(224) ABOUT the year 1866 a German colony from Wisconsin made a settlement in the northeastern part of Madison and the southeastern part of Pierce counties, the settlement extending at that time about four miles up the valley of the Elkhorn above the present site of Norfolk. These settlers received their mail from West Point, which was then the nearest post-office. In the year 1867 a mail route was established from West Point to Norfolk and a post-office established at the last named place. This Norfolk post-office served the settlers of Madison, Pierce, western Stanton and Southwestern Wayne counties for three or four years, and all of the unorganized territory west of Madison and Pierce counties. The post-office thus established got its name in the following manner, as told to the writer many years ago by old Colonel Mathewson, who was one of the founders of the city of Norfolk. When the time came to send a petition to the post-office department to have a post-office established, the question of a name came up for consideration. After considerable discussion it was agreed upon by those interested to call the new post-office Nor'fork, a contraction of the words North Fork, and accordingly the petition went in this way. The post-office department granted the petition and established the post office, but gave it the name of Norfolk, evidently assuming that the petitioners had misspelled the name. From 1868 to 1871 the settlers of Antelope County got their mail at Norfolk, but as early as the year 1869 they began to agitate the question of securing an extension of the mail route from Norfolk west up the valley of the Elkhorn, Judge John H. Snider taking a leading part in this (225) movement. John Taffe, at that time the sole representative of Nebraska in the lower house of Congress, was written to, and becoming interested in the matter, he secured the passage of an act to establish a mail route from Norfolk northwest to the northwest corner of township 24, range 5 west, the last named point being also the northwest corner of Burnett township.

     He also secured the passage of an act to establish a mail route from Norfolk to Niobrara, this last named route running through the northeastern part of Antelope County, which was as yet wholly unsettled. Through the influence of John M. Thayer these acts passed the senate and were approved March 5, 1870. Early in the year 1871 a post-office called Twin Grove was established on section 6, Burnett township, with John H. Snider post-master, and weekly mail service began in July of that year on this route. By act of Congress approved March 3, 1873, the route was extended to Frenchtown and by act of June 3, 1874, the route was extended from Frenchtown to the northwest corner of the state of Nebraska.

     The first ten post-offices to be established in Antelope County, with the postmasters appointed, were as follows, coming in the order named:

     Twin Grove, in Burnett township, John H. Snider, postmaster.

     Gillespie, in Ord township, J. M. Gillespie, postmaster.

     Antelope, in Blaine township, J. H. Smith, postmaster.

     Frenchtown, in Frenchtown township, Jay Saxton, postmaster.

     Ogden, in Burnett township, Crandall Hopkins, postmaster.

     Neligh, in Neligh township, J. B. Thompson, postmaster.

     Clyde, in Cedar township, E. R. Palmer, postmaster.

     Willowdale, in Willow township, A. W. Waterman, postmaster.

     St. Clair, in Grant township, E. M. Blackford, postmaster.

     Jessup, in Verdigris township, Alex. McCollum, postmaster. 

     (226) About the time that Ogden post-office was established, Twin Grove post-office was moved to Oakdale and the name changed to Oakdale and R. P. Elwood was appointed postmaster. As the county settled up new post routes were formed and new post-offices established until by the year 1880 nearly all parts of the county were supplied. Recently, however, all post-offices not directly on railroad have been discontinued, the rural free delivery taking their places.

     Among the papers of the late William B. Lambert has been found the following memorandum relating to the first newspaper published in the county: "To Antelope County belongs the honor of having a newspaper established within its boundaries at an earlier date after the first settlement than any of her sister counties in the Elkhorn valley. This possibly can be accounted for from the fact that her population up to 1880 was almost exclusively American born, speaking the English language. Up to the date named Antelope County was the most distinctively American county in the state." The first newspaper of the county was the Oakdale "Journal," owned and edited by Robert P. Elwood. Mr. Elwood was a young man of good ability, well known and universally liked by the early day settlers. He enjoyed the distinction of being the first justice of the peace, the first storekeeper, and the first editor of the county. His newspaper was a semi-monthly and was printed in the office of the West Point "News" and was sent up to Antelope County for distribution, its items for publication being prepared by Mr. Elwood and sent to West Point by mail. The first number of this paper was issued in June, 1873, but after the publication of five numbers Mr. Elwood was taken sick and died suddenly September 23, 1873, at the age of twenty-three years. The publication of the paper was continued by Dr. A. B. Elwood, a brother of Robert P. Elwood, until the spring of 1874, when it was discontinued.

     In the month of April, 1874, Mr. M. S. Bartlett came to the county from West Point, Nebraska, and established the (227) second Oakdale "Journal," issuing the first number May 1874. Mr. Bartlett employed Rev. Charles E. Sale, the first resident Methodist minister of the county and who was preacher, teacher, lawyer, farmer, or teamster, as occasion required, to move the printing press and office fixtures from West Point to Oakdale. Mr. Bartlett states that this removal was made by ox teams in April, 1874, just after a bad storm that left the roads in a very muddy condition and the poor fellow earned his money twice over. The Oakdale "Journal" continued to be published regularly every week at Oakdale until October, 1875, when, during the fierce county-seat war then raging, the proprietor was induced to move his paper to Neligh, where its publication was continued as the Neligh "Journal" until some time in the year 1879, when it was taken to Norfolk and published as the Norfolk "Journal." After the removal of the press and fixtures to Neligh in 1875 the Neligh "Journal " continued to be the only paper published in the county until April 7, 1877, when the "Pen and Plow" was started at Oakdale by Taylor and Noble, with I. N. Taylor as editor. The "Pen and Plow," however, soon changed hands, E. P. McCormick becoming owner and editor. In 1883 Mr. McCormick sold out to Boyd Brothers, who changed the name to Oakdale "Journal," and continued its publication at Oakdale. The Neligh "Journal," and the " Pen and Plow " continued to be the only papers published in the county until October 3, 1879, when Charles F. Bayha started the Neligh "Republican," which was afterward sold to R. K. Beecham, who continued its publication at Neligh. In January, 1881, the publication of the Antelope County "Eagle" was begun at Neligh by Wellman and Leake, but on August 6th of the same year the paper was sold to Judson Graves, who established the Neligh "Advocate" and issued the first number August 13, 1881. There were no other newspapers published in the county until the year 1885 which takes us beyond the limit of time that this present history is intended to cover.

     Nearly all these early newspapers were ably edited and (228) well printed. M. S. Bartlett of the Oakdale "Journal," and afterward of the Neligh "Journal," E. P. McCormick of the "Pen and Plow," C. F. Bayha and R. K. Beecham of the Neligh "Republican," and Judson Graves of the Neligh "Advocate" were men of ability and experience in the newspaper business, and their publications were a credit to the profession, as well as an honor to Antelope County.