Early leaders of McCook

In the 1880s, there were no native sons in McCook. All of the early leaders in McCook were transplants from somewhere else, drawn to McCook by the possibilities and the excitement of being in on the ground floor of the railroad's newest little Boom Town.

Thomas Colfer and Joseph Cordeal were the men who formed what became one of the leading legal and real estate firms in the county. Mr. Colfer was a native of New York State. E came to McCook in the spring of 1884. In addition to his legal and rel estate business he served as agent for the Lincoln Land Co. His partner, Joseph A. Cordeal was a native of Dublin, Ireland, where he received his education. He came to America in 1884, and to McCook in 1885, when he joined Mr. Colfer, to form the firm of Colfer and Cordeal.

Both Cordeal and Colfer were gifted speakers and storytellers. Mr. Cordeal, especially, was interested in politics and later was chosen as a member of the Democratic State Committee.

The firm of Colfer and Cordeal continued for years into the 20th Century when Thomas' son, Frank and Cordeal's nephew, John took over the company, and even later, when Thomas Colfer's grandson, Tom practiced law in McCook into the 1980s.

John Cordeal, the nephew, was a very scholarly type, who chose the law rather than following his father in the real estate business. He graduated from Northwestern Law School in 1896. During his career he was privileged to serve as a partner of several outstanding attorneys. Among his partners were J. R. McCarl, District Judge Eldred, and Senator Norris.

John Cordeal liked history, especially local pioneer history, and wrote as much of McCook's early history as his legal work would permit. He could elaborate on the facts he gleaned from County records and newspaper files, from his vast store of first hand knowledge of the area. For the last years of his life he contributed a weekly column in the McCook Tribune.

Early on The McCook Tribune made the statement that the three men who were most closely associated with the history and development of McCook were Railroad man, Alexander Campbell, Lumber man/Banker, George Hocknell, and Attorney, W.S. Morlan. Mr. Morlan, whose home in McCook was torn down to make the location for the present City Library, was one of most eminent lawyers and political leaders of Southwest Nebraska.

Mr. Morlan was a native of Ohio, born into the Quaker faith, but early on broke with his Quaker roots when he came west, first settling in Arapahoe, in 1874. When McCook was named the Division Point for the railroad, Morlan moved to McCook, where he was became the Burlington Lawyer. Morlan served as an example to the area of self-reliant, individualistic manhood, who was developed by frontier life. In his later years, his pride and glory was his fruit orchard, located on his ranch a few miles north of McCook.

J.F. Collins was a contractor and builder, coming to McCook in 1883 as superintendent of construction of the first depot and the round-house for the railroad. McCook business prospects were so good that he decided to remain. Most of the early buildings in McCook were designed and erected by his firm, as well as the first Brick Yard on the western outskirts of town.

There were two furniture stores that were fixtures in McCook for many years. Ludwick and Trowbridge Store opened in October, 1884, and Pade and Son Store opened in August, 1885.

Mr. Ludwick had been in the furniture business in Dallas, Texas, and the senior Pade had been a part of the Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Furniture Company.

Pat Walsh and C.E. Boyd were liquor dealers, who came to McCook in 1883. In 1885 they added a spectacular Cherry and Mahogany bar to their saloon, which became to talk of the area drinkers. Their business flourished, and soon they added a wholesale Liquor business and a large ice house, which was stocked in the wintertime from a pond just south and west of McCook. Of course, Pat Walsh is better known today from his association with the Citizens National Bank, which became the McCook National Bank.

In 1885, one Reverend W.S. Wheeler, from Virginia, was assigned to the Methodist Church in McCook. Just a few months later he was elected to the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction for Red Willow County. Mr. Wheeler had begun his ministry at the age of 14, continued his schooling at schools in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and then at the Pennington Seminary, in New Jersey. Rev. Wheeler is best known in McCook for doing his legal work for Red Willow County on the area's first "type-writer".

In the early years of McCook, newspapers carried great influence on public opinion. In 1886 McCook had three newspapers. The oldest paper in McCook, and 2nd oldest in Red Willow County, was the McCook Tribune, which offered its first issue on June 5, 1882. This first issue was a five column folio, little larger than a hand bill, and was printed in Culbertson, by J.P. Israel, editor. A year later F.M. and E M. Kimmell acquired the paper, which they published weekly for many years. F.M. Kimmell, the elder brother, had had several years of experience in newspaper work in Pennsylvania and two years in connection with the publication of the Columbus (NE) Democrat before coming to McCook. The McCook Tribune, under Kimmell's ownership was Republican in politics. The office, on Main Street was very well equipped; it had a complete job outfit with a Pronty Cylinder Press, and Peerless Jobber.

In June, 1885, the first issue of the McCook Democrat appeared, published by the firm of Thompson and Wahlquist, who also published a paper at Hastings, Nebraska.

In 1884 J.P. Israel was back with a new partner, A.L Davis, with a new paper, The McCook Trumpet. The next year C.L Bowman bought out Mr. Davis and the firm became C.L. Bowman and "Frank" Israel. Mr. Bowman had served as McCook Post Office Clerk, but had formerly been a Newspaper Editor in Tucker County, West Virginia. Mr. Israel had previously published the Culbertson Sun, the McCook Tribune, and finally, the McCook Trumpet.

By 1893 the McCook Tribune was still a very successful local paper, but the only other McCook paper still publishing was another Republican weekly, the McCook Times-Democrat, published by Mr. C.W. Barnes.

The Livery Stable companies were important businesses in McCook in the 1880s, offering livery (boarding of horses), feed and sales stables for their customers. The proprietors traded and sold horses, offered horses for rent, and cared for and fed horses. In those days few residents of McCook owned a horse, so when they were in need of a horse or carriage they were forced to either borrow a horse or rent one. The livery horse available in McCook at that time was descended from the wild horses that ranged the prairies. They never seemed to be completely broken, and they sold cheap. But these horses were a hearty breed and could easily travel 30 or more miles per day.

D.J. Smith and Company had one livery business in McCook---established in 1885. Before coming to McCook Mr. Smith had been in the livery business for many years, at Bedford, Iowa and Concordia Kansas, before coming to McCook.

So, in the first 20 years of McCook's history we can trace the town from a few sod houses on the bank of the Republican, at Fairview, to the bustling little railroad town of McCook, which was recognized as one of the outstanding communities of SW Nebraska. Those pioneers, involved in that transition, certainly suffered the hardships of developing a new country, but made it possible for the next generation of the 20th Century to benefit from the well-established foundation and carry on the work, which those pioneers had so well started.

Source: Early History of McCook Nebraska by Marion McClelland.