Roseland. This town was named by its first postmaster,
B. F. Evans. Mr. Evans thought that the word "rose" should form a
part of the name because so many wild roses grew in the vicinity.
On consulting the United States directory of post offices, he
found that there were many post offices of which "rose" formed
part of the name; but there were only three Roselands, and
therefore he selected this name. The town was surveyed in
1887.
ANTELOPE COUNTY
Antelope county
was named by Leander Gerrard, one of the first settlers. It is
said that in the summer of 1867 or 1868, Mr. Gerrard was camping
with a party of tourists in the Elkhorn Valley. They became short
of provisions and while hunting Mr. Gerrard shot a fine antelope.
This circumstance was remembered when a bill providing for the
organization of the county was prepared and Mr. Gerrard suggested
the name "Antelope" which was accepted by the legislature. The
county was organized on June 15, 1871, as a result of an act
approved March 1, 1871, which officially established the county
and defined the boundaries.
- Brunswick. Henry Nagle, one of the first settlers in
the locality, named this town after Brunswick, Germany, a
center of the beet industry. Mr. Nagle chose the name Brunswick
because of the fact that he once raised an immense sugar beet
on his farm.
- Burnett. A former village in Burnett precinct, both
named for the first superintendent of the Sioux City and
Pacific railroad, now the Chicago and Northwestern. This
village was the western part of what is now called Tilden,
Madison county. The center line of the principal north and
south street of Tilden is the line between Antelope and Madison
counties.
- Clearwater. This town was surveyed and platted by
the railroad company in October, 1881. It was originally named
Antelope, but when the post office was established in 1880 the
name was changed to Clearwater after the creek on which the
town is located. The precinct has the same name. The name for
the creek is a locally descriptive one, the soil being sandy
the water is very clear.
- Copenhagen. A station on the Chicago, Burlington,
and Quincy railroad in Crawford precinct. It was named after
Copenhagen, Denmark, in honor of the Danish settlers in the
vicinity.
- Elgin. William Eggleston, a farmer in this vicinity,
petitoned the post office department to establish an office at
his home, and requested that it be named Eggleston in his
honor. The post office department, however, objected to a
compound name and returned the petition to the Oakdale post
office. At this time E. Gailey was postmaster at Oakdale. Mr.
Gailey turned to the post office official guide and under the
list of post offices in Illinois, found the name Elgin, which
he selected as a suitable name for the new office. He then
returned the petition and the name Elgin was accepted.
- Frenchtown. A precinct and a former post office on
the west side of Antelope county. The early settlers were
mostly French people, hence the name.
- Glenalpine. A locality and former post office in
Sherman precinct. It was so named because situated at the head
of a branch of Verdigris river. This locality is bluffy and
picturesque.
- Hord Siding. A station on the Chicago and
Northwestern railroad in Burnett precinct. The name is local in
origin.
- Jessup. This town was named in honor of a Mr.
Jessup, erroneously stated by Andreas, History of
Nebraska, as well as by Gannett, The Origin of Certain
Place Names in the United States, to have been ex-governor
of Iowa. He was probably Elias Jessup or Hardin county, Iowa,
ex-state senator. No one by the name of Jessup was ever
governor of Iowa. In the old long-hand documents the word
"senator" is easily confused with "governor," hence the
error.
- Neligh. Niels Larsen, county surveyor of Cuming
county, surveyed and platted this town in February, 1873. Mr.
William B. Lambert suggested the name as a compliment to John
D. Neligh of West Point, Nebraska, who was one of the first
settlers and who bought the land on which the town is located.
The precinct has the same name. Neligh is the county seat of
Antelope county.
- Oakdale. This town was surveyed and platted in 1872
by J. G. Taylor. The name Oakland had at one time been selected
for the county because of the abundance of oak timber in the
vicinity. On this account Mr. Taylor wished to name the new
town Oakland; but when he found that there was already a town
in the state by that name, he substituted the name Oakdale.
Another account states that the town was named by I. N. Togler,
a local land agent who located here in 1865. The precinct has
the same name.
