Due to the generosity of Mrs. Albert Gehner, Mr. Theodore Friedhof, and many other benefactors, this site has become a focal point of agricultural activity in Platte County.
The donation of this land, formerly known as the Browner Farm, and a . . . — — Map (db m122883) HM
Andrew Jackson Higgins, designer and manufacturer of World War II landing craft known as "Higgins boats," was born August 28, 1886, at Columbus, Nebraska. His parents were John Gonegle Higgins, a prominent lawyer and judge, and Annie Long O'Connor . . . — — Map (db m9775) HM
In October 1934 Camp Platte was established near here by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC was one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs designed to promote economic recovery during the Great Depression. Its goal was . . . — — Map (db m206955) HM
Vincent Kummer
Born 1821
Berne, Switzerland
John Rickly
Born March 19, 1815
Berne, Switzerland
Jacob Louis
Born September 2, 1834
Wurttemberg, Germany
Charles Reinke
Born May 15, 1828
Germany
Fred . . . — — Map (db m58751) HM
Harold Kramer
Kramer achieved national recognition for his state and national public power leadership as general manager of the Loup River Public Power District. Kramer first became active in Nebraska’s public power systems in 1932 when he . . . — — Map (db m58746) HM
Leo Sokol
Leo Sokol invented and began manufacturing irrigation pumps in 1933 in Duncan. Leo invented the first hydraulic single-cylinder Duncan manure loader. He was a natural inventor who created many other products for the agriculture . . . — — Map (db m58747) HM
Edward Martin Nielsen
Edward Nielsen bought the Columbus Chevrolet franchise in 1926. Soon after, the dealership moved to the 13th Street site where it remained for the next 70 years. Nielsen Chevrolet-Buick was in business one day short of . . . — — Map (db m58748) HM
William Gerhold, Sr.
William Gerhold, Sr. formed a partnership with his brother Alfred in 1921 to buy the family business and remained owner and CEO of the Gerhold Company for the next 51 years. Throughout the '20s and '30s, Gerhold was . . . — — Map (db m58752) HM
Edgar Howard
Edgar Howard had a career in the newspaper business that spanned more than 75 years. After a career in various jobs within newspapers, he bought the newspaper in Papillion in 1883 and established a paper in Benkleman four years . . . — — Map (db m58813) HM
Lyman & Robert Mead
Lyman Mead assumed the role of President of Mead Lumber Company in 1927 upon the death of his father, when Mead Lumber was a single yard in Ashland, Nebraska. In 1934, Lyman moved to Columbus and bought the Kaufmann Lumber . . . — — Map (db m58816) HM
The Columbus Powerhouse is one of Nebraska’s largest hydroelectric generating plants and the pulse of the Loup River Public Power District hydroelectric system. The system was financed in 1933 by a $7.3 million New Deal Public Works Administration . . . — — Map (db m182100) HM
In 1492 Christopher Columbus, his crew and three ships, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria set sail from Spain to the New World. That voyage is depicted in the scene above as we pay tribute to the man, the voyage and the community namesake. . . . — — Map (db m59855) HM
Inscribed on the Bell:
Mc Shane Bell Foundry
Henry McShane & Co.
Baltimore, Md
Weight: 795 lbs.
The records for the bell and the church were destroyed in a flood. The bronze bell carried no date. The church closed in . . . — — Map (db m59858) HM
The mural reveals important moments in the city’s development by “peeling through” eight of the numerous layers of time from the present to the past.
An aspect of the mural is the transition of color through the piece. It was intentional to . . . — — Map (db m58564) HM
Born in 1894, Frank Zybach grew up in Loup Township, Platte County, Nebraska. He began inventing at age 13. In 1948, he developed a prototype of a self-propelled sprinkler irrigation machine. In 1952, the “Zybach Self-Propelled Sprinkling . . . — — Map (db m181698) HM
Inscribed on the Bell:
Buckeye Bell Foundry
1912
The E. W. VanDuzen Co.
