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Fairbury Nebraska Information
This website is dedicated to those that built Jefferson County Nebraska and the towns within.
These original pioneers and current pioneers made their dreams come true.
Hard work and hardships of many kinds brought success.
When reading through the history pages keep in mind that Jones County was the original county.
In 1871 the Nebraska State Legislature split Jones County into two separate counties Thayer and Jefferson.
Both counties have histories that are connected in many ways.
Most of the Titles and images are Hotlinks to take you to topic pages.
Quoted from George E. Jenkins
(pioneer):
I have seen Fairbury grow from a little
hamlet to a city of the first class, surrounded by a country that
we used to call "the Indian
country,"
considered unfit for agricultural purposes, but today it blossoms as the rose and no finer land lies anywhere.
History of Fairbury, Nebraska
James B. Mattingly, a frontiersman and freighter from Kentucky, first settled in Gage County, Nebraska. He saw the future of settlers and the possiblity of a railroad being routed along the Little Blue River, he settled down and built a small saw mill along the banks of the Little Blue to take advantage of the town site opportunities.
Woodford G. McDowell, a capitalist from Fairbury, Illinois also saw the advantages of a railroad coming through the area and came to claim 160 acres.
Each gave 80 acres of land for a town site, the north and south streets from First to Eighth, and the east and west streets from
A to H streets.
In the middle they left a block for the Public Square, (current site of the Jefferson county courthouse). Half on Mattingly's land and half on McDowell's.
In 1869 they chose McDowell's Illinois town of Fairbury for a name for the city of Fairbury, Nebraska.
Do you have
historical photos in your closet?
Share them
with the world!
Teach others about
Jefferson County History.
Any photos of
places, people and things related to Jefferson County
accepted.
They will be
scanned and used on FairburyNebraska.info
website
No monetary
compensation,
but you will be sharing real treasures.
Jefferson County Ne. Business
Directories
Telephone Directories
Learn Jefferson County History
and Fairbury facts.
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