- Orchard. D. L. Cramer made the first settlement here
on September 17, 1880, and on July 1, 1881, the post office was
established. The town received its name from an extensive
orchard of apple trees which had been set out in the
vicinity.
- Royal. This town was first named Savage for a man by
that name who promised to pay a certain amount if the town was
named for him. He did not keep the promise, however, so the
town was renamed Royal in honor of Mr. Royal Thayer. The
precinct has the same name.
- Saint Clair. This town was named in honor of its
first settler, George Saint Clair, who made the first
preemption claim in Antelope county.
- Vim. An inland locality and a former post office in
Stanton precinct.
ARTHUR COUNTY
Arthur county
was named in honor of Chester A. Arthur (1830-1886), president of
the United States, 1881-1885. The boundaries were defined by an
act of the legislature approved March 31, 1887.
- Arthur. The town of Arthur was named for Arthur
county of which it is the county seat.
- Braden. This post office was so named in honor of an
old settler in the vicinity by the name of Braden and also in
honor of his daughter who was the first postmistress. The
precinct has the same name.
- Carman. Named after Reverend Carman, a minister
serving in the Methodist Episcopal Conference. The first
postmaster was H. N. Yarnall, now residing at Arthur,
Nebraska.
- Collins. Collins was one of three names suggested by
the citizens of the vicinity for their post office. The post
office department chose Collins because it was short and easy
to distinguish.
- Cullinan. This town was named for the Cullinan
brothers who owned a ranch in the vicinity and formerly ran a
merchantile business in the town. The Cullinan post office was
recently moved five miles east of its former location and the
name changed to Bucktail.
- Hillside. This town is so named because of its
location on the side of a hill. The post office was established
here in 1908.
- Lena. The first post office in Arthur county was
established at Lena in 1894 when the county was still
territorial. Mrs. Lena Fellows was the first postmistress and
the office was named in her honor.
- Read. Read post office was named in honor of Henry
B. Read, one of the early ranchmen in the vicinity. This office
was discontinued on September 1, 1916.
- Rice. Rice post office was named for Dr. C. S. Rice
who was an early settler in this part of the state.
BANNER COUNTY
Banner county
was named by enthusiastic citizens who wished to make it the
"banner county" of the state. According to G. L. Shumway, deputy
secretary of the state department of agriculture, who had a hand
in naming it, the name was decided upon because the county was,
"to be the brightest star in the constellation of Nebraska
counties." Banner county was formed from Cheyenne county by a vote
taken November 6, 1888.
- Ashford. This place is situated in Long township
near Pumpkin creek. The post office was established in October,
1887, and named after William Ashford, the first postmaster.
The post office has been discontinued.
- Bighorn. This place is in Lone Pine precinct. The
name was applied to a canyon on the south side of the valley in
the vicinity as well as to a neighboring table mountain, during
the time of the first grangers. During the pioneer period there
were mountain sheep on the mountain which fact seems to account
for the name.
- Epworth. This name was given to the place because of
the religious inclinations of the people of the vicinity. It is
in Flower precinct.
- Flowerfield. This is a neighborhood and post office
near the line of Flower and Field precincts, in Field precinct,
and was so named after the two precincts, also from the fact
that the vicinity was a beautiful high table land, which at the
time of its settlement in the '80's was covered with a
profusion of wild flowers.
- Freeport. This place was named by E. M. Cowen, the
first postmaster and founder of the town, after Freeport,
Illinois, which was near his old home.
- Gary. The first postmaster of Gary, in Flower
precinct, was William Reep and the post office was named in
honor of James A. Gary, then postmaster-general in President
McKinley's cabinet. The post office has been discontinued.
- Harrisburg. So named by Mr. Schooley, a settler from
Pennsylvania after Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Harrisburg,
Nebraska, is the county seat of Banner county.
- Heath. This place is in Lone Pine precinct. It
received its name through the Scotch inspiration of an early
settler named MacLatchky.
- Hull. This town, in Hull precinct, was named for a
former merchant and postmaster by the name of J. T. Hull who
lived in the vicinity about forty years ago.
