Rock Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed March 30, 2011 tributary of the

Elkhorn River The Elkhorn River is a river in northeastern Nebraska, United States, that originates in the eastern Sandhills and is one of the largest tributaries of the Platte River, flowing and joining the Platte just southwest of Omaha, approximately s ...

that flows south of Wisner and enters the Elkhorn one mile west of Beemer. The railway

water stop A water stop or water station on a railroad is a place where steam trains stop to replenish water. The stopping of the train itself is also referred to as a "water stop". The term originates from the times of steam engines when large amounts of ...

and original

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...

s where the village of Beemer is now located were named "Rock Creek" before Beemer was incorporated as a village in 1886. The stream

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

arise in Stanton County at at an elevation of approximately . The stream flows west to enter the Elkhorn in

Cuming County Cuming County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 9,139. Its county seat is West Point. In the Nebraska license plate system, Cuming County is represented by the prefix 24 since it ...

at and an elevation of . Rock Creek was so named from its rocky river bed.

History of the community

It was the site of an unincorporated collection of German farmers in the late 1800s who felt shunned by area communities, particularly Wisner and Beemer, because they spoke very little English, and because they were farmers, laborers and field hands. Two churches were formed in this region to serve the overwhelming immigrant German Lutheran Rock Creek population—Zion Lutheran, and St. John's Lutheran.

Rock Creek Mill

Rock Creek Mill, or Lambrecht's combined saw and grist mill, driven by water power, was built in August 1865 by August Lambrecht. The mill stood about two miles northwest of the present-day Elkhorn River bridge, on the south side of the river and approximately 1000 feet southwest of the present-day 'Rock Creek Bridge' (41°54'53.91"N x 96°51'11.62"W). Lambrecht built an earth and brush dam to channel the water for the mill. Customers brought grain to the mill from as far away as the

Platte River The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itsel ...

, some 200 miles, to be ground into flour. In 1891, Mr. Henry Lambrecht moved the flour and grinding mill to Beemer.

Rock Creek Railroad Station

When the

Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad The Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad (FE&MV), sometimes called "the Elkhorn," was a railroad established in 1869 in the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. About The company constructed several lines in Nebraska, inclu ...

line was extended from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

to Wisner in 1871, the

and

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

station nearest to Rock Creek was named Rock Creek and used the call letters "R C" for telegraphs. The railroad company changed the station's name to Beemer in 1886.Beemer Times, April 15, 1886 However, the rural farmland residents southwest of Beemer and south of Wisner continue to refer to themselves as Rock Creek, though they never incorporated as a village.

Rock Creek community today

Only two physical reminders of the Rock Creek era remains—one is a pioneer cemetery located southwest of Beemer that is known simply as "Rock Creek Cemetery". The other is the original Rock Creek post office, which is now part of a farmhouse near the St. John's cemetery.

References

* ''A Great Past, A Greater Future—A History of Wisner, Nebraska''. Wisner ''News-Chronicle''; 1971.

External links