History

I have never traveled west of Chicago. I have never seen the Mississippi and I would love to see more of this wonderful country that we live in. Patrick and Joan, my wonderful in-laws graciously invited me to travel along with them to York, Nebraska this summer. They are going to a windmill trade fair, as Patrick builds and restores windmills with his business Second Wind. David is somewhat perplexed, as he wonders WHY I want to go to NEBRASKA with his PARENTS.... but hey, that is why we love each other... we have our differences!

So, I really know very little about Nebraska. I have been told it is FLAT, and you can see forever. I know that there are prairie dogs, and that farming is king. I am not so sure about anything else. Being the curious soul that I am, I a starting to research a little bit about this state. Nebraska was part of the Louisiana Territory purchased from France in 1812, and the Kansas-Nebraska Territory was formed in 1854 that separated the two territories, and then finally Nebraska became a state in 1867. I found some great websites that has given me some information about York County, Nebraska, and I am shamelessly taking info. from there to share.

"Nebraska" comes from an Oto Indian word meaning "flat water," referring to the Platte River. York County is south of the Platte River and is drained by the Big Blue River, Beaver Creek, Lincoln Creek, and Coon Creek. Early settlers hauled water from natural springs, dug wells by hand, or dug ditches to water their crops. Windmills were vital to pumping water for crops, livestock, and household use in the 1920s. Today's farmers use windmills mostly to pump water for livestock. Irrigation wells are pumped with diesel or electric motors.

Windmills are symbols of the Great Plains and have been used for generations to pump underground water to the surface for irrigating crops, watering livestock, and providing a reliable source of water for laundry, and kitchen use. Nebraska was home to several windmill builders, including the Climax Windmill Factory in Falls City, Charles Dempster Windmills in Beatrice, and the Fairbury Windmill Company in Fairbury.

I was very interested to learn that it was right by the Oregon Trail! WOW!

The City of York was founded in 1869 by the South Platte Land Company, and was named after York, England, and York, Pennsylvania. The city grew as the county seat and farm trading center, and was incorporated in 1875. Since the turn of the 20th century, York's population has gradually increased from 5,132 to more than 8,000.

Located on the "Nebraska City Cut-off" of the famous Oregon Trail, York was a stopping place for many early-day travelers. By 1872, the town was flourishing with commerce. The Burlington Railroad built a line to York in 1877. In 1882, the York Foundry was started. The York Public Library was established by the Women's Club in 1885, and York College was founded in 1890.

York is a major crossroads -- U.S. Highway 81 and Interstate 80 run border to border across the state and meet in York. U.S. Highway 81 is the Pan American Highway and is being upgraded to a four-lane, divided expressway which reflects its continued north-south importance. Additionally, the Burlington Northern Railroad mainline traverses the City of York.

Now that I have educated you and myself via Google about windmills, and York, Nebraska, a little more on where we are going and what is happening. As mentioned,

If you would like to see the websites I have visited, please check out:

http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/index.html

and for a great PDF of the trade fair:

http://www.doublelwindmills.com/TriFoldBrochuresm.pdf