The Naomi Institute, also known as the Rock Bluff School, is located in the ghost town of

Rock Bluff, Nebraska Rock Bluff is a ghost town in Cass County, Nebraska, Cass County located approximately three miles east of Murray, Nebraska, Murray in the U.S. state of Nebraska. Once the home of an influential college called the Naomi Institute, Rock Bluff was in ...

, three miles east of

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

. It was one of the earliest

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

institutions in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, founded in 1870 as a pioneer college. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1977.

History

Originally a two-story structure in

, today the one-story brick school is all that remains of a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

. Rock Bluff was a popular crossing on the Missouri River, and had a post office, a mayor, the county fair, a common lodge hall for Masons and Odd Fellows, and a variety of businesses including three stores, two blacksmith shops, two saloons and a billiard hall. There was a race track near the steamboat landing, and a coal mine south of town. Joseph Diven Patterson secured a lot overlooking the Rock and Squaw creeks of the Missouri River bluffs in order to establish a school in 1870. He built a two-story building that was 25 feet by 50 feet in size for $3,500. On September 1, 1870 the Naomi Institute opened. Advertisements for the Institute reported that "the morals of the place are the very best there is, not a dramshop in the village, and the pupil will be free from the surroundings of vice that are usually found in larger and 'faster' towns in

the West West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NATO ...

." The Naomi Institute was regarded as one of the leading educational institutions in Nebraska, and was the first higher education institution in Cass County. After opening successfully, the school's debt forced Patterson to sell the building in 1872. It later served as the Rock Bluffs School. After a railroad bridge was built in Omaha in the 1870s the town of Rock Bluff lost its importance, which was only exacerbated when the closest railroad tracks were built ten miles west. The town was completely abandoned by the 1940s.

Present

Today the Rock Bluff School, purportedly the oldest schoolhouse in Cass County, is owned by the

Cass County Historical Society Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Cass ...

and is used as a museum that is open by appointment. In 2003 the

Nebraska Humanities Council Humanities Nebraska (HN) is a non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) based in Lincoln, Nebraska. HN creates and supports public humanities programs with the goal of engaging the public with history and culture. His ...

held some of the events for the Plattsmouth

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua br ...

on the site."Plattsmouth Chautauqua"
, Nebraska Humanities Council. Retrieved 8/30/07.

References

External links

Cass County Historical Society

Modern photo
* {{authority control School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska Defunct private universities and colleges in Nebraska Educational institutions established in 1870 Educational institutions disestablished in 1872 Buildings and structures in Nebraska Museums in Cass County, Nebraska History museums in Nebraska Education museums in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Cass County, Nebraska 1870 establishments in Nebraska

History

Present

See also

References

External links