Short-lived town of Nursery Hill served stagecoach travelers

Modern-day travelers crossing Otoe County in Nebraska are familiar with the towns dotting the map near Highway 2, from Nebraska City on the far eastern border to Palmyra on the west and Dunbar, Syracuse and Unadilla in between. But these settlements were nonexistent when pioneers first traversed the land in prairie schooners before Nebraska reached its statehood and the Civil War loomed on the horizon.

Many a westward-bound wagon train snaked along the Platte River on the Oregon Trail, but goods were often freighted on a more direct route called the Overland Trail. Freighters and drovers would cross the Missouri River near Nebraska City then follow this trail for a day before fording the Nemaha River to arrive at Nursery Hill.

Located west of present-day Syracuse, Nursery Hill gained prominence in its heyday as the first day’s stop west of Nebraska City. Like an oasis on the prairie, it was a “filling station” for travelers to prepare for the next leg of their arduous journey ahead.

“Nursery Hill started sometime around when Nebraska opened for settlement in 1854,” said Dennis Wendeln, a resident of Syracuse, Nebraska. “There were some houses and stores at one time, but they were moved across the Nemaha River when the railroad came. There isn’t anything left except a marker.”

Wendeln piqued my interest in researching Nursery Hill when he mailed the historical compilation “For the Record: A Centennial History of Syracuse, Nebraska.” Published in 1972, it was written by the late Margaret Dale Masters, whose ancestors had settled in the region. Masters’ daughter, Judy Moore, shared valuable insight through newspaper clippings and other information for this story.

Clark Besch of Lincoln, Nebraska, also contributed some of his family’s history. Wendeln and Besch share the same great-grandfather, William Y. Heather, who homesteaded along the Muddy Creek at Nursery Hill in September 1869 before Syracuse existed.

Thank you to Wendeln, Besch, Moore and the members of the Otoe County Museum of Memories in Syracuse for providing information. Also, thank you to Wendeln and Moore for taking me to the historical markers commemorating this long-gone community.

Some have assumed that Syracuse and Nursery Hill were one and the same. Although their origins are intertwined, the two places are distinct. The story of Syracuse really begins with the story of Nursery Hill, according to Masters.

But to understand Nursery Hill, you have to backtrack even further to uncover the origins of the name “Syracuse.”

Syracuse was initially a “paper town” scouted in 1856 about 6 miles west of present-day Syracuse. Having discovered salt springs there, a group of ambitious settlers formed the Syracuse Town Company as a rivalry to “the great salt entity” that existed in Syracuse, New York, according to Masters. However, the attempts to mine salt and form a town in the Nebraska Territory proved futile.

Despite the original town’s failure, the name Syracuse carried on when a “postal drop” bearing the same epitaph established at the farmstead of George Warner. He and his uncle, Eben Warner, had arrived in the area sometime around 1855 and made their claim on land that would later become the community of Nursery Hill, according to the article “Legend of Early Settlers at ‘Over Night’ Station,” printed in The Syracuse Journal-Democrat Nov. 7, 1930.

Before an actual postal route delivered mail to the Syracuse postal drop, multiple settlers were sworn in so that whoever made a trip to Nebraska City could pick up the mail; Warner then distributed the mail as postmaster.

“The postal drop gave them a place to pick up mail before there was a mail service,” Wendeln clarified.

The name Syracuse was also reflected in a new “Syracuse Precinct” carved out of the western half of Otoe County in 1859. That same year, the man credited for the establishment of Nursery Hill, Professor Rockwell Thompson, ventured from Ohio to Otoe County and purchased 40 acres in that vicinity, according to “Legend of Early Settlers”.

A botanist and geologist, Thompson collected seeds, plants and bulbs from the prairies. He then shipped them to a seedsman in New York. Thompson also formed a partnership with fellow settler Rochester Hedges, and together they opened the Nemaha Nursery in the Syracuse Precinct.

Hedges had come to Nebraska in 1861 with his young bride Kate and two of their siblings. The group left their homes in central Ohio and traveled from Cincinnati to Nebraska City in a steamboat, arriving “the day that Lincoln issued his call for 75,000 men at the outbreak of the civil war,” as told in a recollection printed in The Syracuse Democrat May 20, 1915.

In Nebraska, Hedges purchased two adjoining 40-acre parcels of land on government warrants. One tract of land was sold to Thompson and later became the site for Nursery Hill.

While accounts differ about the timing and exactly how the partnership came about, all sources affirm that the Nemaha Nursery was a flourishing business. The nursery even had a remote location in Nebraska City to sell trees and seeds for flowers and gardens. The first trees planted at the courthouse in Nebraska City were provided by the Nemaha Nursery, according to Masters.

