The postal history of Hitchcock County

There’s nothing more important than getting your mail, even today. Years ago, there were post offices in places such as private homes or general stores and they were located so that all the rural areas didn’t have to travel by wagon to town just to get their mail. My great-grandmother, Mary Davison, ran the Ickes post office in her home in Cheyenne County just a few miles west of Dalton, Nebraska. Her home was also the stagecoach stop where she provided meals for the travelers and fresh horses for the stagecoach when needed.

Hitchcock county was named in honor of Phineas Warrener Hitchcock who was a United States Senator from Nebraska when the county was organized in 1873.

From www.swngs.org comes this alphabetical list of post offices in Hitchcock county and, if known, a bit of history about each one.

Beverly: Beverly had a peak population of 35. The post office was established in 1881 and closed in 1845. This little burg sat on the Burlington Railroad line that went to Imperial and was named for Beverly, Massachusetts when platted in 1887. The last schoolhouse, an impressive brick building, still stands today.

Blackwood: Established in 1884 and discontinued in 1893, the post office was named for its’ location on the Blackwood Creek.

Cornell: Located in the Cornell precinct, little is shown about this post office other than it opened in 1880 and closed in 1920.

Cove: The Cove post office which only had a 90-day life in 1900 was supposedly name after a characteristic feature of the land along a creek.

Culbertson: The town of Culbertson had a peak population of 815 in 1940. The post office was established on September 10, 1873 and is still open today. Culbertson, named in honor of Alexander Culbertson, a well-known fur trader and Indian agent, was originally the county seat of Hitchcock county but lost a runoff election in 1894 when Trenton won the rights to the seat.

Dike: Established in 1888 and discontinued in 1898, little is written concerning this particular post office even though it spanned 10 years of service to the area.

Driftwood: Sitting on the Driftwood creek, this post office was open a little over eight years.

Frontier: The Frontier post office was the forerunner to the Stratton post office in the years of 1879 to 1881. When opened, it truly sat in a “frontier” location.

Meeker: There are different stories on the origin of the name Meeker for this post office which was located at a former station on the Burlington Railroad. One might think it had been named for C. H. Meeker of McCook who spearheaded the development of the Meeker irrigation canal, but others say it was named for Charles Meeker of Imperial by Ed Flynn, a friend of the Burlington division superintendent. No dates of operation are listed with this post office.

Palisade: With a peak population of 799 in 1940, Palisade was named by Samuel True because of the irregular terrain resembling palisades in the area. The post office opened its doors on February 25, 1880.

Poe: A repeat of the Meeker post office, Poe was a former station on the Burlington route and was named by company officials. No dates are attached to this location.

Rill: Rill’s post office was established in 1888 and closed in 1893 and was also a station on the rail lines.

Rupert: Rupert station sat on the railway near Trenton. No dates are available on this post office.

Scudder: Although no record seems to exist as to the origin of the name Scudder, this post office was closed after two years of service.

Stratton: Stratton’s peak population in 1930 was 660 people. The post office, first established as Frontier in 1881, exists today. Stratton was named after Mrs. Stratton, one of the first settlers, and was platted in 1883.

Trail: Possibly named after the Texas-Ogallala cattle trail, this post office existed but one short year, closing in 1881.

Trail City: It is presumed that this post office sat where Trenton was eventually platted.

Trenton: Reaching a peak population of 1299 in 1950, Trenton was named for Trenton, New Jersey. The post office was established in 1884 and continues today.

Quite often the SWNGS volunteers will get queries as to locations for precincts, schools, post offices and towns that no longer exist. Much of this information is available on our web site: www.swngs.org, but as always we are happy to assist your search for answers.

Our library remains closed and our April 4th monthly meeting is cancelled.