Precinct "E" (Township 11 North, Range 1 East)
Seward County, Nebraska
Note: If you have any obituaries, biographies, photos, or stories about early residents of Seward Co., Nebraska, please consider adding them to this website. --Alice
Return to Seward County, Nebraska Precincts INDEX
Precinct "E" INDEX
History of "E" in History of Seward County, Nebraska by W. W. Cox, 1888The following article is from W. W. Cox, History of Seward County, Nebraska, 1888, Chapter VI, pages 116-117:
[Surnames: COLEMAN, DERBY, GLEASON, GREENWOOD, JONES, WRIGHT]
"E" PRECINCT.
Town eleven, range one east, is an unbroken plain without a running stream, and with the exception of a few marshes is wholly an excellent body of farm land.M. C. Wright, Joseph Jones, Samuel Gleason, G. A. Derby, Mr. Greenwood, and H. M. Coleman were among the first to settle, in 1871, and were followed in 1872 by great numbers. About the time of the first settlement the state road was located from Seward to York and passed through this precinct.
In the early history of "E" there were no such incidents of thrilling interest as occurred on the great freight roads, and the few settlers on the prairie were not so isolated from the world, as Seward was quite a town when the settlement of this prairie began. Yet the first settlers saw some rough times, although they were free from Indian scares and not in any positive danger of starving, as older settlements were near at hand. The growth and development of the farmers' portion has been steady and kept full pace with other portions of the county, and now has fine improvements throughout. Finely improved farms, innumerable groves of planted timber and orchards, etc., etc.
Miss Clara Derby had the honor of teaching the first school in the precinct, in the summer of 1873. There are now outside of Utica three school-houses, and two others in which the people are interested.
Population, including Utica, 1,225, with 160 farms and ten manufacturing industries, and six miles of railroad. Their railroad station and village is the bright town of Utica, which was founded in the autumn of 1878. The first beginning and growth of Utica is related in another chapter, but its present status may be named here. The village contains between 600 and 700 people, and is third in population and business importance in the county, and has many live and energetic business men; maintains a graded school with a fine structure, a large steam grist mill, an opera house—a commodious brick structure, three grain elevators, two lumber yards, two banks, quite a large number of mercantile establishments, several churches, a fair-sized hotel, two livery stables, numerous shops, and many [p. 117] fine dwellings. The A. F. and A. M., the I. O. O. F., and G. A. R. each have themselves established orders. Flourishing Sabbath-schools are maintained by the churches, and taken all together Utica is a pleasant village and is fairly prosperous.
_____________________________________
