A couple of surprises in store for visitors to Butler County -- 4/27/2008

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By Jim McKee/For the Lincoln Journal Star

 The area now known as Butler County was first home to the Native but was soon crossed by a number of westward routes including the Mormon Trail, Old Military/Government Road, The Pike's Peak and Fort Kearney roads, to name a few.

   In June 1856, the Nebraska Territorial Legislature created Butler County. The county was not named for Territorial Gov. David Butler, as many surmise, or for William Butler who homesteaded there in 1863 and was the first county sheriff. Rather, it was named for Orlando Butler of Kentucky, who was proposed as Nebraska's first territorial governor but perhaps wisely declined.

   The first attempt at settlement was by the Plattsmouth-based Waverly Town Co., which arrived at Skull Creek in 1857 but did not stay. The following year, the Legislature specified that the county seat of Butler County would be sited at Mahala, although there is no record of where the name came from or where the proposed city would be.

   The citizens attempted to organize Butler County in 1859, but primarily due to their small numbers, this did not occur until 1868 when 68 people voters elected county officers and placed the county seat at Savannah on the northern edge of the county.

   By 1871, Savannah, on the Blue River, had a courthouse, two general stores, a blacksmith, two dozen smaller merchants, a post office and had held the first court term. The voters moved the county seat to David City in 1873 in favor of its more central location.

   Although the first homestead in the southwest corner of Butler County was filed in 1866, not much settlement occurred until George Miller arrived from Seward seeking a site for a flouring mill. He was surprised by the amount of water power afforded on the Big Blue River and immediately built a three-story, 24-by-50-foot mill, which used a 17 horsepower, water-driven mill to produce 30 barrels of "Surprise" flour per day.

   As others settled near the Surprise Mill, a community began, and the Surprise post office was established in 1883. The following year a town was platted and named for the mill as well.

   Crucial to any settlement's success, the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad arrived in 1887, and by 1900 Surprise had a population of 348.

   In 1910, Miller installed an electric generator at the mill that was able to supply power to the community as well. The same year a park developed on the south side of the Blue River and a large Chautauqua tent was erected. It was estimated the Chautauqua attracted as many as 4,000 people from the surrounding area.

   In 1942, the Chicago & North Western Railroad, which had assumed the town's train service, closed the depot, and a July 4, 1945, tornado destroyed many of the buildings. Although Surprise is still an incorporated town, its population is listed at 44. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that the town still exits.

   A few miles to the southeast sits the failed site of the Waverly Town Co., which did see Solomon Garfield and James Blair successfully settle in 1858. James (sometimes Jasper) M. Palmer traveled through in search of gold in Colorado and ended up in California but returned to Nebraska in spring 1867. He became one of the earliest settlers in the area.

   A few months later Gilamous (understandably, sometimes known as George) McCarty arrived from Plattsmouth.

   In June 1868, the town of Ulysses was platted on land owned by Palmer and McCarty. The name Ulysses was given by the Rev. Abraham Towner in honor of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, whose name also was given to the precinct. McCarty later claimed he was the "first settler and the founder of the town, and also the first merchant and Postmaster."

   The arrival of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad caused a population burst, and in 1874, McCarty and Palmer bought the three-story flouring mill.

   By 1880, Palmer had been elected county commissioner and the population of Ulysses peaked at 700. By 1882, the list of businesses was impressive and included a hotel, bank, several general stores, drug stores, hardware stores, a $3,000 schoolhouse, $1,500 Methodist church and even a ketchup factory.

   The population of the still-flourishing town of Ulysses is about 250.

   Historian Jim McKee, who still writes with a fountain pen, invites comments or questions. Write to him in care of the Journal Star or at jim@leebooksellers.com.