- Kirk. Kirk post office was named in honor of its
first postmaster. It is in Lone Pine precinct.
- Loraine. This place is in Springs precinct. It was
named for a relative of J. T. Bunger, the postmaster and an
early homesteader.
- Van. Van was only an inland post office in Field
precinct, established at the home of T. A. Van Pelt and named
for him. It was discontinued several years ago.
BLAINE COUNTY
The boundaries
of this county were defined by an act of the legislature approved
March 5, 1885. The county was named in honor of James G. Blaine
(1830-1893), the American statesman.
- Brewster. This town is the county seat of Blaine
county. It was named after George W. Brewster, its founder. Mr.
Brewster was an early pioneer, a newspaper man, and a strong
local character. He is now living in Denver, Colorado. The
precinct has the name name.
- Cooper. This post office was named after a Mr.
Cooper, the postmaster when the office was established. The
office has been discontinued.
- Dunning. This village is a station on the Chicago,
Burlington, and Quincy railroad, in Dunning precinct. It and
the precinct were probably named for a local resident.
- Edith. This post office has been discontinued It
took its name because it was located in Edith valley. The
precinct has the same same.
- Lucy. A former inland post office near the center of
Blaine county in Lucy precinct. The name is apparently for a
local resident.
- Purdum. This town was named in honor of John Purdum
who was an early settler in the vicinity.
- Scheding. This place is situated in what is locally
known as German Valley. The town was named after Reverend
Scheding, a German Lutheran minister. The post office has been
discontinued.
BOONE COUNTY
This county was
first settled in 1871. It was named in honor of Daniel Boone, the
noted pioneer and hunter of Kentucky. The county was organized by
an act of the legislature approved March 28, 1871; the boundaries
were defined by an act approved March 1, 1871.
- Albion. This town was named after Albion, Michigan,
which in turn was named after Albion, Maine. The latter town
received its name from the poetical name for England. The
county seat was located here by an act of the legislature
approved February 25, 1873.
- Boone. Named, like the county, in honor of Daniel
Boone (1725-1820).
- Bradish. The site of this town was chosen by a man
from Chicago named George Bradish, engineer in charge of
railway construction. It was for him that the town was
named.
- Cedar Rapids. Mr. Adam Smith laid out the town and
named it after the beautiful Cedar river on the banks of which
it is situated.
- Loretto. This town was originally named Loran for
Mr. Loran Clark who was one of the first seven homesteaders in
the vicinity. Mr. Clark was a well educated man, active in
politics, and one of the first representatives of Boone county.
After the name Loran was taken for the post office there was
conflict in some way with another post office in the state, so
it was changed to Loretto.
- Petersburg. Petersburg was settled in 1887 and named
for John Peters of Albion, Nebraska, who was United States
collector of internal revenue at Omaha, and who owned the land
on which the town is located.
- Primrose. This town was laid out on land belonging
to David Primrose and was named for him. Mr. Primrose is now
deceased.
- Saint Edward. In 1871 Mr. A. T. Coquilliard of South
Bend, Indiana, acquired the tract of land on which Saint Edward
now stands from the Union Pacific Railroad Company. He and
other early settlers named the village in honor of a catholic
priest, Edward Serrels, who was then a prominent man in the
Notre Dame university at South Bend, Indiana. Mr. Coquilliard
deeded the tract to the Saint Edward Land and Emigration
Company in 1876 and at that time it was opened to the
public.
BOX BUTTE COUNTY
Box Butte county
was named after a large butte situated about six miles north of
Alliance. This butte is rectangular or box-shaped in outline. Box
Butte county was formed from Dawes county by vote November 2,
1886.
- Alliance. The town was founded in June, 1887, and
named Grand Lake. The Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy railroad
opened a station for business on February 3, 1888. The name
Alliance was given to the town by Superintendent G. W.
