1958 statistics for McCook

Susan Doak

Southwest Nebraska Genealogy Society

The 1958 McCook City Directory prefaced their pages of information on people with a few pages of statistics. From the area of Community Publicity came this statement from the R. L. Polk & Co, publishers of the directory: "The Directory reflects the achievements and ambitions of the community, depicting in unbiased terms what it has to offer as a place of residence, as a business location, as a manufacturing site and as an educational center."

Beginning the statistical review is the heading: "McCOOK, Heart of a New Water Sports Area."

The following figures were provided by the McCook Chamber of Commerce. McCook has a population base of (reliable estimate) 9,300 people, of which 87 percent are native born.

Those 93,00 people had the choice of 21 churches and were in the third largest trade area in Nebraska, with a "quality of market" index of 145, or 45 percent above average. There were 2,609 water connections (the city's pumping capacity was 6,400 gallons per minute); 2,650 natural gas connections; 3,929 telephones and 3,255 power connections within the city of McCook.

McCook covered 2.63 square miles, of which 40 acres were set aside in seven municipal parks. The public library boasted 15, 846 volumes of books. Twenty eight miles of paved streets served the population, along with eight miles of graveled roads.

Transportation services included the Burlington Railroad, bus lines running east, west, north and south, plus McCook advised of a 640 acre Municipal Airport, multi-engined aircraft! If you traveled to McCook, you could choose from 175 rooms available in four hotels or 215 units in the ten motor courts.

Want entertainment? The chamber advised that there was a moving picture theater, a drive-in theater, golf course, swimming pool, roller rink and bowling alley in town. Our football stadium, as well as two baseball parks, were lighted. Music over the airways was provided by the KBRL radio station.

Two banks served McCook with average total deposits of $14 million. The railroad payroll was greater than $2.5 million a year.

The big draw, however, according to the directory was the three new dams in the area: Enders Dam, completed in 1950; Medicine Creek Dam, completed in 1949; Swanson Lake Dam, completed in 1953. These three projects were estimated to irrigate 190,000 acres of semi-arid land and store in the neighborhood of 421 acre-feet of water.

From the directory: "The by-product this water development and its resulting Lakes is the tremendous surge in water-sport recreation in the area, wonderful fishing, hunting, boating, water skiing and picnicking facilities are affording thousands of people fun in the sun. McCook, with a population now reliably estimated at 9,300, is the largest city within this entire development area. It is also the most advantageously located city." (I must note here that Red Willow Reservoir had not been built yet, so the closest lake was Swanson Lake south of Trenton.)

A final note on how McCook was touted in 1958 includes comments on the climate. One, I think, must have been observed by someone other than a McCook native: "Not more than fifteen days a year on the average are totally cloudy, while WINDS ARE MODERATE." Oh well, those were the good old days after all!

Southwest Nebraska Genealogy Society will be celebrating its 40th anniversary, Saturday, Nov. 7, with an open house from 2-4 p.m. at our library, 110 West C, Suite M-3.