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    North Platte:: City Between Two Rivers
    North Platte:: City Between Two Rivers
    North Platte:: City Between Two Rivers
    Ebook162 pages54 minutes

    North Platte:: City Between Two Rivers

    By Jim Beckius

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    About this ebook

    Situated at the junction of the North Platte and South Platte rivers, North Platte has a long history as an important stopping point in the westward migration of from the days of the California gold rush to the building of the transcontinental railroad and beyond. The Oregon Trail to the gold rush followed the South Platte River, and the Mormon Trail followed the North Platte River. In 1866 the building of the Union Pacific railroad stopped at North Platte for the winter. The railroad brought the town of North Platte to life. In 1869 the Union Pacific built a huge depot and hotel which stood until destroyed by fire in 1915. It entertained many famous visitors including William F. Cody, George Armstrong Custer, Bat Masterson, and Teddy Roosevelt. Since the 1920s North Platte has grown considerably, helped by the transcontinental Lincoln Highway which still runs through town. North Platte also had the first lighted runway in the United States, used for the air mail planes of the 1920s.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439630129
    North Platte:: City Between Two Rivers
    Author

    Jim Beckius

    Author Jim Beckius, once a Union Pacific conductor, is a collector of local history and photographs, and is well-known for his North Platte calendars, which feature historic photographs of the area.

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      Book preview

      North Platte: - Jim Beckius

      repaired.

      INTRODUCTION

      When the first Union Pacific train rumbled across the new bridge over the North Platte River, it continued for another two and a half miles, and when it stopped, construction of the Union Pacific halted until the spring of 1867. Weather and a shortage of supplies, including railroad ties, were the biggest reasons.

      This area had been visited much earlier. In 1541, a group of Spanish explorers traveled as far as the south fort of the South Platte River, almost directly across from where North Platte is now located. There was a Spanish Padre who accompanied them, and he said mass there. This is commemorated with an annual event every June.

      In 1842, the United States government sent John Freemont to find a route through the Rocky Mountains and on to California. It was a year and a half before he reached the area of Sacramento.

      The discovery of gold in California in 1848 changed the whole civilization of the United States. People from the east sold all of their belongings and bought wagons and oxen in hope of making a better life. It is hard to believe that they knew what a difficult trip was in store for them. Supplies were hard to come by, and wood for making fires was difficult to find. When Fort McPherson was built just west of the settlement at Cottonwood Springs, some protection from the Indians was provided. Soldiers said that more than one thousand wagons would pass the fort every day. Many of the people would never live to see their destination. Cholera and smallpox were the worst of the diseases. Surprisingly, Indians were not the main cause of death among the travelers. It is estimated that there is a grave for every mile traveled, most of which are unmarked. Bodies were buried and then the wagons and stock were driven over the grave to hide it from the Indians. People believed they would be dug up and mutilated.

      Sioux Lookout, about seven miles southeast of North Platte, was a popular place for the Indians to watch the wagons on their way west. Sioux Lookout is the highest point in Lincoln County. For 75 years there was a statue of an Indian located there, but it had been vandalized so many times it was taken down and restored and is now located on the southeast corner of the courthouse square.

      About four miles west of Sioux Lookout was Jack Morrows’ road ranch. Morrow was an unsavory character who had a crew of men and some Indians who worked for him. He ran an extensive rustling ring that was highly profitable. When a wagon train came in to camp for the night, he would have his crew run off their stock. Then in the morning he would act surprised and offer to sell them extra stock he had on hand. Of course they had come from the previous train, so it was all profit. Soon the wagon trains were warned about him and began to bypass his place, so he hired a crew to dig a deep ditch from the river to his yard, and the process would start all over again. The ditch is still there to this day, and you pass over it every time you travel this road.

      With a steady population of about 25,000, North Platte has the largest rail yard in the world, and the number of trains exceeds 150 per day. Today, construction has begun on an 8-story observation tower and museum, and it will soon allow visitors to observe the rail operation.

      Many changes have taken place over the years, among them the loss of many historic buildings, including all of those on Front Street, and the Union Pacific Depot that housed the famous North Platte Canteen of World War II. It served over 6 million servicemen and women between December 25, 1941 and April

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