Director

In 1913 there was interest in establishing a public library in Hartington. George Porter of the First National Bank wrote to the Andrew Carnegie foundation requesting $8000 dollars for a library. In the meantime, a reading room was established in the basement of the First National Bank Building, currently the building occupied by Don Miller Land Company.     By March of 1914 the actual Library was established with twelve hundred donated books, but they were still in the basement. After writing the Carnegie foundation again, the library was granted funding for a new library.  Beuttler &amp; Arnold of Sioux City prepared the architectural plans for the library, and it was built by Henry Stuckenhoff.   Mayor Anton Walz dedicated the new library on Friday, October 15, 1915.  The original Carnegie library was one of 69 Carnegie libraries built in the state of Nebraska.    In 1992, a plan was submitted to the city council to construct a new Three thousand seven hundred square foot addition. In 1993, a very dedicated library board started money-raising projects and donations were well received by the community. Library Board President, Clarence Hoesing and Foundation President Alice Pommer were instrumental in making the new addition a reality. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in April of 1997, and the new addition, built by Radec Construction Co, Hartington opened in December of that year. A dedication ceremony was held on October 18, 1998. The new facility has allowed the library to expand- not just architecturally but has also moved the library into the 21st century, adding digital services and technology, and accommodating many more non- traditional programs and services.     In 2015, the library celebrated its 100-year anniversary of services to the Hartington community and surrounding areas.    On July 27, 2019, the original Carnegie Library building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Hartington Public Library

Tour the historic businesses, their histories in the development of Hartington, and discover a little intrigue.

Historic Hartington Business District Tour

The President of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis &amp; Omaha Railroad, Mr. Whitten, named the soon to be town “Hartington” after Lord Hartington, the Marquess and eighth Duke of Devonshire, who was a statesman from England and had recently visited the United States.If there was speculation as to why no one noticed the fire until the building was engulfed in flames or why the fire department had such trouble that day, no one seemed to mention it. This speculation was put to rest when on the 25th anniversary of station master E. R. Moran, he revealed “The water supply failed, intentionally …the firemen wondered why the hose was just dribbling a dobby stream of water…and so the fire did a fine job of burning up the old shack and we got a new depot which is what we wanted really badly.” Cedar County News January 1, 1931The Hartington Depot and he depot at Tekamah, Nebraska shared the same architectural design. An enlisted man, Carl M. Lange, became the most decorated soldier from Nebraska. He was a clerk at the railroad depot prior to his service. His medals are on display at the Cedar County Historical Museum.  Evern notice how wide Broadway street is compared to the remaining streets? This is because of the railroad. Streets terminating in a railroad were typically 100 feet wide in wester towns. This was so people could angle-park a team and wagon on each side and still allow for all the traffic and cattle to move through town to the railway depot. Secondary streets were commonly 66 feet wide because that was the length of a surveyor’s chain

The Iron Horse exploded onto the wild prairie in 1883 creating a town from dust in just weeks. Railroad speculators purchased ground for the train expansion and established towns to service the trains every seven to ten miles,The standing depot is not the original. The original consisted of a freight house attached to an office and waiting rooms heated by a large coal stove. It was a dilapidated structure that had not kept up with the growth and improvement of the town. A patchwork of poor conditions, cylinders had been placed around the building to serve as a platform. Inside, plaster fell off walls and ceilings.  It was an embarrassment to one of the most profitable stops along the line, but the railway was focused on the movement of goods and not luxury for passengers. On February 16, 1924, combustion of the coal storage used for heating the waiting areas started a fire that nearly engulfed the east end of the freight house. The fire was extensive before the alert was sounded and the fire department reportedly had delays with rough streets and long hose couplings. The depot was a total loss.  A new depot was promised but after extensive delays, a temporary depot was hauled in. It was during this time that the C. S. M. &amp; O. Railroad was in the process of consolidating into the Chicago &amp; Northwestern Railroad. New plans were not approved until the consolidation was complete. Once approved, the contract was awarded to R. H. Wessel of St. Paul, Minnesota. The contract was awarded on October 12, 1924. Within days, the foundations were being dug and the first bricks were in place.   The current depot opened in January of 1925. It had a large waiting area, a resting area for ladies, a smoking room for the men, modern toilet facilities and an area for the telegraph operator. The final train passed through Hartington in July of 1973. The depot is currently owned as a storage facility by RaDec Construction

