First Day Caching in Nebraska City & Hotter Than Hell 8/21/2010

Boy what I wouldn't give for some temperatures in the 40's or 50's right now. The heat index here has been in the 105-110 degree range now for the last 4 or 5 days and it's getting old hat. We headed out into Nebraska City this morning to do some caching before it got unbearable and to hot to walk around.

The first cache was at another Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center just down the road from the campgrounds. Next was a NRV cache at the outlet mall. Then a cache across from the Otoe Wildlife Club.

Next was a cache at the Wildwood Historic House and Art Gallery in the Victroian Gardens adjacent to the home. When Jasper Ware, an early Nebraska City banker took his wife, Ellen Kinney, to the west edge of town, pointed out the heavily wooded area south of Arbor Lodge, and said he wanted to build her a country home on the site, she responded, "Oh Jasper, I couldn't live in these wild woods!" Thus the name "Wildwood" was given to the Victorian house. Built in 1869, Wildwood Historic Home was considered a "Country Home" in the days of horse and buggy suburban living. The Ware family's belongings and the many articles donated to the home reflect the finest cultural aspects of the time. The two parlors are decorated with period furnishings, oriental rugs, velvet, and lace. Visitors will enjoy the ebony grand piano and the beautiful R.S. Prussia and Haviland China in the dining room, the hand-crafted ettigere in the south parlor, the burled walnut banister of the hall stairs, and the fully appointed bedrooms upstairs. Visitors will be amazed by the crazy quilts and handwoven coverlets on the beds dating back to the early 1850s.
The original brick barn, adjacent to the house, has been converted into an art gallery and gift barn.
The Victorian Garden where the cache was had a gazebo, several tables and chairs and quite a few benches to sit on. The flowers that were still in bloom were lovely and Mom even went in the Gift Barn and Art Shop and bought something.

Our next cache was at the Otoe County Courthouse which is the oldest public building in Nebraska still in use. Two years before the Nebraska Territory would be granted statehood in 1867, William R. Craig and F.W. Wood completed a grand two-story brick building that 129 years later holds the honor of being the oldest public building in Nebraska. That building is the Otoe County Courthouse.
Otoe County was defined by the Territorial Legislature on March 2, 1855, the same year that Nebraska City was platted. The county was named after the Watota Indians, one of the many tribes which lived along the Missouri River. Otoe is derived from Oto, the Indian abbreviation of Watota, which means "lovers of pleasure."
When the county was created, Nebraska City was designated as the county seat. For several years there were no official county offices. Rather, county business would be conducted from a log cabin and from rooms that were rented from Nebraska City stores.
Whether it was by design or by chance, when the courthouse was built in 1865 it was built on ground that was once part of an Indian cemetery. When it was completed, the courthouse cost $22,500. County offices were located on the build's first floor, the District Court on the second floor, and the jail in the basement.
The first addition to the courthouse was made in 1882 with a wing added to the west end. In 1936 it became apparent that additional space was once again needed and an identical two-story wing was added to the east side of the original courthouse. Ironically, the second addition cost nearly three times what the original courthouse cost 71 years earlier.
Today, the Otoe County Courthouse is among those listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


Next cache was at the Old Freighter Museum. On July 20, 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set foot on the gently sloped banks of what is now known as Nebraska City and considered it an "ideal site for a future city." About 40 years later, the original Fort Kearny was built at this spot.
After just a couple of years, the fort was relocated, but a city had begun to grow, gaining prominence as a river port. Russell, Majors and Waddell, a major overland freighting company chose Nebraska City as their home. After receiving a government contract to supply the western post with military equipment, the company settled into the headquarters, built by the government. After more than 20 years of prospering, the company gave way to the railroad used as a residence. In 1985, the Otoe County Historical Society purchased the home and began restoring it as a historical museum. The building has a unique history to Nebraska City and to the rest of the state because the freighting company furnished supplies for (pioneers) following the Oregon Trail. Today, visitors can tour the Old Freighters Museum and revisit the birth of the city and its connection to the West. The following story also relates to the Old Freighter Museum.

