The Territory of Nebraska was created out of the former territory of
Missouri, then known as the Indian country. Up until 1885 the territory
now within the limits of Logan County was known as Unorganized Territory.
The law placed it within the jurisdiction of Custer County.
Logan County was organized in the year 1885 with the same boundaries it has
today. A group of men left Lincoln to look over the unorganized territory,
with the view of organizing a county and establishing a county seat. They
expected to make a fortune selling town lots. After looking over much territory
they concluded that the valley near Hoagland was what they wanted, and through
their efforts the territory was organized into Logan County. As the county
seat location chosen was only five and one-half miles from the Custer County line,
they must have a small county and twenty-four square miles was the smallest
area which could be legally organized.
About one-third of the land in the county is used for farming, and the rest
is grazing land, the southern edge of the sandhills.
The South Loup River rises in Logan County, near the homestead of the late
Judge Hogeboom. Some of the finest prairie hay land in the state is along this
river and it was here that the first settlers located.
On April 15, 1885, R. E. Haskell was appointed Special County Commissioner by
Gov. James W. Dawes. Commissions just the same as the above were issued to
C.D. Schrader and Willard Ginn. Charles S. Well was appointed Special
County Clerk.
Commissioners called a special session to hold election of County and
Precinct officers. Elections were specified to be held in Logan Precinct
for the east half of Logan County, and at the house of Frank Hogeboom on
July 25, 1885. Special election was held for the location of the location
of the County Seat. Sixty-nine votes were cast for Section 5 and fifty-one
votes cast for Logan. Section 5 became the location of the county seat
and the naming of it left to Messrs. Gandy Brothers, owners and builders
of the same.
The first officers elected to carry on the business of the county were
Commissioners, I. N. Froman, Riley E. Haskell, Herber A. Chapin; Clerk,
Charles S. Wells; Treasurer, W. L. Newkirk; Judge, F. R. Hogeboom; Surveyor,
Perry Newburn; Sheriff, J. B. Doan; Justice of the Peace, Richard Hoagland.
Settlers had been coming into the territory prior to its organization; and
with the formation of Logan County, promoters were so sure that they could get
the county seat that they built a spacious two-story frame building to be used
as a courthouse. There were, however, several other settlements in the
county ambitious to become the seat of government. One was in Dorp precinct
near the homestead of Judge Hogeboom; another in the southeast part of the
county on what is known as the Garfield Table. Leaders of these settlements
decided to bring their forces together and defeat Logan by starting a new
town to be known as Union, which was to be located on a Mr. Lewllyn’s
pre-emtion. However, Jim Gandy of Broken Bow heard of the new town that
was to be started and told the leaders if they would name the new town
Gandy, he would move from Broken Bow, bring in some business men, and
promote the town. He had some badly needed money to invest, so the
new location became Gandy.
When the county was organized the building known as Kerr’s Hall at Logan was
used as offices for the 50 days that it was the county seat. First real county
office buildings erected was of Sod in the fall of 1885 and was used as such
until 1888, when the commodious building was completed in Gandy. The actual
cost of this building has never been ascertained, there were %5000 of bonds
issued then another $1000 of bonds to complete and furnish and another
$3000 indebtedness and outstanding warrants, but opinion has been given
that quite a large portion went to make up the balance due on the Court House.
In 1891 another $6000 bonds were voted upon and ordered issued for outstanding
indebtedness. These are all the bonds that have ever been issued and all
have been paid and canceled. The last ones being the cause of great j
ollification and a bonfire at Gandy was held where the bonds went to the
flames to be sure it could never again be used to tax the people.
At the election of July 25, 1885, the Gandy location was chosen county seat.
The town was mapped out and recorded on November 22, 1885. The Gandy folk
had been more cautious than those at Logan. There was no new town at the
ocation until after the election. A small frame building was erected as a
temporary courthouse. Jim Gandy built the first courthouse the pride and
joy of the pioneers. It was a two-story building with a high cupola on the top.
When Gandy won the county seat, Logan no longer needed its building, which
was used for a community center and dance hall for a short time, then was
moved to the Schrader (now Charles Brown) farm and converted into a fine barn.
