Towns: Fort Calhoun - WASHINGTON COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

Fort Calhoun, Washington County, Nebraska

Nebraska..Our Towns: Fort Calhoun
-Courtesy of UNL's Virtual Nebraska

Fort Calhoun is a focal point in the earliest recorded history of Washington County. Lewis and Clark, on their famed expedition to the Pacific Ocean, held council with the Oto and Missouri Indians on the Missouri River bluff east of what is now Fort Calhoun, on August 3, 1804.

The name "Fort Calhoun" first appears on one of the maps made by Major Long, in 1819-20, designating the fort ordered by Secretary of War, John Calhoun, to protect the fur trade. It does not appear on military records. The "works at the Council Bluff" was, instead, named "Fort Atkinson" in 1821 in honor of the first commander.

The soldiers remained at Fort Atkinson for eight years. They raised thousands of bushels of grain, vegetables, meats, and dairy products. They kept in touch with the outside world through visits from fur traders, delegations to the Indians, inspection officers, adventurers, and occasional world travelers. The fort was abandoned in 1827, and the soldiers moved down river to Fort Leavenworth. The buildings were left to the ravages of time and the Indians.

In 1847-48 Mormon farmers from "Winter Quarters" at Florence, were sent to the area, and later to DeSoto, to supply grain for their westbound caravans. They used the brick and stone from the fort in some of their buildings.

In the summer of 1854, after the Nebraska Territory was opened for settlement, John Goss rowed across the Missouri River from his Iowa home and staked a claim on the fort grounds. Soon thereafter, the Fort Calhoun Township Company was formed, and a cabin built near the old fort magazine.

Early the next spring, in March 1855, E.H.Clark surveyed and platted the town site, and the new village of Fort Calhoun became the county seat. It lost the position to DeSoto in 1858, gaining it back in 1866, only to lose it to Blair in 1869.

Home seekers and speculators flocked to the new town. The pattern of businesses made when the town was young -- a trading center of the farming community, with blacksmith shops, implement houses, cream stations, and the like -- remained until the increase of the commuting population and easy access of food markets, clothing stores, and other business facilities in nearby cities provided alternatives for local residents.

Today, with a population of 680, there is a bank, general store, hardware store, variety store, insurance and realty office, several taverns and restaurants, an ice cream parlor, Indian artifacts and antique store, and Wilkinson Manufacturing.

There are also three churches in town; Baptist, Presbyterian, and Catholic. Service organizations include lodges, American Legion and auxiliary, in addition to Boy and Girl Scouts, Campfire, Future Homemakers of America and many more.

There has been a public school in Fort Calhoun since 1856, graduating its first high school class (10th grade) in 1893. Today, two modern buildings house the elementary and high school, and buses bring students from the surrounding area.

There are two historical tourist attractions in Fort Calhoun: the Washington County Historical Museum, and Fort Atkinson State Park.

Andreas' History of Fort Calhoun
-Courtesy of Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska

The site of Fort Calhoun was selected as a claim early in the summer of 1854 by John Goss, Sr., who lived on a farm owned by him just across the Missouri River, in Iowa. He donated all except two shares to a town company consisting of Casady & Test, Addison Cochran, and H. C. Purple, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Mark W. Izard, A. J. Poppleton, and Hadley D. Johnson, of Omaha. This company built a cabin on the site of the old fort, near the stone magazine, which was still standing in 1854, a solid structure, 10x12 feet in size, with walls two feet thick, and in March, 1855, had the town surveyed and platted by Mr. E. H. Clark. A large number of immigrants came into the county in the spring of this year, many families settling at Fort Calhoun, while a number of others settled on claims near by. Among these new comers were Maj. Anselum Arnold and George W. Nevelle and family.

The first district court held in the county was opened here in June, of this year. The Hon. Fenner Ferguson presided, with Maj. J. W. Paddock as Clerk; Gen. E. Estabrook United States Prosecuting Attorney, and Thomas J. Allen Sheriff. The first case that came up was that of Elias Wilcox vs. James A. Taggart, for claim jumping. E. H. Clark was attorney for the plaintiff, with Gen. Estabrook for defendant. Verdict was rendered for the plaintiff, who still (in 1881) resides upon the disputed claim.

In June, 1855, E. H. Clark made a contract with the town company to build a hotel on the town site, consideration being one-ninth interest in the town; the building to be 24x48 feet, with an ell of same dimensions, all to be of hewn logs, and in good style. After numerous delays and difficulties, the hotel was completed, and was opened to the public by Col. George Stevens the following spring.

In August of this year, while Mr. Clark was busy with the erection of the hotel, Charles D. Davis unostentatiously moved into the claim cabin of the town, filed a claim upon the town site, and served a written notice upon Mr. Clark to quit trespassing upon the claim. He, however, persisted in drawing material on the ground, and was sued by Davis, who obtained a judgment of $100 damages, which Clark paid. The Town Company and citizens attempted to forcibly eject Davis from the claim, but failed, losing of their number John Goss, Sr., who was instantly killed by a bullet passing through his heart. Mr. Purple was wounded in the shoulder, and Mr. Thompson in the thigh. In November Davis made a pretended sale of his interest, and moved away.

In 1856 a court house was built on one of the public squares, 16x20 feet in size. The money for the building of this temple of justice was raised by subscription. Hon. E. Wakely presided as Judge, Hon. George W. Doane was Prosecuting Attorney, Roger T. Beall Clerk, and Orrin Rhodes Sheriff.

Claim jumping was common in those early times. In April, 1856, Isaiah Peterson jumped the claim of a Mr. Coon. Mr. Coon went to see him, and soon afterward was found dead, with a bullet through his heart. Peterson was arrested and indicted, but escaped before being brought to trial. Coon was buried where he fell, and was the first white man buried in the county, Mr. Goss having been taken to his home in Iowa for burial.

During the summer religious services were held in the court house once a month, being conducted by the Rev. Mr. Collins, a Methodist minister residing at Omaha. A Sunday school was also started, with E. H. Clark as Superintendent, and a day school, with Miss Lucy Graham as teacher.

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