Holdrege. He affirmed that Alliance was chosen for the reason
that it was a single word, was different from the name of any
other town in the state, was short, and would be near the top
of the alphabetical list of the towns of the state. The name
was accepted by the citizens, a post office established, a
town-site platted, and the plat recorded as Alliance. It
apparently was named after Alliance, Ohio. It is also the
junction point of two lines of the Chicago, Burlington, and
Quincy railway which makes the name appropriate. This town is
the county seat of Box Butte county.
- Berea. This village was named after Berea, Ohio, by
some of the early settlers, after their old home. The name
derives from the ancient city in Macedonia.
- Birdsell. This place in Boyd precinct, was named for
an official of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy railroad, J.
C. Birdsell, a popular division superintendent of the
Burlington system.
- Burbank. This inland place was located in Snake
Creek precinct, near Snake creek. It was named after the local
postmaster. The post office has been discontinued.
- Burns. This inland place is in Snake Creek precinct.
It was named after the local postmaster. The post office has
been discontinued.
- Carpenter. A former, inland post office near the
southern boundary of Box Butte county, in Wright precinct. It
was named after the local postmaster.
- Girard. This is a station on the Chicago,
Burlington, and Quincy railroad in Dorsey precinct. It was
named by the officials of the railroad, probably after Girard,
Ohio.
- Hashman. This inland place was named after C. L.
Hashman, the postmaster.
- Hemingford. This town was named by Joseph Hare after
his former home in Hemmingford, Canada, spelling the name
however with only one m.
- Letan. A station on the Chicago, Burlington, and
Quincy railroad, near the southern boundary of the county, in
Wright precinct. It was so named by the railroad officials.
- Marple. See Sheridan county to which the post office
was moved.
- Nonpareil. Grant L. Shumway gives the following
account of the naming of this place: "Nonpareil was the
earliest town in Box Butte county, being the first county seat.
As nearly as may be ascertained, it was named by Eugene Heath
who started the newspaper called The Grip in this town.
Because of the small size of the town and the establishment of
the first newspaper, he selected the name Nonpareil, from the
name of a very small or six-point size of type. The original
name for this place was Buchanan, but Heath secured the change,
through the United States post office department, to
Nonpareil."
- Nye. A station on the Chicago, Burlington, and
Quincy railroad, near the northern boundary of the county, in
Lawn precinct. It was so named by the railway officials.
- Yale. A name given by the railway officials to the
next station northwest of Alliance, on the Chicago, Burlington,
and Quincy railroad.
- Willey. A former, inland post office in Snake Creek
precinct, named after the local postmaster.
BOYD COUNTY
Boyd county was
named in honor of James E. Boyd who was governor of Nebraska
(1891, 1892-1893) at the time the county was organized. The county
was established and its boundaries defined by an act approved
March 20, 1891.
- Alford. A village and a former post office near the
southeast corner of Boyd county in Bush precinct, probably
named for a local resident.
- Anoka. Anoka is a Dakota Indian word meaning "on
both sides." This town was named by the Pioneer Town-Site
Company after Anoka, a town in Minnesota, in Anoka county. The
Minnesota town is located on both sides of the Rum river. The
Nebraska town, however, has no such river location. Villages in
Indiana and New York also have the same name.
- Baker. A village in the northern part of Boyd county
in Ware precinct, probably named for an early local
resident.
- Bristow. This town was named in honor of secretary
of the treasury, Benjamin H. Bristow, of President Grant's
cabinet. It was platted in 1902 by the Pioneer Town-Site
Company.
- Butte. The name Butte was suggested for this town
from the rocky upheaval of ground just south of the town-site.
These upheavals or elevations can be traced from the Black
Hills region in a southeasterly direction. It is thought that
they were formed by huge icebergs which floated down and at
intervals tipped off their deposits. There is no similarity
between these deposits and the surrounding soil. Butte is the
county seat of Boyd county..
- Gross. The town of Gross was named in honor of B. B.
Gross. Mr. Gross was one of the first settlers in this
neighborhood and homesteaded the land on which the town is
located. He was the first postmaster and later engaged in
business here. At present he lives in Montana.
- Lynch. A village on the Chicago and Northwestern
railroad in Lynch precinct. The name is probably for an early
local settler.
