A History of Columbus, Nebraska, 1900-1910

University of Nebraska at Omaha DigitalCommons@UNO Student Work 5-1-1999 The best of its kind in the West: A history of Columbus, Nebraska, 1900-1910 Lori Brdicko University of Nebraska at Omaha Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork Recommended Citation Brdicko, Lori, "The best of its kind in the West: A history of Columbus, Nebraska, 1900-1910" (1999). Student Work. 542. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/542 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Work by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “THE BEST OF ITS KIND IN THE WEST” A HISTORY OF COLUMBUS, NEBRASKA, 1900-1910 A Thesis Presented to the Department of History and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts University of Nebraska at Omaha by Lori Brdicko May 1999 UMI Number: E P 73180 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI EP73180 Published by ProQuest LLC (2015). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 THESIS ACCEPTANCE Acceptance for the faculty of the Graduate College, University of Nebraska, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts, University of Nebraska at Omaha. Committee Chairperson Date_/fpr'/ “THE BEST OF ITS KIND IN THE WEST” A HISTORY OF COLUMBUS, NEBRASKA, 1900-1910 Lori Brdicko, MA University of Nebraska, 1999 Advisor: Dr. Harl Dalstrom The first decade of the twentieth century marked Columbus, Nebraska’s transition from a frontier town to a small midwestem city. During those ten years, the population increased from 3,522 to 5,014, the labor force composition changed, and residents, goaded by Columbus Weekly Telegram editor Edgar Howard, began to think more about the appearance and sanitary condition of the town. The rapidly growing community was soon hard-pressed to provide its citizens with fuel and electrical power to operate an expanding residential and street lighting system. Promoters tried to harness the Loup River’s current to provide that power, but economic conditions did not favor the project. The electric light station could not provide enough power for the streetlights and business and residential lighting. Residents began taking exception to the poor condition of the city’s streets and sidewalks, and those issues reached crisis points when Columbus qualified for free city mail delivery. Automobile enthusiasts began adding their voices to the demand for good roads at mid-decade, but in doing so, created new forms of safety hazards. Along with the automobile, increased usage of the telephone during the decade gave people more opportunities for interaction, and began to change the way people, especially those living in the rural areas, conducted their business. Although these devices were lauded as means to end the isolation of rural people, during the first years after their introduction, they were enjoyed far more frequently by town-dwellers. Acknowledgments Many people have been invaluable to the completion of this project. I especially wish to thank Katherine Barnett, Diane Davis, and Angela Kroegar for reading several versions of each chapter. I would also like to thank my parents and grandparents for their knowledge of Columbus and the surrounding area, Marc Davis for the use of his scanner, and other family, friends, and coworkers for listening to my ramblings about the project’s progress. Table of Contents List of Illustrations ...........................................................................................i Chapter 1........................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2...........................................................................................................40 Chapter 3...........................................................................................................65 Chapter 4...........................................................................................................97 Chapter 5........................................................................................................... 113 Chapter 6........................................................................................................... 141 Chapter 7 ........................................................................................................... 164 Chapter 8 ........................................................................................................... 187 Chapter 9............................................................... 210 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................227 Bibliography ,231 List of Illustrations Chapter 1 Figure 1.6.................................................................... 17 Figure 1.7.................................................................... 18 Figure 1.8....................................................................22 Figure 1.9....................................................................22 Figure 1.11..................................................................25 Figure 1.1....................................................................35 Figure 1.2....................................................................36 Figure 1.3....................................................................36 Figure 1.4....................................................................37 Figure 1.5....................................................................38 Figure 1.10..................................................................39 Chapter 4 Figure 4.1.................................................................... 112 Chapter 5 Figure 5.1....................... 140 Chapter 6 Figure 6.2.................................................................... 157 Figure 6.1.....................................................................163 Chapter 8 Figure 8.1.................................................................... 207 Figure 8.2.................................................................... 208 1 A Decade of Growth Chapter 1 Before Columbus’s first permanent settlers arrived, four bills were introduced in Nebraska’s First Territorial Legislature to ensure that a settlement would arise at the fork of the Platte and Loup rivers. The first allowed for a railroad corridor, the second for a ferry to cross the often dangerously turbulent Loup River, the third for assistance for homesteaders, and the fourth for a bridge over the Loup River.1 The first permanent settlers were a group of German immigrants who came to the area from Columbus, Ohio by way of Omaha in 1857. The town was incorporated as a city of the second class on February 11, 1865. Construction of the Union Pacific’s mainline in 1866 began attracting settlers to Columbus, and extension of its branch lines several years later added to the town’s importance as a railroad hub. (See Figure 1.1, p. 35) In 1870, Columbus boasted only 526 people. The town’s largest growth period began soon after the 1870 enumeration, and in 1880, Columbus reported a 'Martha M. Turner, Our Own History: Columbus, Nebraska, 1541 - 1860 (Columbus, NE: Art Printery, 1936), 49. 2U.S. Census Bureau, Ninth Census o f the United States, 1870, vol. I: Population (Washington: GPO, 1872), p. 197. 2 population of 2,131—an increase of more than 300 percent. Growth over the next two decades followed the same patterns as most other “frontier” towns: a moderate population increase between 1880 and 1890, and a smaller increase during the less prosperous 1890 to 1900 decade. The return to prosperity by 1900 renewed the influx of settlers. Columbus received its share of people who planned to permanently reside in the town and those who were just stopping there for a year or two awaiting their next golden opportunity elsewhere. The large increase in its population meant that Columbus’s systems of transportation, communication, and delivery of goods and services rapidly became inadequate. The process of providing adequate services to Columbus’s growing population often created tension among diverse groups of citizens. The result was a community that was no longer a pioneer settlement, but a mature midwestem town. Columbus’s municipal government followed the mayor/council system based on the structure of the Federal government that was used by most towns and cities in Nebraska. The mayor’s office served as the executive branch, the police judge headed the judicial branch, and the City Council became the legislative branch. Departments like the Street Commissioner’s office, the Fire Department, and the Police Department reported to the City Council.4 3U.S. Census Office, Compendium o f the Tenth Census (Washington: GPO, 1883), p. 218. 4Addison Erwin Sheldon, Nebraska

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