(130) WHEN the first general election was held in the county after its organization, the question of the location of the county seat should have been submitted to the voters. This election occurred in October, 1871, but the question of the location of the county seat was not considered at that time. It is probable that few if any of the voters of the county at that time knew of the provisions of the statute, requiring that the question of the location of the county seat should be submitted to the voters at the first general election after the organization. As mentioned, in Chapter IX, there was not a copy of the statutes of Nebraska in the county, and the county officials were acting solely on their own judgment. Very fortunately they did not go far wrong. Besides, the question of the location of the county seat had hardly been talked about at that time, and there had been no place suggested as suitable.

     The second general election occurred in October, 1872. There were three county officers to be elected at this time, namely: commissioner for the 3d district, county treasurer, and surveyor. Robert Marwood had held the office of county treasurer for one year, and George H. McGee that of surveyor. Both had been elected in 1871 for two years, but failing to qualify in time, they had held their positions by appointment. At this election in October, 1872, Zebulon Buoy was re-elected commissioner of the 3d district. Mr. Marwood, whose work as county treasurer had been very satisfactory to the people, absolutely declined a re-nomination as treasurer, and J. M. Callison was elected (131) to fill the vacancy. It was a poor trade for the county when this exchange was made. George H. McGee was reelected surveyor to fill the vacancy. The location of the county seat was also submitted to the voters at this election.

     Prior to this, however, the Omaha & Northwestern Railroad had received from the state of Nebraska a grant of Internal Improvement lands for building their road from Omaha north to Tekamah, in Burt County. About thirty-two thousand acres of these Internal Improvement lands lay in Antelope County, being on both sides of the Elkhorn River, and extending up the valley from the county line on the east to a point about five miles above Neligh. Two separate parties purchased some of these lands with the intention of laying out townsites and of getting the county seat.

     In the early part of the year 1872 Mr. I. N. Taylor, of Columbus, Nebraska, who was also at that time a member of the state board of immigration, with his office in Omaha, made a visit to the Elkhorn valley and looked over these lands, and on his return made a report to others interested. He recommended the northeast quarter, section 11, and the northwest quarter, section 12, in what is now Oakdale township, as a suitable location for a townsite, Accordingly five men, namely: Chas. F. Walther, F. W. Hohman, Frank M. Jenks, I. N. Taylor, and John Rath, purchased these lands of the Omaha & Northwestern Railroad Co., and proceeded to lay out the townsite of Oakdale. The townsite was surveyed and platted by J. G. Routson, county surveyor of Platte County in July, 1872, assisted by I. N. Taylor, and the survey was certified to by I. N. Taylor. The plat was filed with the county clerk, August 28, 1872.

     The name "Oakdale" came about in this way. In Chapter VIII it is related how the settlers met at J. H. Snider's and petitioned the legislature to organize the county of "Oakland," and why it came to be named Antelope instead. Mr. Taylor, having heard of this, intended to name the (132) townsite Oakland, but finding that there was already a post-office in the state by that name, he named his townsite Oakdale.

     The townsite of Oakdale as originally platted contained a good mill site, and this was sold the following winter to R. G. King of West Point, Nebraska, together with the west half of the townsite, Mr. King also contracting to improve the water-power and erect a flouring mill. The steam saw-mill, before referred to, which had been running for about a year and a half at Judge Snider's, was moved over to Oakdale, a large quantity of oak and cottonwood saw logs having been delivered in anticipation of its coming. Thus the town of Oakdale was started. The following is taken from a manuscript of Mr. Lambert as to the way in which the town of Neligh was started.

