Relive history - Tourism with a trip along the Oregon Trail
Geology
Garden County is one of the largest counties in Nebraska stretching from the North Platte River running along the southern edge to the sandhills, a unique loess deposit, in the north. Clay and sand layers from ancient lakes that covered the central part of the United States can be found throughout the county.
Fossils can be seen at the Garden County Rock School Museum. |
Ash Hollow State Historical Park
Oregon Trail Tour Oshkosh Museums Silver Hill Theater Museum Rock School Museum Truss Bridges Town Histories Genealogy Research Cemeteries |
Native American History
Earliest signs of the area being occupied date to about 8,000 to 10,000 years ago.
Both the Pawnee and Lakota camped and traveled through the area now known as Garden County.
Both the Pawnee and Lakota camped and traveled through the area now known as Garden County.
Oregon - California - Mormon Trail
Nearly 400,000 people packed up their belongings and crossed the "great American desert" from 1843 to 1860. While they started at many locations, almost all followed the Platte River crossing over into Ash Hollow to get to the North Platte River. One of the most mentioned locations in pioneer diaries, Ash Hollow had the first trees pioneers had seen for over 200 miles and the first spring water, providing clean water after miles of using river water. Pioneers describe Ash Hollow as enchanted with wild roses blooming and wild plum bushes. For most of the years, pioneers traveled along the south side of the river. The Mormons most often were on the north side of the river on their way from the winter quarters near Omaha to Salt Lake City.
Windlass Hill at Ash Hollow is a great place to see the path of the pioneers down the steep bluff into the valley. While we think of ruts as two wagon trails through the grass, the Oregon Trail can be seen as swells where the grass was completely eroded and wind left 50 foot wide dips. Red grass on Windlass hill clearly shows the trails down in the fall. Another swell can be seen just one mile north (toward Lewellen) on the other side of the road from Windlass Hill.
Swells are also visible through the Oshkosh Country Club in case you are interested in golfing on the Oregon Trail!
Windlass Hill at Ash Hollow is a great place to see the path of the pioneers down the steep bluff into the valley. While we think of ruts as two wagon trails through the grass, the Oregon Trail can be seen as swells where the grass was completely eroded and wind left 50 foot wide dips. Red grass on Windlass hill clearly shows the trails down in the fall. Another swell can be seen just one mile north (toward Lewellen) on the other side of the road from Windlass Hill.
Swells are also visible through the Oshkosh Country Club in case you are interested in golfing on the Oregon Trail!
Early Pioneers
Pioneers went through the area looking for lusher climates and soils. It wasn't until the 1880's that settlers first came to Garden County, one of the last areas settled in the country. Ed Hartman came north on a cattle drive from Texas and spotted the place where Blue Creek comes into the river from his view on the bluff and decided he would settle there. It was another twenty years before the railroad came to Lewellen, Oshkosh and Lisco. In the twenties, many people came to the Sandhills and homesteaded, only to be driven out by years of drought.