, 1,910 attended the public schools the past year, being of males 73 per cent; of females, 67 per cent. Number of certified teachers, 32 males and 51 females. Their average wages per month were for males, $43.60; females $35.81, Lowest wages paid male teacher, $25; females, $22. Highest to male teacher, $132.22; to female teacher, $70. No districts had less than three months school, while twenty-seven had six months or more. Average in all districts, five months and eight days. There are in the county sixty frame school houses and one of brick. Thirty- seven of them are furnished with patent desks and seats, and twenty-eight with apparatus, such as maps, globes, etc. All but six have blackboards. Am ashamed that sixteen are as yet unprovided with necessary outhouses. School property is valued at $50,000. The total receipts of the year were $28,225.84. The expenditures were $27,700.74. Total indebtedness of districts, $12,612.33. District taxes for teachers' wages amounted to $10,751.49. The average cost of tuition for each pupil was $7,926. One private school, with twenty-five scholars, in not included in the statistics. Trade of County Prospers We find in no part of our prosperity more cause for rejoicing than in the progress of our common schools. Their most pressing need is for more thorough qualification on the part of their teachers. The trade of the county in lumber, agricultural implements, flour and live stock reaches large aggregates. Little Hooper alone shipped in 1875, 600 carloads of wheat, 25 of corn, 12 of flour, 10 of cattle and hogs and five of butter and eggs. But enough of statistics. If our observer of twenty years ago should fly his balloon today as then, and behold the beautiful city beneath, with its tasteful homes and busy streets, its churches and schools, its stores and banks and shops, its hotels and factories and warehouses; if, looking up the Elkhorn, he sees Hooper and Scribner, which, within two years have sprung into being and importance, North Bend, which within the past year has taken a new start in life; if he glances over the entire county, with its fields of waving grain and growing corn and pasturing herds, its comfortable farm houses in sheltering groves, bridges over its streams, and school houses dotting its prairies - can any word of his or mine do justice to the changes in the scene? Let us leave him poised there in wondering silence. And now we must close our story; its omissions are many, and it contains, perhaps, some errors. Many names worthy of honor are unmentioned. Most of the men and women who were pioneers in this county are yet living among us, still active in the public and private duties of life. In days when the car of progress moved slowly, they put their shoulder to its wheels, and now they behold it rolling rapidly on a broad and beaten track. In comfortable homes, with well-earned competence, and surrounded by the institutions of civilization, they are enjoying the first reward of their labors. All honor today to the pioneer settlers of our county; and largest, most grateful honors to the Fathers of the Republic - those pioneers who not only subdued the wilderness, but wisely laid the foundations of an empire in liberty and equal rights. Noted in the Fremont Weekly Herald 16 Feb 1923 page 6.