A pioneer looks back at early McCook

Editor's Note -- In June 1906, Mr. A. Barnett sat down at his desk and jotted down a few notes about his early days in McCook. This story is from these memoir notes (at Museum of High Plains), written about 1906 on Barnett Lumber Co. notepaper, found wedged behind a drawer of Mr. Barnett's desk after his death in 1938. As far as is known, these memoirs were never completed.

In June 1882, nothing existed on the McCook town site to prevent an unobstructed view -- nothing more than an occasional cactus and a few sparsely grown blades of grass.

Looking north from the Fairview Post Office, on the banks of the Republican River, not a tree or bush could be seen looking across the land but the sloping hill where McCook now stands. The ground had been plotted, the stakes driven marking off lots and blocks, but there was nothing that even a bird might rest on but a few scattered sunflower stocks -- and there were no birds.

A Mr. H. C. Ryder had come from his home in Crete in February of that year 1882, and bought several quarters of land -- for a sheep ranch -- so he said -- though some thought that Ryder had some inside railroad information about a new town.

In June of 1882, rumors were rampant in Fairview (the fledgling community of McCook), over the site of a division point for the railroad, to be located someplace between Hastings and Denver.

Indianola and Culbertson, both established communities, were making efforts to secure the prize for their cities. Money was pledged to purchase the site for a roundhouse, shops and yards.

The site was to be donated to the railroad as an inducement for a favorable decision. One Indianola businessman subscribed $500 toward a "Division Point Fund." Others caught his inspiration and a large amount of money was raised to pull the Division Point to Indianola. Had they been successful it is probable that there would have been no McCook

Rumors were hot, and some businessmen, who had visited railroad officials in Lincoln reported "sure things," often of conflicting natures. H. C. Ryder never participated in these discussions. He was silent, but kept on buying land for his "sheep ranch." When he had enough land, he immediately turned it over to the Lincoln Land Co., and Capt. Phillips soon had it plotted for a new town they called McCook.

It wasn't long before a few enterprising businessmen decided to open up businesses in the new town. Albert Barnett reported that about a dozen young fellows -- Barnett was 26, some were even younger -- were waiting at Fairview, on the banks of the Republican, waiting for the sale of lots for the new town.

At the time, Fairview consisted of one three-room sod building, and four crude wooden shacks. Barnett was holding down a "bum" lumberyard, a branch of B.M. Frees' (Barnett's employer) lumberyard at Culbertson.

Another boy, A. C. Ebert managed a general store for V. Franklin (an Indianola businessman) in one of the shacks. Ebert was later a cashier in the McCook Citizens National Bank, started by V. Franklin. Bert Green ran a drug store for S.L. Green, an Indianola druggist.

And Thomas Scott operated another drugstore yet another one of the other shacks. Scott was to become the first Postmaster of McCook. The men in this informal fraternity, most of whom became prominent in the new town, all took their meals at the Fairview Post Office -- a sod building, which also served as a hotel, a restaurant, and a store -- all kept and run by Colvin and Russell.

The Frees & Hocknell Lumber Co. had put up a small frame building for their new lumberyard, but since there was more demand for feed than there was for lumber, they temporarily filled the structure with corn for sale to the farmers and ranchers in the area.

Here, on top of the corn, Barnett and his fellow employee, Charley Babcock slept "on an old blanket or two."

The boys joked that lots of people slept on cornhusk mattresses, but they were the only ones that could say "there is nothing like sleeping on clear corn (corn still on the cob)."

One night, Charley Babcock had gone to Indianola and Albert Barnett was alone in the lumberyard shack. A few boys from neighboring ranches thought they would give that city feller, Barnett, a scare.

They rapped on the window in the middle of the night and demanded to be let in. Barnett got up, lit a light, and brandished a "bulldog revolver" he had brought from Chicago, when he opened the door.

He expected to greet regular hold up men, but he found that they were just boys that he had been playing croquet with in the daytime. Later he reported, "I don't know who was scared the worst."

After Barnett had been "living high at the Fairview Hotel" for a few of weeks, the McCook lots were put on the market, and probably a hundred were sold the first day. H.C. Ryder apparently gave up being a "sheep rancher" and bought one of the first lots and that is where the first house was started.

Ike Moore hauled the McCook's first load of lumber to this site and Albert Barnett helped unload it. There were many more carloads of lumber in the succeeding weeks.

Those first houses were not very large, but in the first 30 days 30 houses were built. That first year Mr. Ryder built over 30 houses himself. "The town went with a boom and it was all hustle and bustle."

A Mr. Churchhill owned a rather large hotel in Indianola. To take advantage of the boom he loaded his hotel on cars and brought it to McCook.

Barnett and his friends thought it was a big improvement over the old "Fairview Hotel" facility. "When dinner was called we rushed in like a lot of railroad graders, when there are more graders than there are seats. Well, at the new hotel, there were a lot more boarders than there were plates and we did not stand on ceremony."

The first passenger train went through from Denver at about 9 o'clock on the night of July 3, 1882. Everyone in the country was at the station to meet the train and witness the historic moment. When a passenger got off the train, one of Barnett's friends yelled, "Right this way for the All Go Hungry Hotel," which those present felt aptly described their old Fairview facilities.

This created a lot of laughter and put everyone in a good humor for the Fourth of July celebration the next day.

Mr. Nettleton had been leading the construction for a small Congregational Church (on the site of the present Congregational Church).

A Bowery was built along the north side for those who wanted to dance. Mr. Barnett described the event with great fondness. Boys and girls came from farms and ranches over a wide radius of McCook. They danced the night away and had such a good time. A young fellow by the name of Davis was one of the dancers.

Davis wore heavy plow shoes and a winter coat, which he refused to take off, in spite of the July heat. At first he danced with the married women, but "they could not stand his speed."

The dance caller called mostly swing dances and Davis was forced to turn to the younger girls for dance partners, whom he "waisted, as we called it."

Davis didn't miss a dance, but toward the end of the evening when they called a "swing dance" he was soaking wet with sweat and could barely lift his feet from the floor. "But", said A Barnett, " he bowed his back and along with that persistent under hold that he got (waisting), and with a big red handkerchief that was wet as a sponge … and with that 'self satisfied', 'never let go' look on his face, Davis left an impression on me that I have never gotten over."

Mr. Barnett added, "I have been to many Fourth of July celebrations since, but … in many respects, that one beat them all!"