As I passed through Grant (population 1,197), Nebraska, on Highway 61, I noticed a City Park with a nice Veterans Memorial and an unusual painting on the sides of a building,
Just down the street from the park was an old car dealership building that at one time had Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick franchises. Nowadays that many franchises would never be possible at one dealership, but back in the 1950s, multiple car franchises at one location in small towns were not uncommon.
Parked in front of the building was what appeared to be a customized 1949 Chevrolet 2-Door Fleetline Deluxe. It is difficult to tell the exact make and year of the car because the original chrome trim, grill, bumpers, headlight rims, door handles, hood ornament, and wheels have been removed or replaced, and lake pipes have been added to the sides of the vehicle.
Imperial (population 2,068) is known as "a town on the move." The town was originally built on land donated by Thomas Mercer and M.J. Goodrich. Free lots were given to anyone who would put up a permanent building and the town of Imperial was started.
When the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad reached Imperial, it missed the town. The Lincoln Land Company proposed moving the town and gave free lots to anyone that would move their building to the "Railroad Addition." Nearly all of the buildings were moved to the present location and the town's business district was established. The first courthouse was built in 1889.
In front of the current courthouse there is a nice veterans memorial on the front lawn.
The historic Water-Powered Mill in Champion (population 115) is located adjacent to the Frenchman River and is the oldest functioning water-powered mill in Nebraska. During the summer months the mill is open for tours, but the mill is closed for the remainder of the year.
South of Imperial there was a historic marker by the side of the road explaining that in 1944 German POWs were sent to a camp near here to help farmers harvest corn. Seven farmers employed 44 Germans who harvested over ten thousand bushels of corn that year.
A short distance away there was a collection of Ford tractors in a farmer's front yard. Ford N-series tractors were built between 1939 and 1952. The 9N model was the first tractor to incorporated the Harry Ferguson three-point hitch system, a design that is still used on most tractors today.
When driving into the town of Benkelman (population 821) I noted a beautiful American Flag mad of concrete materials in front of the VFW/American Legion building. I also drove by the Dundy County Courthouse, historic Zorn theater, and the Dundy County Museum. The Museum was reported to have a great soda fountain, but the museum was not open. I had to settle for a drink of cold water.
South of town there was a historic market at a site where General Custer was attacked at dawn on June 24, 1867, by a band of Indian warriors led by Pawnee Killer, Pole Cat, Fire Lightning, and Walks Underground. Custer's troops fought their way out of the battle, but later Captain Hamilton and forty troopers pursued a decoy war party and rode into an ambush seven miles to the north.
Nature's Gift Springs are located east of Benkelman. A rest area was first built at the springs in 1930 by Benkelman citizens to benefit motorist traveling along what was then Nebraska Highway 3 (now US Highway 34). After a 1935 flood destroyed the rest area and part of the highway, in 1941 the road and rest area were rebuilt at the current location. Then in 1970, the road was once again relocated approximately a half-mile to the north. The springs have now been mostly forgotten and motorist passing the area no longer stop to rest their weary feet in the cold spring water. Actually, there was now very little cold spring water in the retention basin where I could rest my weary feet.
On the west edge of Stratton (population 310) there was a historic marker describing the Leavenworth & Pike's Peak Express Trail Station Number 18 that was located just to the southwest. On June 2, 1859, Horace Greeley was on a stagecoach to Denver when they passed through here and he later wrote that "I would match this station and its surroundings against any other scene on our continent for desolation." Obviously, Greeley had not yet been to northern Nevada.
The Weyl Service Station in Trenton (population 516) was constructed in 1921 and is now part of the Hitchcock County Museum. As I was driving out of town I noticed an old abandoned railroad depot that was in front of some modern metal grail silos. Quite a contrast.
On August 3, 1873, the last great battled between the Pawnee and Sioux Indian Tribes occurred when a Sioux war party of over 1,500 warriors led by Two Strike, Little Wound, Charging Bear, and Spotted Tail attacked a band of about 700 Pawnee while they were hunting buffalo near this location. The battle was considered to be the bloodiest attack by Sioux in Pawnee history. Over 150 Pawnee warriors, women and children were killed. The death toll would have been higher, but a company of cavalry happened upon the battle and the Sioux retreated.
In 1930 a monument was constructed at Massacre Canyon to commemorate the battle site. The obelisk weighs 91 tons, is 35 feet high, and has a base of 9 feet.
I stopped to take a picture of the water tower in Hayes Center (population 224) and could not help but notice a second tower located just to the north. Upon closer inspection, I found that the second tower was equipped with speakers that could be used in the event of an approaching tornado. There were a lot of speakers, so they must have covered every possible angle.
Culbertson (population 534) was the site of a trading post and then became the county seat when Hitchcock County was formed in 1873. The town consisted of a store, blacksmith shop and post office until 1875 when thousands of Texas cattle were brought into the area. It was the only town in the area, so it grew quickly. Then in 1881, the railroad arrived and thousands of homesteaders flocked into the county and displaced the ranchers with small farms. Over the years many of the small farms have been absorbed into larger farming operations.
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