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County, had a financial structure based upon the collection of taxes and fees from residents within its borders. Right of cattle way was a frequent privilege granted, the usual fee being five dollars for this provision. In 1880, the entire population of the township did not exceed two hundred and forty, although the number of improved farms was ninety-four.

No railroads or rivers cross Woodville, but Looking Glass Creek helps to drain the area as do the Beaver, Spring and Branch Creeks. The voting precinct is located on the central highway, approximately four miles east of St. Edward. Woodville has a large community cemetery and contains school Districts 27, 47, 59, 68 and 62.

The Farmers Union and 4-H groups are extremely active in this section of the county, and students from the various rural districts frequently gather for 4-F parties (signifying fall, fun, frolic and feast) to hold an annual festival during the latter part of September. On these occasions, they have been joined by other groups from Joliet and Monroe Townships.

Fourteen men from Woodville Township and vicinity organized the Bunker Hill Local 163, in 1913. They represented the Irish, Swedish, English and German nationalities. The original group, many of whom are now deceased, were: Paul Greig, president; Ray Griffin, vice-president; Allen Bennet, secretary; and Carl Werner, Edward Nelson, Peter Koerber, William Zimmerman, A. C. Pearson, Fred Werner, George Crosier, Sr., Luther Bennett, Frank Kiernan, W. W. Bivin and N. C. Nelson.

A petition to divide the school district in 1890 was signed by the following community leaders: M. M. Kelly, Mrs. G. W. Kenyon, Mrs. R. B. Thompson, Arthur Bishop, J. E. Sallack, William Webster, William Hollingshead, C. C. Cummins, James Irwin, Frank Cummins, Joseph Webster, R. D. Crossitt, Mrs. T. B. Gerrard and E. A. Gerrard. Later census reports showed the following directors of school districts in the township: George C. Smith, Henry Crosier, J. W. Currier, J. S. McNabb and W. J. Irwin.

An interesting account is given for the transcript of the names of past teachers. For twenty years, it was the custom for instructors to sign their names inside a certain drawer in the teacher's desk. One of the first schools in the township was in District 59, established in January, 1879. Mrs. Will Finch was the first teacher and those who followed her were: Nettie Van Alstine, Ben Johnson, Minnie Lambert, Alice Lambert, Paul Clark and Nell Porter. Other teachers included: Vera Peterson, Eva Wells (Mrs. Robert Currier), Nellie Burke (Mrs. Earl Hasselbalch), Zelda Nelson, Edwin Currier, Jennie Dress, Burchie Smith, Hazel Studley, Elizabeth Dunn, Esther Wilson, Dorothy Eley, Gladys Campbell, Julia Klappel, Mildred Green, Elton Breckinridge, and Velma Shade.

Early students who settled in the community and became active in local affairs included Joseph Swyggert and Mrs. Samuel Knott. The original building in which they attended classes is still standing and is used for storing fuel on the J. W. Currier farm.

MONROE TOWNSHIP

When Monroe Township was created in January, 1860, it comprised all of the territory west of Columbus Precinct. Judges in the first election were: Joseph Gerrard, Joseph Seizer and Charles Whaley, and the election was held at the latter's home. Whaley later moved to Columbus where he, like Gerrard, became prominent in the affairs of that town.

Monroe is bounded on the north by Joliet Township, on the east by Lost Creek Township and on the south by Oconee Township. Nance County and Woodville Township border it on the west. One of the first townships to attract settlers, Monroe began to gain population as early as 1857. Monroe County, the second county organization of this section of Nebraska, ultimately became a part of Platte County and later emerged as a township.

Four families from Kewanee, Illinois, moved into the district in 1870. They included: Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Dack and their children; Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wiley (the parents of Mrs. Dack) ; R. E. Wiley and Mary and Sarah Wiley; Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Baker and their two daughters; and Hugh and Sarah Hill. This family group located in what is now known as O'Kay.