Cincinnati
Weight: 710 lbs.
The church building was built by the Congregational Society in 1866-1867. It was located on 22nd Avenue between 9th . . . — — Map (db m59861) HM
In Memory of
All Korean Veterans
Korean War
"The Forgotten War"
June 25, 1950-July 27, 1953
U.S. Killed 54,246
U.S. Wounded 103,284
U.S. Missing 8,177
Platte County Deaths
Rudat, Fred O. • Brehm, Reinhold P.
Bruce, John . . . — — Map (db m53180) WM
The West produced many fighting men and ranking high among them are Frank and Luther North of Columbus, leaders of the legendary Pawnee Scouts. The Pawnee, located at their nearby reservation, were eager to cooperate with the Army in fighting their . . . — — Map (db m53147) HM
In 1847, Brigham Young led 143 men, 2 women, and 3 children west along the Platte River, then southwest into Utah. By the 1860s, an exodus of more than 70,000 other Mormons followed this trail to their "New Zion." Today, a marked 1,624-mile auto . . . — — Map (db m53192) HM
Inscribed on the Bell:
Cast by Stuckstede & Bro.
St. Louis, Mo
1908
A.D. MCMY-111 - Pius - Pro
[Probably MCMVIII for 1908]
Ecclesia S.S. Cordis
Cornlea, Nebr.
Weight: 1,000 lbs.
The dedication of the Sacred . . . — — Map (db m59867) HM
Inscribed on the Bell:
Henry Stuckstede B F Co
St. Louis, Mo 1902
In hon Sti Bernardi
pat ecclae donum me
dedit
Jacobus Weidner
orate pro
ev ejus que familia
Weight: 2,145 lbs.
About 1873-1874 a few Catholic . . . — — Map (db m59856) HM
Inscribed on the Bell:
Clinton H. Meneely
Bell Company
Troy, N.Y. U.S.A.
A. D. 1884
Weight: 1,350 lbs.
About 1873-1874 a few Catholic families began to settle in the vicinity of the present St. Bernard. Thus, we . . . — — Map (db m59857) HM
Inscribed on the Bell:
Meneely & Kimberly,
Founders,
Troy, N.Y.
1878
Weight: 710 lbs.
About 1873-1874 a few Catholic families began to settle in the vicinity of the present St. Bernard. Thus, we find John Dieter, . . . — — Map (db m59860) HM
Inscribed on the Bell:
Henry Stuckstede B F Co.
St. Louis, Mo.
St John Baptist
Linwood, Nebr
1901
Weight: 1,450 lbs.
Father Francis Zalud of Abie, Nebraska, arranged for the organization of a new daughter parish, . . . — — Map (db m59872) HM
Inscribed on the Bell:
The Hy. Stuckstede B. F. Co.
St. Louis, Mo 1893
Darowall Kosciolowi
S W Michala Tarnowie Nebr
Joseph Paprocki J. Sofia
Zona Jeco
Weight: 295 lbs.
In the early 1870's with much unrest in . . . — — Map (db m59863) HM
Inscribed on the Bell:
Mc Shane Bell Foundry
Baltimore, Md
1891
#418
Weight: 800 lbs.
The Reverend Thomas B. Lemon, presiding elder of the Methodist Episcopal Church in southwest Nebraska, organized a congregation . . . — — Map (db m59862) HM
Inscribed on the Bell:
Buckeye Bell Foundry
1898
Weight: 550lbs.
The first record of Methodist religious work in the Surprise area dates back to 1871 when C. W. Comstock was pastor of the Seward Circuit. This charge . . . — — Map (db m59866) HM
In June 1720 a Spanish military force led by Sir Pedro de Villasur left Santa Fe, New Mexico, to gather information on French activities near the Missouri River. The force included 45 veteran soldiers, 60 Pueblo Indian allies, some Apache scouts, . . . — — Map (db m53143) HM
