Battle of the Bridges : Community Rivalry in Dawson County Nebraska

Excerpt taken from Preface: Overton; Plum Creek, now Lexington; Cozad; and finally, Golhenburg. A large section of Dawson County extended south of the river and the trade territory to the Republican. The trade from the south side was essential to both setters and the towns if they were to grow and prosper. Every town needed its bridge across the Plane, and Dawson County finances were insufficient to build even one. There was considerable rivalry between the towns, and each made Its own plans to build a bridge Plum Creek, the county seat and the largest town, was the first to succeed. Its bridge, built in 1873. was the first across the Plane west of Columbus Nebraska. Today the land once called worthless has become a major agricultural region, Dawson County is a leading producer of corn and alfalfa; large herds of cattle and swine replaced the buffalo, fed now by grain and hay. Microwave towers and buried cable flash telephone messages and TV across the Nation in a second. Power lines carry electricity to the towns and thousands of farms. Oil and gas pipelines lie beneath the silent ruts of the Oregon Trail. Thousands of vehicles speed by on 1-80 where ox teams struggled to travel fifteen miles a day. The Battle of the Bridges by Rex German and Russ Czaplewsta tells the beginning of that story-how the settlers coped with the problems of the day and laid the foundation for the prosperous land we enjoy today it is a long and difficult task to research and write the history of those days. Bits of history are hidden in old newspapers, county records, and reminiscences of pioneers. Rex and Russ have done an excellent job of putting it all together, and I congratulate them on a task well done. All who are interested in our pioneer heritage should read it. Respectfully, Clyde Wallace