History

Archive for the ‘Nebraska’ Category

HISTORICAL NOTE

One of the Republican Valley counties, Harlan County was officially organized by an  act  of  the Nebraska Legislature June  3, 1871.  Formed out of Lincoln County, it lies on the southern border of Nebraska bounded by Phelps, Franklin, and Furnas counties. In 1871 it encompassed an area of 24 square  miles.  A favorite hunting ground for the Indians,  the  area  offered  the  richest  of  wild  grasses,  streams  of  clear  running  water, and  abundant  herds  of  buffalo  and  other  wild  game.  A corps  of U.S. surveyors  were massacred in  the  area in 1869.  The  ensuing campaign against the perpetrators pretty much put an end to hostilities against the white settlers. Forty  men  from  eastern  Nebraska  camped  near  present-day  Orleans  in August of 1870 and began taking out homestead claims.  A year later, a party from Cheyenne, Wyoming, led by Thomas Harlan, settled near Alma.  The county seat was located here in  1871.  The next year  Melrose  became  the county seat  by election.  Due to conflicts over the county seat issue, Alma was declared the legal county seat in 1873.  Although county seat fights continued through the years between Orleans and Alma, Alma is the present county seat of Harlan County. By  1880  the  population  of  Harlan  County  was  at  6,086.  Today  (1991)  Harlan County  encompasses  an  area  of  555  square  miles  with  a  population  of  3,810.  The county was named after Thomas Harlan who led the Wyoming settlers to the area. The  Kansas City District of  the  U.  S. Corps  of  Engineers began  construction  of the Harlan County Dam and Reservoir near Alma in 1946 as a method of flood control and to provide soil and water conservation and aid in irrigation.  This earth dam extends for two miles across the Republican River and rises one hundred and six feet above the surface.  The  project  was  developed  jointly  by  the  Corps  of  Engineers  and  the  U.S. Bureau  of  Reclamation.  The  dam  and  reservoir  has  provided  a  valuable  recreation area and popular fishing spot in the county.