Local History
On this page you will find
information about the beginnings of our community, including some of the early
families. If you would like additional information on the history or families,
you may contact either the Hooker County Historical Society or the Hooker County
Genealogical Society. Contacts for these 2 organizations may be found below.
For
more detailed information about the Genealogy and History of Hooker County,
please be sure to visit the History
& Genealogy of Hooker County, Mullen NE that
is endorsed by the Hooker County Genealogy Society!!
Also be sure to check
this link for additional history about Mullen!
I have gathered my
information from the book Hooker County, Nebraska: the First 100 Years 1889-1989
by Hooker County Historical Society, Mabell Cox and Claudia Tompkins,
Co-Editors. Copyright ©Curtis Media Corporation-1989.
This history begins in the late 1870's. At that time, the area was very
desolate. Cattle were driven from Texas to the Lakota Indian reservation in
South Dakota. There were no permanent settlements or outposts in the immediate
area.
In 1877 Buffalo Bill Cody and Major Frank North established the first ranch
headquarters in what was to become Hooker County. This ranch was not a
homestead, but was all on government land. The original log cabin that they
built on this site, is now on display at Scout's Rest Ranch in North Platte near
Buffalo Bill's house and barn.
During 1878-'79, Chief Spotted Horse and a band of his tribe left the
reservation in South Dakota, hoping to live free again. But, troops were from
nearby Fort McPherson and Fort Robinson were notified, and it was the last time
the Native Americans were to live in a free state in what is now Hooker County.
Much of the history of the Sandhills area is recorded in the books Cheyenne
Autumn by Marie Sandoz and Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt.
In 1884, the first permanent settlers moved into the area. They were Josiah
Downing, Webster E. Bowers, and Chauncey Tucker and families. Other homesteaders
began to follow. And in 1887 the Grand Island and Wyoming line of the Burlington
Northern Railroad began laying rails across the Sandhills. A depot was set up
about a mile east of Trefren's Trading Post and was given the name of Mullen
after on of the railroad's contractors. Mullen would become the county seat when
Hooker County became organized in 1889.
The county was named for
the Civil War Union General Joseph P. Hooker (1814- 1879) Joseph Hooker was born
at Hadley Massachusetts and graduated from the United States Military Academy.
During the Civil War he received the nickname "Fighting Joe Hooker"
due to a newspaper article entitled "Fighting -Joe Hooker" Newspapers
across the country began running the story, dropping the hyphen. Much to
Hooker's disgust, the name would forever be connected to him! For more on Joseph
Hooker, click here.
Mullen remains the county seat and is the only surviving town in the county.
Other early pioneer families of the area included Gandy, Mary, Brannan, Hammel,
Veilt, Evans, Hoskins, Crain, Barneby, Demerritt, Procter, and several others.
If you are interested in
learning more about the history of Hooker County you may contact: pbridge@neb-sandhills.net
If you would like additional information on any of the above families or any
other Hooker County families, please contact us by . Our webmaster will put
you in touch with the proper person.
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