Historic Depot of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway

The Globe block included 3 lots: Lots 19, 20 and 21 that extended the length of the block. The buildings were often partitioned out and shared as businesses often sharing a hallway or stairway. Initially, the upper level of the Globe was leased as offices to doctors and dentists. The basement was used by Mr. Reed, a tailor, a fine tailor with imported goods. The rest of the basement was used for a barber shop and a public bath house. Later on, the basement included beauty shops. John Eskins had a radio and gun repair shop here. After and during the second World War and the Korean War, part of the basement was used as a draft office while the third floor was converted to apartments.In 1965, the Globe purchased the "Nu-Tyme Shop,” a ladies ready to wear store operated by Tina Perk. Perk moved into the newly remodeled balcony mezzanine of the store. The Globe owned the lot north of their building. This was once a cafe in the early years.before the building was torn down. It was once the hope of the Globe owners to build and annex a restaurant to the north end of the building. The hope was to create an all-inclusive shopping experience for its patrons like in the large cities.

The Globe's clothing dates back to 1881, when the business was founded by Tom Watson and John Krause as an exclusive gentlemen's clothing establishment. Later President Charlie Jones incorporated in 1893 with the slogan “ Jones, he pays the freight ” meaning that the cost of freight was not added onto the price of goods. Patrons didn't need to go out of town for better prices.The first location of the Globe Clothing business was in the first floor of the Krause building at 217 North Broadway which is currently the south portion of Fay's Furniture Store.  In 1894, the Globe moved to its present location, but was a one-story building at the time. It was quickly decided that they needed double the space so they temporarily vacated to allow for the building of the new globe under the local contractor P. A. Van Dorn.The old buildings were moved away to build the current building that stands today. Built by contractor P. A. Van Dorn, the building was dedicated in 1901. The foundation is made of native rock from Cedar County farmers purchased at a price of one dollar per wagon load. In some cases they traded goods for rock. The building gave a citified appearance because the three-story brick building had steel in its superstructure in place of stone and masonry around the doors and windows . This allowed for large windows and a giant skylight that afforded precious light to the third floor which was rented as office space.During these golden years of retail, gentlemen and boys would go to the globe for all their suit, hat, and boot and accessory needs. They catered to all the residents of the area. Jack Konz took over in 1953 with his slogan: “Big enough to serve, small enough to care.” His wife Gert opened the mezzanine for the ladies and they catered to both the men and women. Jack and Gert were assisted in the store by their son Dave. Dave carried on the tradition of retail until 1916 when he sold the store to Ben and Erin Schroeder.Ben and Erin Schroeder remodeled the building creating a contemporary living space upstairs and a main level store and event center space on the main level. It was sold to become the Globe Chophouse restaurant while maintaining this structure. In 2023 the Globe took on new ownership and is now ready to serve as an event center.

The Globe Building

The corner stone address was given by Reverend John Pablucki, an army chaplain who endeared himself to the legions of men returning home from war. The cornerstone reads, Hartington City Hall 1922 A.D.The walk inside the building reveals the uniquely designed archways that give entry into the gymnasium and expansive theater area. In the early days, there was seating for elen hundred people, as opera seats once filled the main level and balcony of the auditorium, all facing the stage. A balcony once extended over the archway entryways, with access from the side stairways that are currently blocked off at the top of the stairs. The balcony gave the theater a grand appearance. The were once filled for the many speakers and traveling productions that were brought in. The stage is original to the building along with the stage curtains with the H at the center of the upper front. Consider the community productions provided on this very stage over the years!