- Mankato. An inland village near the center.of Boyd
county in Spencer precinct. It was doubtless named for Mankato,
Blue Earth county, Minnesota, which is situated on the
Minnesota river, a short distance below the mouth of the Blue
Earth (or Mankato) river. Mankota is from the Dakota Indian
word Ma-ka'-to, meaning blue earth.
- Monowi. Monowi is an Indian name and means "flower."
This town was so named because there were so many wild flowers
growing in the vicinity. It is also claimed that Monowi is a
word of some Indian language for a plant with milky juice or a
spunge called snow-on-the-mountain (Euphorbia
marginata).
- Naper. The original homestead of one hundred sixty
acres was filed by Ralph Naper who gave eighty acres for a
town-site and called it Naper, after himself.
- Rosedale. An inland village in Morton precinct. The
name is a locally descriptive one.
- Spencer. A man by the name of Sterns homesteaded in
this vicinity and was the first postmaster. He came from
Spencer, Iowa, and named this post office after his former
home.
BROWN COUNTY
Brown county
was so named in honor of two members of the legislature who
reported the bill for organization of the county. Its boundaries
were defined by act of the legislature approved February 19,
1883.
- Ainsworth. Named in honor of Captain James E.
Ainsworth, of Missouri Valley, chief civil engineer for the
railroad during construction. The village was incorporated on
December 2, 1883. Ainsworth is in Ainsworth precinct and is the
county seat of Brown county.
- Alkali. A locally descriptive name for a locality in
the western part of Brown county in Moonlake precinct.
- Altai. A locality and a former post office in
Johnstown precinct. The name is from the Latin altus,
meaning high or elevated. The place is on the watershed or
divide, hence the name.
- Beardwell. Beardwell was named for an elderly
citizen who started a store and post office in the town about
twelve years ago. Later he sold out and left the vicinity.
- Enderslake. The post office and the lake in this
town were both named in honor of J. E. Enders who owned the
ranch on which the lake and fishing resort are located. The
ranch consists of seven thousand acres of land. Mr. Enders
settled in the vicinity in 1884.
- Giles. This post office was established in 1897 and
was named for its first postmaster, a man by the name of George
Giles who settled in this vicinity about forty years ago. Mr.
Giles is now living at Elsmere, Nebraska, and is past
ninety-eight years of age. Gannett, Place Names in the
United States, erroneously states that the office was named
for Giles Mead.
- Huffman. A locality and a former post office in
Hester precinct, apparently named for a local resident.
- Johnstown. The land on which Johnstown is located
was homesteaded by John Berry who drove the mail stage through
this vicinity to Fort Niobrara before the railroad was built.
The town was named for him. He was right-of-way and pioneer man
for the railroad during construction. The precinct has the same
name.
- Lakewood. A locality and a former post office in
Moonlake precinct. The name is for the lakes in the vicinity. A
neighboring precinct has the same name.
- Long Pine. The first settlement was made by H. M.
Uttley, May 13, 1878. The town was named because of its
location on Long Pine creek. Long Pine creek was so named
because of the large amount of pine timber growing along its
bluffs. Long Pine creek is a translation of the Dakota name
Wazi-honska Wakpala, or the Omaha name Mazi-snede
Wachishka.
- Mary. This office was established about 1907 or 1908
and was named after the first postmaster, Mrs. Mary
O'Neill.
- Midvale. This place is located in Lakeland precinct
in the middle of the valley or vale of the Calamus river, hence
the name shortened to Midvale. The post office has recently
been discontinued.
- Pike. This post office is located near the center of
Hester precinct and was named after the postmaster, Frank
Pike.
- Raven. A locality and a former post office in Smith
Precinct. The name is probably local in origin.
- Spragg. A village and a former post office in Hester
precinct probably named for a local resident. Formerly the post
office was in Rock county.
- Sunnyside. A locally descriptive name for a locality
and a former post office in Smith precinct.
- Winfield. A village and a former post office near
the northeast corner of Brown county in Pine Glen precinct. The
name is probably for a local resident.
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