     "A party of four men from West Point attended district court at Norfolk in August, 1872. The party was composed of John D. Neligh, John B. Thompson, Allen D. Beemer, and Niels Larsen. After the adjournment of the court they concluded to take a trip up the Elkhorn to view the country, as none of them had ever been up the river farther west than Norfolk. They left Norfolk and traveled west as far as the French settlement in Antelope county. After crossing the Belmer Ravine, on their way up, they were all so favorably struck with the lay of the land for the purpose of a townsite that on their return they stopped and gave the place a thorough examination, in company with D. V. Coe, Alexander Belmer, and others, and also took into consideration the feasibility of damming the river, and the amount of water-power that could be obtained. On examination, everything proving satisfactory, they determined on their return to West Point to purchase the land, lay out a town, erect a flouring mill, and also open up a store of general merchandise. After canvassing the matter with rather unsatisfactory results, Mr. Neligh determined to go to Omaha and purchase the land of the Omaha and Northwestern Railroad Company. On Mr. Neligh's arrival in Omaha he found the company had the very tract of land he proposed buying marked out as a townsite on (133) their plats and that it was reserved from sale. After examining their plats under pretense of buying, with apparently no particular tract in view, he succeeded in having the numbers inserted in the contract under which he bought the present site of the town. Mr. Kountze, the vice-president of the road, before signing the contracts in duplicate, made particular inquiry as to whether it embraced the tract they had reserved as a townsite, and being assured by a careless clerk that it did not, he affixed his signature to the contracts, and Mr. Neligh came out victorious."

     The land thus purchased by Mr. Neligh embraced the south half, of the southeast quarter, and the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter, section 17; the northeast quarter and east half of the northwest quarter, section 20; and the northwest quarter of section a 21, in what is now Neligh township and includes the present city of Neligh. This purchase was made October 4th, and as the election was to be held October 8th, Mr. Neligh hurried back to West Point, and the next morning sent Anton Psota, a young Bohemian in his employ, with a letter addressed to Judge Coe, notifying him that he had bought this land and that he intended to lay out a town, and erect a saw-mill and grist-mill thereon as soon as possible. He asked Judge Coe to confer with L. A. Boyd and others and to use their best endeavors at the coming election to have the county seat located on the northeast quarter of section 20. Unfortunately young Psota, who could scarcely speak English at all, lost his way and did not reach Judge Coe's until noon on the day of the election.

      The county seat was located at Oakdale by a large majority, considering the number of votes cast, but as the returns were burned with other records at the burning of the court-house three years later the result cannot now be given. There are those, however, who think that if this information had reached the voters in time the result would have been in favor of the northeast quarter of section 20. This view is probably incorrect, as at that time the (134) country tributary to Oakdale had more settlers than that around Neligh.

     A memorandum found among Mr. Lambert's papers states that the townsite of Neligh was surveyed and platted by Niels Larsen, county surveyor of Cuming County, in February, 1873, and Charles E. Fields' "History of Neligh," published in 1880, makes the same statement. However, Mr. McGee, who was well conversant with the facts, thinks that Niels Larsen came up to do the surveying about December 1, 1872, and that he was stopped by the inclemency of the weather. Mr. Larsen did not complete the work. The final survey was made by George H. McGee in July, 1875, and the plat filed September 30th of that year. However, Larsen had done enough work so that some of the lots could be located and offered for sale. The town was not named until the summer of 1873, when it was called "Neligh," at the suggestion of William B. Lambert.

     Mr. Neligh arranged in the summer of 1873 for the building of a brick flouring mill, and with this in view contracted with John H. Crawford to burn the brick. He also built a frame dam across the Elkhorn River and put in the machinery for a saw-mill and began to saw cottonwood lumber. The financial panic of 1873 coming on, Mr. Neligh was unable to proceed with his plans. He therefore sold the unfinished flouring mill, the saw-mill with all the machinery and material, to William B. Lambert and William C. Gallaway.

     Both Oakdale and Neligh continued to develop rapidly. In the fall of 1873 the Oakdale flouring mill began running, and the Neligh mill commenced to grind in September, 1874. These two mills were appreciated by the settlers. They were the greatest convenience, without exception, that they had known up to this time. There were no mills west or south of these for several years. Their customers came fifty miles or more from these directions. Both mills also did a large business with the cattle ranches at the head of the Elkhorn and on the Niobrara, shipping hundreds of wagon loads of flour and feed to these points, and also to the Black Hills mining country.