The Liberty Building was the original name given to the modern community building known today as the Hartington City Auditorium. The campaign for the building began in 1919 and included the passing of several bond issues to bring it to completion. It was completed in 1923 at a final cost of eighty-five thousand dollars. The brick-clad, 2-story building was designed by architect William Steele in the prairie style.  Prairie School architecture is rare, and it is particularly unusual in rural Nebraska especially for having been built in the 1920s.  The Guarantee Construction Company of Sioux City obtained the contract and began work in the spring of 1922, with the cornerstone laid on June 7 of that year. Local labor was hired to do most of the work. Part of the contract was that the brick would be purchased and hauled from Sioux City instead of coming from the local brick factory. This was a contentious issue among many residents. The designs contained city offices, the fire house, a gymnasium and national guard armory for returning soldiers from the first World War, as well as a stage for ceremonies.January 30, 1923, was the official dedication ceremonies featuring speeches, displays of local talent, and a free dance. The new building was declared to be one of the finest of its kind in the state and a credit to this community. In the years that followed, residents delighted in the plays, dances and variety shows. Schools utilized the gymnasium for sporting events. Meetings were held in the auditorium and the Home Guards used the facility to organize during the Second World War. In time, the city offices and fire house moved out in the need of more space allowing for storage and additional events in the building.  In 1962, during the cold war, the Auditorium was designated as the town “fall-out” shelter.It was placed on the Register of Historic Places in Nebraska in 1983.

Hartington City Auditorium 

Homestead Act    In 1962 president Lincoln passed the Homestead Act to "to elevate the condition of men, to lift artificial burdens from all shoulders and to give everyone an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life." This led to the rapid settlement of U.S. western territory by allowing any American, including freed slaves, to put in a claim for up to 160 free acres of federal land.     Homesteaders had specific instructions to receive ownership of the land.  They had to build a home on the land, a minimum of 10 by 12 feet in size, and it had to include a glass window. If they made it five years, living on the land, farming and improving the property, the land claim would be theirs.    Log cabins became a quick and easy way to build a home on the western plain.  Trees were cleared from the land, stripped of their bark and then squared, notched and placed in an interlocking pattern. Once in place, settlers would "chink" it — pushing sticks and wood chips into spaces between the logs, and then pasting in a simple cement, made of earth, sand and water, or even clay.    A stone fireplace would also be put into the home. The floor was usually dirt or gravel and required daily raking. Most places on the frontier had one room, which became the kitchen, bedroom and living room. Some did have lofts, for extra space.

Image building a home with logs, prairie hay, mud, and water. That is just what the ancestor of Cedar County resident, Lloyd Sudbeck did for his family when they settled in America. The Herman Sudbeck family included his wife Maria Boken and their nine children: Frank, Ferdinand, John, Joe, Little Herman, Bernard, Anna, Steve and Magdalena were living in Oldenburg, Germany in the 1860s. Like others living there, they were forced to endure land seizures, unemployment, and lack of available goods due to the failed German Revolution of 1848. In addition, farmers were experiencing low crop yields due to poor conditions. Prospects in the Unites States seemed bountiful, so when emigration restrictions eased in Germany, they made plans to come to America.  The older children, Frank, Ferdinand and John, ventured the trip in 1867. Their journey was not an easy one. Those fortunate enough to secure passage on a steam ship without months of delays were packed onboard and tried to find space wherever available. Only the very wealthy could afford a private space, the multitude were crammed together to make the best of the long journey. Some died along the way, and many became ill. The three survived the ship voyage but Ferdinand died during the remaining journey in New Vienna, Iowa. Two years later, Herman and Maria took the journey with their younder children Joe, Herman, Bernard, Anna, Steve and Magdalena. On arrival they settled a quarter mile west of Bow Valley where Herman built this cabin. The kitchen area has a chimney exhaust for cooking. The bedroom on the main floor has a trap door to the cellar that was once used as a hiding area from Native Americans, a place for cold storage and an entry to a rock well below. Upstairs was a large open bedroom.  The cabin was donated to the museum and moved in 1983. In 2023, Lloyd Sudbeck began the restoration and stabilization of the cabin. Thanks to a grant from the Cedar County Tourism Board, contact the Cedar County Historical Museum for tour information.

