Pawnee City in Pawnee County, Nebraska — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Pawnee City

Was Incorporated in 1857

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2021

1. Pawnee City Marker

Inscription.
The Pawnee City Historical Society and Museum was incorporated January 25, 1968, by citizens interested in preserving the history of this area. This home of Nebraska’s First Governor — David Butler and other historical buildings represents much work and sacrifice by members. May future generations carry on this museum.

Presented by Mr. and Mrs. Cecil A. Davis

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1857.

Location. 40° 6.537′ N, 96° 8.518′ W. Marker is in Pawnee City, Nebraska, in Pawnee County. It can be reached from the intersection of 7th Street (State Highway 8/50) and P Street (623 Avenue), on the right when traveling east. The marker is on the Pawnee City Historical Society & Museum grounds. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 529 P Street, Pawnee City NE 68420, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Nebraska and in the Republican River Valley.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

and on the prairies.

Globally, it

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is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: A different marker also named Pawnee City (approx. 0.6 miles away); St John's Catholic Church (approx. 5.4 miles away); Village of Steinauer (approx. 6.9 miles away); St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church (approx. 8.3 miles away); Convent House Bed & Breakfast (approx. 8.3 miles away); N.A. Steinauer Home (approx. 8.3 miles away); Jailhouse (approx. 8.3 miles away); Community Park (approx. 8.3 miles away).

Also see . . .
1. Pawnee City, Nebraska (Wikipedia).

Excerpt: The site of present-day Pawnee City was designated as the county seat on November 4, 1856, and the townsite was platted in the spring of 1857. Pawnee City was incorporated in 1858 and is named after the Pawnee Native Americans. By the 1880s, Pawnee City was a railroad town at the junction of two railroad lines. On August 9, 1881, two-thirds of downtown Pawnee City was destroyed by a fire.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2021

2. Pawnee City Marker
David Butler Home (1862) is in the left background. A settler's log cabin (1857) is in the right background.
Downtown was subsequently rebuilt with fireproof construction.

(Submitted on June 22, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. David Christy Butler (1829–1891) (Wikipedia).

Excerpt: The first governor of Nebraska, serving from 1867 until 1871. Butler was born near Linton, Indiana, the eldest son of 10 children. Butler was nominated for a state senate seat in Indiana in 1856, but withdrew before the election. He moved three years later to Pawnee City, Nebraska, and engaged in trading cattle until his election to the Nebraska Territorial Legislature in 1861. He was elected to the Nebraska State Senate in 1863 and won the 1866 election to become Nebraska's first governor. During his second term (1869–1870), Butler moved the state's capital from Omaha to present-day Lincoln.
In the spring of 1871, soon after taking office for his third term, eleven articles of impeachment were brought against him. The first charged him with misuse of some $16,000 from the state school fund. Butler had allegedly made personal use of this money to purchase lots in the new city of Lincoln. He was suspended from office by the Supreme Court and subsequently tried by the State Senate. In his impeachment trial, he was convicted on the first charge, although the remaining ten were dropped. The Supreme Court then removed him from office on June 2, 1871.
After ten years of retirement from public life, Butler was elected to the Nebraska State Senate on the Independent Ticket in 1882. Running on the Union Labor Ticket in 1888, he again sought the Governorship but was defeated. Following this defeat Butler retired to his home in Pawnee City, where he died on May 25, 1891, and is interred at Pawnee City Cemetery.

(Submitted on June 22, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

David Butler Home image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2021

3. David Butler Home

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2021

4. David Butler Home

David Butler Home Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2021

5. David Butler Home Marker

Pawnee County Historic Building
David Butler Home
1862
Pawnee City Historical Society and Museum

1857 Log Cabin image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2021

6. 1857 Log Cabin

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2021

7. 1857 Log Cabin

1857 Log Cabin Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 3, 2021

8. 1857 Log Cabin Marker

Pawnee County Historic Building
Log Cabin
1857
Pawnee City Historical Society and Museum

Credits. This page was last revised on June 22, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 22, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 7 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. submitted on June 22, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.