Historical Tidbits

From "Niobrara Historical Brevity" published by the
Niobrara Historical Society, in observance of the Lusk Centennial 1886-1986

Pioneer Cabin

Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Willson presented what is believed to be the oldest house in Niobrara County to the Luke Voorhees Chapter D.A.R. in Lusk. The Cabin was built by Eugene B. Willson in 1880. It was torn down and reassembled on the D.A.R. lots. There is now a city park surrounding the cabin. It is used as a small museum for historical relics. It was formally dedicated on Sept, 25, 1930. The D.A.R. presented the cabin to the Historical Society and they are maintaining it.

Other Early Day Post Offices

A post office not generally known about, established briefly, was the Clare Post Office. It was primarily run for the benefit of the trail herds that came by here from Texas to Montana during the 1880's into the early 1890's. It was east of Mill falls some ? mile south of the Robert Scott land. The postmaster was Wm. St. Clare.

Warren and Bright - Mrs. Mert Jones-1898

Spencer - Susan Spencer postmaster-1906

Arid - Estelle Whitman-1912

Willow - Thomson Black-1913

Leoville - Carrie Putman-1916

Young Woman - Emma Hubbard-1917

Roxson - Rosie Hanson-1921

Whitman - E. R. Whitman-1924

Warren Booster

The Warren Booster was the first rural newspaper in the county. Mike Henry ran it near Red Bird in 1919 for two years.

Gold Spike

When the railroad came a gold spike was driven with a silver hammer. These were the metals mined at the Silver Cliff mine. Silver Cliff was a town prior to Lusk and was a short distance west. When the railroad came the site was changed.

The Chute

The "Chute" on Rawhide Butte was built in 1884. It was built by Herb Kingman and Bill Powell. They also built the first sawmill. They used horses to drag the logs to the chute on which they slid the logs to the sawmill. It was constructed of large peeled logs - several logs were laid side by side and wedged to hold them solid. It extended from the top to the bottom of the butte. Jim and Henry Mashek set up the next sawmill. Masheks owned the ranch that later became the Hunter Hereford Ranch.

Cardinal's Chair and Pope's Throne

The Cardinal's chair and Pope's throne are located North West on Lusk in a now restricted area. This is where the soldiers bivouacked.

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Several town sites were platted in the county and a few lots sold but they were never developed. Some of these were: Silver Springs, Young Woman (located near the Robb Ranch) and Teton Place which was located on the Hunter Hereford Ranch.

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