Mrs. Sarah J. Terry, daughter of the Dacks, later recalled the thriving business done by real estate offices in Monroe Township property. School lands were offered for sale in the county on June 28, 1870. This acreage offered better terms than that purchased from the railroad and, since cash was scarce in those years, it was much in demand. The uplands, which composed most of the available property, was entirely without timber and wells had to be put down from seventy-five to two hundred feet.

Other early pioneers in the township were Henry Clayburn and Samuel C. Smith, a for-

mer government trader at the Pawnee reservation and agent for the Union Pacific Railroad. William Walton also came to the township in 1869 to visit his father, the government Indian trader at Genoa. He bought the post tradership in 1871, and located on the Elm Springs Farm in Monroe Township, in 1877.

Walton became known for his raising of thoroughbred cattle, but he remained interested in cultural and educational affairs. In January, 1881, he organized the Loup Valley Library in Monroe Township. Officers of the organization were: James O. Tasker, president; George S. Truman, secretary; William E. Walton, treasurer; and Lafayette Anderson, chairman.

Included in the township are school Districts 26, 32 and 39. District 39, organized in 1874, had Charles J. Taylor as director; Jehiel J. Judd, treasurer; George H. Watson, moderator; and Mrs. Sarah Tyler was the first teacher.

The first school building was not put up until 1887, although Monroe Township was holding meetings as early as 1884. At that time, it included the village of Monroe, now a part of Oconee Township. The present township was organized after its division on August 8, 1908, and the township board at that time was made up of O. F. Alfreds, township clerk; Theodore Frost, treasurer; and Thomas Gleason, justice of the peace.

LOST CREEK TOWNSHIP

Lost Creek Township was established by a petition granted February 2, 1870. Later, a portion of Lost Creek went to the township of Oconee and the present boundaries include Oconee to the south, Shell Creek on the east, Burrows on the north and Monroe Township on the west.

One of the earliest settlers was E. D. Fitzpatrick, who came to the district in 1870, after serving in an Ohio regiment during the Civil War. Later, Edward Fitzpatrick moved to Columbus where he became one of the leading merchants, served on the city council and, in the spring of 1898, was elected mayor.

One of the first churches was a Catholic parish under the Reverend John Flood, another early settler who became a resident of Joliet Township in 1878. Members of the congregation came from the northwestern part of Platte County and from the adjacent County of Boone as well as Joliet and Lost Creek Townships.

The first white child born in Lost Creek Township was Edward Watts, the son of Joseph and Sarah Watts. The date was 1870. Others who endured the pioneer hardships were: C. H. W. Dietrichs, a native of Germany, who settled in the township in 1868; Patrick Carey, a native of Ireland, who came to this country in 1852, and took up a homestead in Lost Creek in 1870, and numerous others. In 1871, a resident of this locality wrote to a Columbus newspaper as follows:

"There is yet on Lost Creek, in the vicinity of J. H. Watts', some of the finest table and other land, with lakes of living water, and in the Valley of Cherry Creek is some of the finest land that our great fertile state abounds in the soil is equal, if not superior, to the bottom lands of the Loup and Platte valleys.

The first religious services were held in the township at Robert Nicholson's home, in 1871. The Reverend A. W. Wright performed them, and two years later, the same pastor read the marriage service for his daughter, Anna, and Henry Clayburn.

One of the early church edifices was that of the Zion Lutheran Church erected on Section 8. The early history of this church dates back to 1884; however, the church was formally incorporated on July 9, 1911, at a meeting of the congregation on this date, presided over by C. L. Martensen. Elected to serve on the board of trustees were: C. L. Martensen, C. Peterson, Jr., and G. Tessendorf. Gerhard Harms was appointed clerk. Other members of the congregation included: Edward Arndt, C. Peterson, Sr., A. Tessendorf, Henry D. Martensen, O. Loseke, Joseph Hoerle, Adam Hoerle, E. Hinrichs, Con Filbert, Joseph Hueshen and Frederick Gripentrog.

Land for the first school in the township was leased by Robert Nicholson and Ansel Wright; Joseph Watts built the building in 1871. This building served until 1918, when the present structure was erected. The schoolhouse was located on the old Indian trail between the homes of two friendly tribes, the Pawnees and the Omahas. Frequently the Indians, as they passed along the trail, would stop to peek through the windows of homes or, in winter, step inside to sit by the fire.