In later years, tubs of flowers grown at the nursery were shipped to Lincoln for special occasions. They grew exotic flowers like Persian lilies and more common kinds, such as the “rows of peonies—double and single, pink, red and white,” as described in a Sept. 19, 1930, article in The Syracuse Journal-Democrat.

Nursery Hill officially came into existence in 1863 when George Warner sold out and moved away, leaving no postmaster in the Syracuse Precinct. Thompson secured the post office, moving the postal drop to his business. He also changed the postal name to Nursery Hill, as an advertisement ploy, Masters wrote. With that move, Nursery Hill landed on the map.

Nursery Hill was more commonly referred to as “the Brick Post Office” because the building was constructed using bricks resurrected from the ruins of a fire that destroyed several buildings at Nebraska City, according to the recollections in “Interesting Incidents of Early Days as Told by Pioneer Residents” published May 20, 1915, in the The Syracuse Democrat.

Thompson desired that his only sister join in his prosperity at Nursery Hill. He proposed a business deal to his brother-in-law, Volney C. Utley, who moved his family from Winona, Minnesota, to Nursery Hill.

Not long after their arrival, Thompson sold his company share to Utley in 1865. Thompson then moved to St. Joe, Missouri, and began working for the Union Pacific Railroad as a geologist, according to the afore-mentioned article published Nov. 7, 1930. He died on Christmas Day in 1875 on a train enroute from Omaha to St. Louis.

When the Utleys moved to Nebraska Territory, Thompson had already been running a stage station at Nursery Hill for five years, as revealed by The Syracuse Journal-Democrat. By that time, Nursery Hill had become the headquarters for the freight firm Overland Stage along the Nebraska City-Denver Shortland Overland Trail.

The Overland Trail was considered “the main highway by which men and materials were moved from steamboats at Nebraska City to Denver and even the West Coast” prior to the 1860s, Masters wrote. It was also the main pipeline to soldiers stationed in western outposts. Millions of pounds of supplies were shipped to the forts over this route, as cited by Jeff Barnes in his book “Cut in Stone, Cast in Bronze: Nebraska’s Historical Markers and Monuments.”

“Before the railroad, they had to freight everything out west to Fort Kearny,” said Moore. “Freighters started the company in Nebraska City called Majors and Waddell, and they started the Pony Express years later.”

Former Nebraska State Historical Society member Barney Oldham wrote a memoir about how the “road was lined with wagons coming and going” when he and his family camped at Nursery Hill after ferrying across the Missouri River.

Seventy-five percent of travelers enroute from the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains followed this winding course along what was once the Old Freight Road, according to Addison E. Sheldon, former superintendent of the Nebraska State Historical Society and a prominent historical writer who grew up in the region.

Later referred to as the “Nebraska City - Fort Kearny Cutoff” and “Nebraska-City – Denver Cutoff,” the path was also called Steam Wagon Road because of a broken-down steam wagon. A marker denotes where this contraption became stuck in the mud west of Nebraska City.

“The steam wagon got stuck in the mud about a mile out of town. It must have been a major breakdown because they just left it sit there,” Wendeln said.

This weathered steam wagon became a famous landmark over the years, but all but one piece was melted down for iron during a war. A steam regulator canister from this steam wagon can be seen at the Old Freighters Museum in Nebraska City.

The Overland Trail shaved 75 miles off the original shipping route, according to The Syracuse Journal-Democrat, printed Oct. 31, 1930. When freight time from Nebraska City to Denver was five to six weeks and stagecoaches only traveled 6 mph, such a significant reduction in mileage could shorten a trip by days.

“Originally, they went through Omaha, but when Majors got the contract, he realized that wasn’t fast enough. He found this route much quicker because you could get across the river,” Moore said, adding that the Nemaha River valley was once low and flat enough near Nursery Hill to cross without a bridge. She said, “You can see how the river has cut down over the years.”

Moore also mentioned that the grass around Omaha had been severely grazed down from all the wagon trains. The new route provided a food source for the oxen and horses, as well as fresh water. She still has the original bullwhip that her great-grandfather Enoch Masters of Jackson, Ohio, used as a drover.

“He would go to Nebraska City every Sunday, work there and come home Friday night or Saturday,” Moore said.

The Overland Stage company erected “road ranches” about every 20 miles along the Overland Trail. This was as far as an ox-team could travel in a day. This distance also allowed stagecoach horses to relay as needed yet was “near enough for a loaded team to go and come (in the) same day,” inferred a historical note in the Nebraska City News Press printed May 21, 1972.