1869 Log Cabin built by Herman Sudbeck

The mansion was built by locally famed builder Henry Stuckenhoff. Stuckenhoff was the in-law to Anton Lammers. Stuckenhoff learned the building trade in his native Germany. He began helping Mr. Reifert with his furniture business in Hartington before venturing to St. Helena in December of 1883. He gained notoriety for the seventy black walnut tables he fashioned out of rough lumber. during the winter of that year. In March of 1884, he came back to Hartington and immediately began building his first home, the built the priest's house in Bow Valley and the livery barn for Lemon and McGregor. He remembered receiving his citizenship papers in the old Holiday Saloon building that served as an early courthouse.   In 1886, he built the jail and in the years that followed he built a dozen bridges across the Bow and Pearl Creeks. 1896, he went back to St. Helena and built the church. He returned to Hartington in 1900 and built the A. K. Lammers home, a Victorian Mansion that now serves as the Cedar County Historical Museum. In 1901 he began work on the Holy Trinity Church. He completed the church in 1902 and over the next two years built the Bow Valley Church. When the railroad moved on to Fordyce and Crofton, he built several business buildings and houses in Fordyce. In 1921, Stuckenhoff went back to Germany. Upon his return, he continued to build houses, remodeled the Spork Drug store, the upper floors on the Knights of Columbus building, the priest's home in Hartington, the Wynot church, the city library, the Steffen Drug building, the Wynot drug store, the St. James school, the Pearl Creek school, and the hotel in Coleridge. Mr. Stuckenhoff moved to Winona, Minnesota, in 1922, and for the next twelve years spent most of his time doing repair work on buildings at St. Mary's college.  At 96, Stuckenhoff was remembered as an alert and enthusiastic conversationalist, who outlived his life insurance.<h2>The Cedar County Historical Society is on a mission to upgrade the museum that was so generously donated years ago by the children of Anton and Clara Lammers in memory of their parents. If would like to contribute to the museum or would like more information or a tour, check out the website cedarcountynehistoricalmuseum.com</h2>

19-year-old orphan, John Lammers, came from Germany in 1850. He worked as a barrel maker in Ohio where he met his first wife Susanna. They moved to Iowa where they farmed for just over 6 years. They joined other pioneer families and came to Cedar County the summer of1861. On arrival, they had four children, a yoke of oxen, a wagon, a few items of furniture, some wheat seed and thirty-two dollars. John purchased 160 acres near St. Helena and homesteaded 160 more acres. The family lived in a farm dugout. Tragedy struck when Susanna and her twins died during childbirth. John hired the sixteen-year-old neighbor girl, Mary Stratman, to help raise the five children at home. Mary, a German immigrant, later married John and went on to have fifteen children, plus three that died in infancy. This gave John a total of twenty-three children if you are keeping count. During his lifetime, John started the Lammers Ranch and become the largest cattle rancher in northeast Nebraska. John started the lumberyard in Hartington and served as president of the First National Bank.. He died the wealthiest man north of Omaha. John's son, Anton. was born in Cedar County and went to country schools until he came to Hartington for one year.  He attended business school in Illinois briefly and then Omaha. He returned to work in the office of his father’s Lumber yard, eventually taking over that business. Anton married Miss Clara Walz, a native of Iowa, in 1900. Their three-story Victorian style home and carriage barn was built the same year, by Henry Stuckenhoff. Anton and Clara had four children over their years in this home namely: Aurelia, Gertrude, Dorothy and Katheryn. Clara had many fruit and walnut trees around the house as well as a large strawberry patch and many grape vines. On the farm ground around the home, they raised alfalfa and other crops. In 1915, a larger dining room was added to the home as well as two additional bedrooms. The house then had a total of fifteen rooms.In her large home, Clara did a lot of family entertaining, which she loved. With the expanded dining room, she purchased a table with six large leaves and when fully expanded, it could seat twenty-four guests for a meal. Most features are original to the home even some of the florals around the home. The home and carriage house were donated by the Lammers family to the Cedar County Historical Society in 1964.