Dana Magoon was the first teacher and members of the school board were: Robert Nicholson, John Sacrider and Joseph Watts. Church services were also held in the schoolhouse when a preacher was available. James E. Moncrief, one of the early county superintendents of schools, taught classes in addition to working his Lost Creek farm.

School Districts 20, 11, 17 and 24 are located in Lost Creek Precinct. The community of Platte Center is the site for District 24, and this town also serves as a hub for the entire township.

OCONEE TOWNSHIP

Oconee Township was the last township to be organized in Platte County. It was established as a township on July 15, 1908, upon petition of the villages of Monroe and Oconee, and polling places were set up at the town hall in the town of Monroe, and at Murdock's store in Oconee. Irregularly shaped, Oconee Township is twelve miles wide in its northern part, but tapers to the width of one township in the center.

Oconee Township is bounded on the west by Nance County, on the north by Monroe and Lost Creek Townships, on the east by Columbus Township, and on the south by the Loup River.

Looking Glass Creek, Lost Creek, the Loup River and various other tributaries water the region, which is the home of some of the best lowland farms in the county. A branch of the Union Pacific railroad crosses the township and has its eastern terminus at the town of Oconee.

The village of Monroe in this township has a history that is rich in humor and the spirit of those who had, in pioneer days, a great deal to gain. It was James Gleason, a homesteader during the 1880's, whose farm was two miles northwest of the present town, who dreamed of Monroe as a metropolis made possible by the extending of a railroad spur laid at that location.

Gleason made repeated trips to Omaha to try and convince the Union Pacific people of the wisdom of his cause. Other Oconee settlers who journeyed with him were: R. B. Sutton, E. H. Gerrard, Peter Ericson, William Hollingshead, the Honorable Michael Maher and station agent James R. Meagher of Columbus.

Finally passes were issued to the village of Monroe from Superintendent T. L. Kimball of the Union Pacific, after he had given his consent. The little group of men, returning home in December, 1888, had trouble getting the conductor to stop at their destination until he saw Kimball's signature on the ticket. After the train stopped at Monroe for the first time and the men got off to celebrate, it is said that they christened the village by sprinkling a little whiskey upon the ground.

Although the necessary nine hundred dollars to be raised by the farmers had to be in the bank by the following Monday, and it was a time of economic depression, the settlers rallied in unison. The cash was deposited and as fast as surveyors placed the stakes, they had the ground turned over. Thus did the village of Monroe spring to life.

Oconee Township maintains five school districts. They are Districts 6, 76, 55, 13 and 25. Early census reports show local district directors to, be W. D. Wilson, Oliver Magnusson, E. M. Vaught and Joseph Webster. District 76 Was established December 27, 1890, after a petition had been signed by more than two-thirds of the legal voters of District 27 requesting that the latter be divided, and a part of it designated as District 76. Mabel Strother was the first teacher.

Today, in a modern building, the school is administered by a board made up of local leaders. The year 1946-47 saw the following citizens active as members of the Board of Education: Raymond Smoots, Harold Pearson, Reynold Ditter, Paul Rupp, Charles Nunnaly and J. M. Bible. Glen Lillibridge was superintendent of Monroe schools.

Named Oconee at the suggestion of F. A. Baldwin because it was "unlike the name of any other post office in the state," the original town was platted in February, 1880, and replatted in 1883. It was first called Lost Creek because of a small stream of water in the region which appeared and disappeared. This was later changed to Dorrance and much inconvenience resulted in postal service because of the town of Dorrance, Kansas.

Oconee, Nebraska, was undoubtedly named for Oconee, Shelby County, Illinois. The word is an old Indian name meaning creek town.

LOUP TOWNSHIP

Loup Township, immediately to the south of Oconee on the other side of the Loup River, was established September 7, 1880. The first election held was at the District 37 school house. Judges were: John C. Whitaker, John Graham, John Jaisli; clerks: John B. Kyle and J. G. Kummer.