Nursery Hill was located “20 miles out of the port of entry” west of the Missouri River, according to the article “Nursery Hill Takes a Bow” in a York newspaper dated Oct. 10, 1940. The stage station provided all the necessary accommodations for both man and beast.

Two general stores lined both sides of the road at Nursery Hill. The store on the north side was owned by Arnold Still; the other was managed by J. Farrish and his nephew John Abbott. These stores “contained everything desirable or thinkable,” area resident Dr. Dexter Ashley said.

Those passing through Nursery Hill could find relief for ailments of all kinds either at the doctor’s office or the saloon. For repairs, an open-air blacksmith shop nearby was operated by John W. Morris, according to the Masters book.

The Utley home was part of the road ranch and served as a hotel. Described as a “mansion” by Ashley, the multi-story home sat on the south side of the road at the crest of the hill. The first house burned down when a defective flue ignited a fire in 1867, but the structure was rebuilt.

Down the hill from the Utley home and adjacent to the road was an expansive barn. A long watering trough sat near the barn to water livestock.

Long and low, the barn was large enough to accommodate the stagecoach relay horses and coaches. Each stagecoach was pulled by two to three teams of horses; two drivers and the baggage rode on top of the coach while nine passengers could ride inside, according to Masters.

A flour mill was erected on the western side of the Nemaha River. Moore said that her great-great grandfather Samuel Masters owned the mill; his son-in-law Geroge McKee worked there.

“The original mill burned, so Samuel had to rebuild it,” said Moore. He could not financially recover from the incident, and later the mill was returned to the lender.

Wendeln remembers coming across the remnants of the old mill along the Nemaha River once while fishing in high school.

“You could see some of the foundation from the mill. It was falling in because the creek was cutting there. It’s all gone now,” said Wendeln.

A stone quarry could also be found two miles west of Nursery Hill on land claimed by Rev. Henry T. Vose, a Baptist minister, Mexican War veteran and brickmaker. According to Masters, “He worked a 20 acre stone quarry from which stone was shipped for the penitentiaries at both Lincoln and Council Bluffs.”

Stones were also quarried by settlers to erect mills, buildings and foundations in the area. Money was scarce for such building projects. Homesteader Louis B. Smoyer told of hauling rock from the quarry to lay foundation for a new schoolhouse in 1868. His stories are recorded in the May 6, 1915, edition of “Interesting Incidents of Early Days as Told by Pioneer Residents” in The Syracuse Democrat.

By the time lumber, nails and lime were purchased from Nebraska City to build the school, no money remained to purchase furniture for the classrooms. Rudimentary benches were devised instead. School ceased during the winter months at Nursery Hill because the building was incomplete and could not be heated. Parents took turns as teachers “as accommodations were scarce for all.”

Nursery Hill developed into a populated neighborhood with a “picturesque little group of houses” on the side hill overlooking the valley, as recounted in the “Otoe Union.” But the placid scenery was riddled by nomads on Overland Trail. Mrs. Stella J. Leavitt, daughter of V.C. Ultey, wrote about her view from her childhood home atop Nursery Hill:

At the “high tide of movement” on the Overland Trail in 1865, an estimated 100,000 tons of freight, or the equivalent of 5,000 railroad cars, moved by wagon across Nebraska. According to Sheldon, that year there were 7,365 wagons, 50,712 oxen and 7,231 mules counted on the Overland Trail out of Nebraska City.

Living near a major roadway did cause strife amongst the Nursery Hill residents beyond normal perils associated with pioneer life. Smoyer called the freighters a “rough lot.” They often stole vegetables that the pioneers had arduously labored to raise in the sod “thus depriving the settlers of a means of sustenance and working additional hardships for them.”

But living away from dense civilization posed threats greater than those induced by man. Smoyer shared his encounter with wolves during a journey home from Nebraska City with a fresh quarter of beef in his wagon. Soon, Smoyer was pursued by several howling “brutes.” He arrived home safely and placed the beef on the kitchen table but did not sleep that night, for the wolves persistently stalked his house. “All night long they howled outside the home, often coming up and snuffing at the window and scratching at it.”

Beef would have been a rare dish for early settlers. Pork or wild game were more common protein sources, with milk, eggs, fish and wild berries supplemented when possible (Masters). Their diet consisted mainly of cornbread or mush. Another corn dish called hominy was concocted from dried corn boiled with lye; it was “made by the wash tub full.”

Flour was only for those who could afford the extra expense. Instead of buying flour outright for $4.50 to $6 per hundredweight, Smoyer often traded wheat for flour at the mill in Weeping Water or Nebraska City. He could also sell wheat at 45 cents per bushel. In comparison, potatoes sold for 17 cents per bushel and corn for 18 or 19 cents per bushel.