Russell, Majors, and Waddell was the largest freighting firm on the plains. The company monopolized military trade in the west. Majors and Russell partnered in 1855 to carry military freight from Ft. Leavenworth to posts on the plains and in the mountains. Waddell was added as a partner when the company obtained a contract to supply Albert S. Johnston's army during the Mormon War of 1857. The new military freighting contract necessitated the establishment of an additional cargo terminal up river from Ft. Leavenworth. Russell, Majors, and Waddell selected a small river-front town called Nebraska City. The company advertised for 1600 yoke of oxen and 1500 men to go to work at the new terminal. The continual unloading of steamboats and the coming and going of freight wagons transformed Nebraska City into a major river port.
Initially the trail west from Nebraska City was known as the Oxbow trail. It crossed Salt Creek at Ashland and followed the Platte River to Ft. Kearny. This route proved very inefficient as travelers were left to traverse the Platte River bottoms, which were impassible in wet weather. A direct route west to Ft. Kearney was not attempted prior to the Oxbow trail due to the lack of natural resources and need for a bridge over Salt Creek.
When Russell, Majors, and Waddell chose Nebraska City as its export terminal, the city agreed to develop a direct road west to Ft. Kearney. By 1860, Nebraska City failed to establish the new route as promised. Majors, being very frustrated and heavily invested in the new terminal, hired Augustus Harvey to survey the route. By following an already existing path to Salt Creek, Harvey plowed a furrow to Ft. Kearney. The new trail decreased the trip from Nebraska City to Fort Kearney by 40 miles. The Nebraska City-Ft. Kearney Cut-off was well established by the end of the season.
After 1862, the cut-off was commonly called the Steam Wagon Road in honor of Joseph Brown who attempted to run a steam locomotive (wagon) across the plains from Nebraska City to Denver. The wagon broke down a few miles west of Nebraska City on its maiden voyage. Lacking the proper parts for repair, Joseph Brown's steam wagon never completed the journey. However, thanks to Brown's initial endeavor, residents of Otoe County expended money to build bridges over the Big Blue and Salt Creek to improve the cut-off. Cadman, a rancher near Salt Creek, asked travelers to bring a few stones from Nebraska City to deposit into the creek to create an all weather crossing. The stone ford created by the Nebraska City-Ft. Kearney Cut-off travelers remains at present.
The Nebraska City-Ft. Kearney Cut-off reached its peak of traffic in 1865 with a reported volume of 44,000,000 pounds of freight, 3,000 mules, and 4,000 men. The discovery of gold increased steamboat traffic, and the overland freight business attracted many to the new, more direct trail. Mormon immigrants also used the cut-off extensively after an outbreak of cholera in Florence, the principal way station for the Mormon Trail. In response to the heavy traffic, road ranches developed along the trail to supply travelers with feed for their animals and food and frivolities for themselves. Some of the more prominent ranches or way stations included Cheese Creek House, Roper Brothers, West Mill, W.J. Thompson Ranch, Beaver Crossing, and Elkhorn Ranch. One farmer said during travel hours, he could always see a wagon train either coming or going. The wagon freighting business died out with the introduction of the railroad in the late 1860s. However, the cut-off was used for local wagon freight until the invention of the motorized truck.

Next cache was a NRV in a guardrail. Then it was a cache on the grounds of the Nebraska Center for the Education of the Blind and Visually Impaired. The School for the Blind began in 1875 with the arrival of Samuel Bacon as the Superintendent of the School. It has been both a school and a residence for the students since that time. Today the school continues to provide dormitory living at the school. Several years ago the mission of the school was enlarged to include conducting assessments, and providing learning materials and professional supports to students and educators across the State of Nebraska. Thus more students have the possibility of living with their families and attending a school close to where they live. Our last cache for the day was in Riverview Park along a trail and down 20-25 steps to where the Missouri River had been flooding a few weeks ago.

One lovely place we saw as we drove from cache to cache was the Lied Lodge and Conference Center. Lied Lodge is the modern hotel and conference center where you can dine and sleep in style. As you walk in the door the lobby is built from huge rough hewn logs and as you can see by the pictures is quite lovely.

Another historical site we saw was St Mary's Episcopal Church the oldest Episcopal church in Nebraska which was built in 1857.

Then we had to stop at Wal Mart for a few things and then it was back to the coach to keep cool for the day. Well that's about all from here for today so until tomorrow we love and miss you all. Mom & Dad Dori & Dick