Devoid of railroads or towns, Loup Township numbers four District schools within its boundaries. They are: Districts 34, 73, 37 and 16. In the 1890's such township leaders as Chris Meedel, Sam Imhof and others served on the school boards as directors, while homesteaders Henry Wiesenfiuh, Christ Boss, Rudolph Oppliger, Gottlib Berchtold, John Geiser, Henry Tripp, John Read; Albert Hurner, H. A. Fishback and Deborah Maywether

also took an active part in community affairs. j. G. Kummer was voted clerk of the township; Albert Hurner became assessor and F. Gerber, county supervisor.

Loup Township is bordered on the west and south by Merrick, Polk and Nance Counties, and on the east and south by Butler Township. Its northern boundary line is the Loup River.

BUTLER TOWNSHIP

It is believed that Butler Precinct was defined as a separate subdivision as early as 1867. In the county records of that year, mention was made of a certain territory attached to Butler Precinct and of the house of Michael Smith which was to be used as a polling place.

The main line of the Union Pacific crosses Butler Township in a southwesterly direction and it is the site, moreover, of the town of Duncan, which serves the adjacent farm area for all commercial and consumers' needs.

Early settlers included: Guy C. Barnum, an active member of the first Farmers Alliance organized in the county; William Brown, Charles Rickly, John Eisemann, John Schmocker, Christ Wuethrich and John Ernst.

An irregularly shaped township, Butler is bordered by Loup and Columbus Townships and Merrick County. The Platte River runs diagonally through the township and school Districts 7 and 8 are located within its boundaries.

At one time, the settlers in this township were so desperately hit by the floods which struck the area that Jacob Maple, a local farmer, offered one hundred dollars for four tons of hay for his stock and another homesteader awoke to discover his wagon floating about the barnyard. Three and four feet of ice and slush covered the wagon bridge between the Loup and the Platte Rivers that year.

Herman Ernst and S. Shepherd were early directors of the district school boards in Butler Township. Some of the families who resided there around the turn of the century were those of Frank Wazniak, John Kussek, John Flakus, Jacob Gerber, J. Sobus, John Ingel and George Mostek.

W. B. Williams served as an early supervisor; Chris Meedel as treasurer; B. H. Lathrop, clerk; and Joseph Olbrich, assessor.

COLUMBUS TOWNSHIP

Columbus, in Columbus Township, as a port of entry for the vast influx of emigrants from every state in the Union and practically every European country, was incorporated in 1858.

Spring flood in Columbus, 1912,
Picture submitted by Walter Boettcher

In July, 1870, the courthouse was completed by the contractor, John P. Becker, at a cost of eighteen thousand dollars. As the site of the county seat, the area developed rapidly, and bridges over the Platte and Loup Rivers gave a large territory south of Columbus access to the growing business center.

In 1877, the assessed value of property in this precinct was $837,099. More than fifteen hundred and forty residents lived in Columbus Township that year and twelve hundred seven of these lived in the city of Columbus. A decade later, a township hall was ordered and contracted for at the site on the Monastery Road, north of the Old Sheep Ranch, now the north

west corner of the intersection of United States Highway 30, and the Monastery Road.

The building was eighteen by twenty-four feet and cost three hundred seventy-five dollars. It was located so that it would be convenient to all the voters of the township. The present location of the township hall is just west of the intersection of Highway 81 and Highway 30, on the south side of the road. It was moved to this site in the 1930's.

Although the history of Columbus Township parallels that of the town of Columbus, it is notable that when the County of Platte was first organized, the commissioners divided it into three districts. Columbus Township was created from the first district and the initial election of this precinct was held at the home of F. G. Becher.

The date of the occasion was 1858, and Charles A. Speice, George W. Hewitt and Doc-

Columbus, 1921. Looking east on Thirteenth Street, east of Twenty-sixth Avenue         

Columbus, 1921. Looking west on Thirteenth Street, at Twenty-sixth Avenue

© 2005 for the NEGenWeb Project by Ted & Carole Miller