As a cheaper alternative to sugar, molasses was the main sweetener of choice. One pound of brown sugar cost Smoyer 12 ½ cents. Masters wrote that “sugar was such a luxury that William Heather made a note in his diary each time he bought a few pounds.”

All goods sold west of the Missouri River bore a higher price tag because of the additional river freight charges. Smoyer recorded that he paid $8 for a pair of “stogie” boots, $2.50 for a pair of overalls and $5 for a hat in the late 1800s.

Smoyer’s recollections are just a glimpse into the many similar tales told by the first settlers to the area. He shared, “they will never forget the hard times and the pleasant associations of the early days when they were few and when every penny had to be counted twice to be sure there would be bread for the little mouths in the hard winter months.”

But Smoyer also asserted that they had “many happy times together and made the most of what they had.” Such was the case when an unidentified “visitor from the east” wrote about attending a ball at the Utley house, which is recorded in the Aug. 26, 1871, edition of the Nebraska City News.

The gentleman had come to Nebraska on a hunting trip and was staying at the Utley hotel. The “grand affair” was held in honor of the completion of a gristmill, possibly that of Samuel Masters. The mill in and of itself awed the visitor, who described it as “one of the finest in the country, situated on the Nemaha which furnishes an abundance of water power the year round, producing very fine flour; and is a blessing to the country.”

From his account of the dance, we are given insight into many aspects of life at Nursery Hill:

This celebration was likely one of the last at Nursery Hill. The writing had been on the wall for this once-thriving stage station ever since the Midland Pacific Railroad began laying track from Nebraska City to Lincoln in April 1869. By April 1871, the track had been completed to the new “Syracuse Station” on the east side of the Nemaha River. Nursery Hill was omitted from the railroad’s path.

The Utleys were amongst the first passengers for the train’s “gala run” on June 8, 1871. Leavitt wrote, “My mother was the first woman to ride on the train and I the first child.”

Moreover, Utley played a prominent role in the establishment of the new town of Syracuse, which was platted Sept. 21, 1871. As the B&M (Burlington and Missouri Railroad) land agent at the time, he sold “many pieces of their land,” as noted by his daughter, Stella Leavitt.

The diaries of William Heather reflect the name change for the community. Besch sent a photo of the inside cover of his great-grandfather’s diary from 1871. Written in pencil on the yellowed page is:

Heather’s 1872 diary shows Syracuse as his location, even though he remained at the same residence.

The “Nebraska City News” correctly foreshadowed the importance of Syracuse as a “depot and outpost of Nebraska City in the future.” The Syracuse station replaced Nursery Hill and became a “major shipping point” in Otoe County and buildings “sprang up at a rapid pace” in the Syracuse township, according to NEGenWeb. The steady flow of wagons and stagecoaches on Overland Trail disappeared as railroad transportation of both freight and passengers gained dominance.

Similarly, Nursery Hill faded from existence. Lori Carper, member of the Otoe County Historical Society, said that the Utley hotel was moved to Syracuse and placed on the west edge of town south of the lumberyard.

“It became the Review Hotel—the same structure. They just picked up the hotel and moved it,” Carper said.

The two general stores at Nursery Hill also moved to Syracuse, as did the post office. On March 6, 1872, the Nursery Hill Post Office again assumed the name “Syracuse.”

“A lot of towns were that way,” said Wendeln. “They die out because the railroad didn’t come to them.”

Nursery Hill could have simply vanished from all memory if not for a group who preserved its legacy. On Oct. 22, 1930, a stone monument was dedicated by the Syracuse Women’s Club in honor of the Nursery Hill: Station at Overland Trail. The Nursery Hill monument is featured in the afore-mentioned book “Cut in Stone, Cast in Bronze.”

The base was made of native stones contributed by community members, and the large red granite marker came from the farm of Charles D. Strong in Otoe County. The stone bore a bronze plaque replica of the covered wagon medallion depicted on the Oregon Trail half dollar.

Unfortunately, the monument was removed about 14 years ago when the county was redoing the road ditches, said Moore. The Otoe County Museum of Memories fought to have this historical symbol reinstated. Moore was part of the ceremony to rededicate the Nursery Hill marker on June 7, 2014.

You can find the marker about 1 ½ miles east of Syracuse on the south side of the road, sitting atop a hill at the site of the former stage station and entrance to the famed Steam Wagon Road.

The author of the memoir “Recall Old Days” was indeed correct when he or she wrote, “Pioneers who traveled by stage or ox team over this road in the sixties and seventies will never forget Nursery Hill.” May we also never forget how this “mystery on the map” served thousands of frontiersmen and freighters on their journey west into the great unknown.