All during the years the pioneers had looked forward to the time when they
would have a railroad. It was a glorious time in 1911, when, after many false
rumors, work was actually started to extend the Union Pacific branch from
Callaway. A townsite company, organized with the cooperation of the railroad,
was to locate towns along the new rail line. They seemed to pay no attention
to the location of established communities or towns in the county. Although
the railroad passed directly through the old community of Logan, the townsite
ompany located a new town of Logan three miles east of what old timers knew as
Logan.
Walter V. Hoagland, who had been brought up at Logan, brought his influence to
bear, organized a town of Hoagland on his father’s old homestead, persuaded the
Union Pacific to put in a siding and later stockyards and small depot.
Hoagland postoffice today is about a mile and a quarter west of where
the Logan postoffice was located.
Before the railroad arrived, the mail was carried into Logan County from
North Platte. In early years the route ran first to the Judge Hogeboom
home to what was known as Dorp postoffice; then to Ed Salisbury’s where
the postoffice was Augustus; thence to Jess Smees where the Logan postoffice
was located. A new town was laid out at the railroads terminus, about
three and one half miles west of Gandy. This new town was named Stapleton,
in honor of a friend of one of the townsite officials.
It was a raw new town, the end of a railroad, with a large trade territory.
Though naturally sparsely settled, the Logan County sandhills had attracted
many families after passage of the Kinkaid Act, and Stapleton soon became a
prosperous village. several homes and office buildings were moved from
Gandy to Stapleton. Both banks moved, as did the drug store and several
other businesses.
Those who were not willing to see Gandy completely abandoned incorporated in
November, 1911, and took in a strip of land which ran far enough north to cross
the railroad right-of-way. Since Gandy was the county seat, the railroad company
was forced to put in a siding and depot.
Stapleton boosters soon began to promote "Stapleton for county seat," but it
wasn't until a special election on May 2, 1929, that they obtained the desired
number of votes. The election was contested, but after a year in court a
decision permanently located the county seat at Stapleton. On Feb. 24, 1930,
the county records were moved, and later the old Nicholas Hotel building
was converted into and adequate courthouse.
In March, l885, Charles Wells, Jr., organized School District No. 1 in Logan
County. The school was located at Gandy, and one of the early teachers was
Quincy Mahan, a fine pioneer and instructor. He did much to install ideals as
well as ideas into the mind
of his pupils.
In January of 1891 as a result of the drought the summer before, the
county commissioners found it necessary to distribute clothing and
food to the needy. J.E. Paine was made assistance director. Most
of the clothing distributed was sent by more fortunate persons in
the east. It is amusing to note that many of the boxes contained
lovely velvets, fine laces. and beautiful silks--not very
practical clothing for a farm wife in a sod house who was probably
helping with
milking and other farm work.
In 1904 Congress passed the "Kinkaid Act," which entitled each person to
homestead 640 acres instead of the previous 150 acre limit. This opened up a
large amount of grazingland in the county. and in so doing it worked a grave
hardship on the rancher who had used the open range, or who had leased land
from the government under the water right law, for it cut up pasture land into
small plots, Almost all the Kinkaiders plowed some of the sandy soil. but time
has demonstrated that breaking sandhill soil usually does more harm than good,
Many good pastures were turned into blowouts in vain attempts at farming in the
sandhills.
A small number of the Kinkaiders stayed, but the majority remained only long enough
to mortgage their land or sell it to a nearby rancher. Evidence of this can be seen
by driving over the country and observing the small groups of trees planted by
hopeful homemakers.
Because of the comparatively dense population during the homestead days, and then
the difficulty of travel in the sandhill, several inland postoffices were
established. Most of them were scattered over the northern part of the county.
Ford was named Bud Ford, at whose home the postoffice was located; Kirsch was
in the home of F.J. Kirsch, north of Stapleton; Gem was in the northeast corner
of the county, on the T.C. Johnson place; Wagner was located near Gem in the
William Kerns home and named for the owner of a nearby ranch; Ranger
postoffice was in the Shattuck home about two miles northwest of the
E.R. Smith ranch. After population of the hills became less dense and the
roads were improved, these postoffices were all discontinued. That part of
the county is now served by rural routes.
(pg 3-5 pjs)