Cedar County Historical Museum

The Spirit of William Emerald Smith:William was born May 28, 1887 in Moville, Iowa. He graduated from Moville High School in 1915 the attended the University of Nebraska. He received his degree in dental surgery in June of 1918. On August 14, 1919 he married Eva S. Lorge in Randolph, Nebraska. They had a son Kenneth in May of 1920. Mr. Smith resided in Coleridge practicing dentistry. During the first World War, he served in the US Navy from July 10. 1918 to February 1919. He was an active member of the community serving with the chamber of commerce and on the school board. When the United States entered the second World War, he was commissioned by the military to serve in Hartington doing dental work and exams for soldiers departing and returning. He took up residence behind the main living quarters in the Hartington Hotel. During this time, his son enlisted as a Cadet Pilot and was placed with the 33rd Fighter Group.  The proud father kept s a picture of his son , 2nd Lt. Kenneth Smith, in his pilot gear with goggles and scarf that on the entryway piano.  The 33rd Fighter Group was sent to North Africa in November of 1942 to support ground forces. They had been trained in offensive support like long range bombings. Once there, they were forced to engage in defensive tactics with the German aircraft, a fight they were not prepared for. 2nd Lt Kenneth Smith was shot down and killed on November 19, 1942.From this day forward, Mr. Smith would tirelessly rock the young hotel boy on his lap and cry for the child he lost in WWII. Sometimes early in the morning, the rocking chair can still be heard...back and forth...back and forth.

The Grand Hotel burned to the ground in 1916, leaving an overwhelming vacancy in the heart of the town. Spurred on by the Commercial Club, public support for a new hotel grew as people considered what a grand attraction could do for the town. The founders partnered with Bankers Realty Investment Company of Omaha to build a hotel.  In turn, the North American Hotel Company was hired for the construction and management of the hotel for a total of thirty-five thousand dollars with the stipulation that the land would be donated and the townspeople would buy shares. Local interest raised sixty thousand dollars in preferred stock.The style was “Early Commercial” with a steel frame that could support a multi-story height and large front windows. Combined with modern amenities, this was to be the grandest building in HartingtonDuring construction, another hotel closed. Travelers were forced to take shelter wherever available. Congestion of travelers filled the train depot, the streets and even the hotel while it was still under construction.  The hotel had an occupancy at forty-one when the manager Goeffrey Gansko was coaxed to take on management.The Grand Opening on May 31, 1917, brought one thousand people to tour the hotel along with the basement barber shop and billiards room. It was an elaborate affair with music, singers, and an evening meal in the big dining room. The first of many fantastic events to come.Early events included auto clubs, stock shows, wedding showers, and public auctions. With the beginning of the American involvement in the first World War, the hotel hosted elaborate send off events for local soldiers. As wartime rationing became extreme, parties dwindled. The sentiment was made worse when investors realized they had been swindled. The investment company was found to have multiple shell companies they used to move around assets and pay out big bonuses to their directors. Investigations revealed the actual cost of the hotel was $100,000. Investors lost hope of financial recovery as the scheme was tied up in the courts. In the mid 1920’s the hotel sold at a sheriff’s sale for twenty-seven thousand dollars.   This was followed by difficult times of the war and depression under several ownerships. In 1935, the Marks family purchased the hotel for 10,000 dollars and guided the hotel through the uncertainties of the depression and World War II. They installed a taproom in the basement during prohibition. In later years, they converted the dining room to an apartment and put up several temporary walls to make other long-term units. Keeping with the family, the hotel passed to members of the Marks family until Tim and Judy Kuchta purchased it in 1995.The hotel has hosted many special guests including Reba McEntire, the band Steppenwolf, Box Car Willie, the Glen Miller band, Guy Lombardo’s orchestra, and The Coasters. In 2019, Ben and Erin Schroeder purchased the hotel and did major renovations, restoring it to its grandeur. The hotel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.The hotel is currently owned by Ben Conovor and partners.

Historic Hartington Business District Tour

Hartington Public Library

Introduction

Images

Sources