Anyone passing through Phelps County may wonder what lays beyond the fields of corn and soybeans sprawling toward the Platte River valley in southwestern Nebraska.
Close examination of this 1908 Phelps County plat map reveals Phelps Center, the church, the orphan’s home and school.
A panoramic photograph of Phelps Center, Neb., dated Aug. 12, 1882, lists several businesses from left to right: “The Nugget” newspaper office, the courthouse, Sam A. Dravo’s law office, Ritterhouse land office, Hopwood drug store, King and Albertson grocery, and Hymer’s hardware.
A woman and girl stand near the doorway of a sod house on this farm in Phelps County in southwestern Nebraska. The man has his team of horses hitched to the plow. Circa 1880s.
This cabinet originated from the courthouse in Phelps Center and was on display at the Nebraska Prairie Museum alongside the town’s plat map.
After Phelps Center became the county seat, its business center thronged. A group of people stand in front of the law office ran by Samuel A. Dravo in this photo taken in 1882.
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The Phelps Center Church congregation is pictured in front of the building in 1907. Horses and carriages can be seen in the background. It eventually closed in 1914.
Holcomb Church congregants are dressed in their Sunday best for a church picnic at Peterson Grove along the Platte River in 1924.
Holcomb Church in rural Phelps County, Neb., can trace its roots to the first Evangelical Free congregation from the 1870s.
Rev. Axel Nordin, back left, is credited with founding the Christian Children’s Home in his own house at Phelps Center, Neb. He is pictured with his parents, Lars and Anna Stina Nordin, and younger brother Charles Nordin.
A children’s home, left, was built next to the Nordin’s house at Phelps Center, Neb., as seen in this photo taken in 1890.
Children helped care for the crops, gardens and animals at the 240-acre farm. A school was built by the children’s home to provide a solid education, as well.
A stone monument at the site of the former children’s home at Phelps Center, Neb., symbolizes the philanthropic endeavors of the community to care for needy and homeless children from across the country.
Sandra Slater dedicated years to finding information about the children who lived at the Christian Children’s Home from 1889-1854. She helped write the book that contains what records they could find for 1,100 children.
Mysteries on the Map
Mysteries on the Map is a series that highlights a different ghost town and how it contributed to the rich history of Nebraska. Running through the summer months, it pays tribute to the pioneers who endured incredible hardship and paved the way so that we can now enjoy the good life called Nebraska.
If you have suggestions or stories to share about a community that no longer exists, contact reporter Kristen Sindelar at Kristen.Sindelar@midwestmessenger.com.
Taking the scenic route has a whole new meaning when trekking through Keya Paha County in extreme northern Nebraska. Even the map alludes to t…
Mayberry residents recount friendly atmosphere of southeastern Nebraska community
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.
You likely will not see Lowell, Nebraska on modern-day road atlases, but Google Maps will still take you to the ghost town’s remnants in north…
The founders of Emporia, Nebraska in Holt County had great hopes for this platted town to become the scene of commerce.
When they heard the premise of the story was a “ghost” town, the room became animated. “We aren’t ghosted yet,” corrected Leona (Kaufman) Swinney, who lives in the same house where the Rose Post Office operated for 30 years.
If you drive north along Highway 81 toward Yankton, you may not even realize that you are traveling through the ghosts of Elm Creek, Green Island and Strahmburg, with Aten remaining three miles to the west.
In the cattle country of early Rock County in Nebraska, an American outlaw once frequented the region, receiving the same hospitality as any other wary traveler to Mariaville, Neb.
The Ghost Gang earned its name “both from the Gage County ghost town where they briefly made their hideout, as well as from their uncanny ability to disappear seemingly into thin air whenever pursuing officers closed in” (from “Nebraska’s Missing Public Enemy”).
The cabin was considered small but was always welcome to travelers. “No one was ever turned away. There was always room for one more; a mansion with room to spare.”
According to some, Freedom, Nebraska, was named after another post office in the area that was established shortly after the Civil War.
Our series on Nebraska ghost towns continues with Berea in Box Butte County.
The first time she stepped into the house by Emerick was a shock. “I had never seen the inside of George’s house until he gave me my diamond,” Edith said. “We stepped on a bare wooden floor. ... Love overcomes.”
Mysteries on the Map pays tribute to the pioneers who endured incredible hardship and paved the way so that we can now enjoy the good life called Nebraska.
In this installment of Mysteries on the map, we visit Wareham in Cedar County, where a community club has been going since the 1940s.
Mysteries on the Map is a series that highlights a different ghost town and how it contributed to the rich history of Nebraska. Running through the summer months, it pays tribute to the pioneers who endured incredible hardship and paved the way so that we can now enjoy the good life called Nebraska. If you have suggestions or stories to share about a community that no longer exists, contact reporter Kristen Sindelar at Kristen.Sindelar@midwestmessenger.com.
Kristen Sindelar
Agriculture Reporter
