Hayes Springs
Franklin County, Nebraska
March 11, 2006
Hayes Springs still exists today. It is located in Oak Grove Township in Section 2 right where the railroad tracks
come close to the Republican River. The actual legal for the area I think would be the NE1/4 of the NW1/4, Section 2,
Township 1 North, Range 15 West of the 6th P.M. This is just south and west of where the Franklin County Fairgrounds
are located.
The area was owned by a Robert J. E. Hayes. When the railroad came through, they built up the tracks along this
area because of the water saturation in the area. Even today there are 20 to 30 small springs that just bubble
up out of the ground. The largest spring runs about 10 inches deep and 18 inches wide. The small springs all
feed into it and within a couple hundred feet they run directly into the Republican River.
The land around the immediate Hayes Springs area has been sold and now the area is surrounded by private land
owners with no road access. The Corp of Engineers keep up the actual area of the springs at this time. They have
made a rest area for people canoeing down the Republican. There is a fire pit, an outhouse and a couple picnic
tables. The local Boy Scouts use this as a place to camp. The only access is by canoe or by walking along the
railroad tracks. Of course with the Republican River as low as it is, you could walk the river to get to it too.
In June 2005 a group of science students from Educational Service Unit #11's Summer Honors Program (a two-week
school for selected advanced kids in a six county area) came and tested the water in the Springs. It checked out
to be very clean and approved for drinking.
It’s interesting to note that Hayes Spring has never went dry. Even during the dirty 1930s there was always water
in Hayes Springs.
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Re-Posted 2008