Beemer is a village in Cuming County,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, United States. The population was 678 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Beemer is located on the table lands adjoining 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 ...

bottoms, 84 miles from

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and nine miles northwest of

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, near the geographic center of Cuming County where Nebraska Link 20A meets U.S. Route 275. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , all land.

Climate

History

Early settlement

The first settlers of European descent arrived in the Beemer area by prairie schooner in 1864, seeking land under the

Homestead Act The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of Federal lands, government land or the American frontier, public domain, typically called a Homestead (buildings), homestead. In all, mo ...

. The new inhabitants built dugouts, sod houses, and, eventually, log cabins. The earliest settlers in Beemer Township included M. Brayrerton, George Graham, Joseph S. Emley, Robert Fehlmann, Dr. H.H. Howe, Howard Howe, James and Michael McNamara, Judge Newburn, the Rabe family, W.S. Schneald, William Sharp and two sons Martin and Silas, Casper Schifferns, David Simons, Wm. A. Smith, J.E. Spencer, Benjamin Ewing, John Wagaoner, Henry White, James Wilson, and William Witte.Some Early History of Beemer, Nebraska, Nebraska State Historical Society. The first school in Beemer Township was taught by Mrs. William Sharp in 1867 in her log cabin, a short distance to the northwest of where Beemer is now located. West of Beemer, a small stream called Rock Creek flows into the south side of the Elkhorn River. In 1865, August Lambrecht built a water-driven grain and flour mill on the creek about from the river. Lambrecht's mill, combined with the creek and with favorable agricultural conditions, attracted a small concentration of settlers; the area was known as "Rock Creek", after the stream. In 1871, the tracks of 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, incl ...

, which followed the Elkhorn upstream from Fremont, reached Wisner; the line reached

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

in 1879.Pangle, Mary Ellen. A History of Norfolk. Published serially in Norfolk Daily News. 1929 As the railway was extended,

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 ...

s were needed at intervals to support the

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s.For example, a section of the

Atlantic and Pacific Railroad The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was an American railroad that owned or operated two individual segments of track. One connected St. Louis, Missouri, with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connected Albuquerque, New Mexico, with Needles in Southe ...

running in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

between

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

and

Amboy Amboy may refer to: Places Argentina * Amboy, Córdoba, commune in Calamuchita Department, Córdoba Province United States * Amboy Crater, feature in Mojave National Preserve, California Settled U.S. places * Amboy, California * Amboy, ...

had water stops spaced by 5-10 miles: Lavic, Ragtown, Ash Hill, Klondike,

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, Bagdad, se
Google Maps
all eight of them being

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

s now. The railroad stops were also served by telegraphs for the purpose of administering and controlling the railroad as well as business development of the telegraphs.Thompson, Jim. The Railroad Telegrapher, Vol. VII, No. 2, Fall 1993 / Winter 1994. Retrieved from http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/ozarkswatch/ow702h.htm on July 31, 2010 The telegraph station at the water stop located at the site of present-day Beemer was named after the nearest significant settlement, Rock Creek, and used the call letters "R C". So, for the next fifteen years, two locations, several miles apart and on opposite sides of the Elkhorn, were referred to as 'Rock Creek': one was the area around the Rock Creek stream near Lambrecht's mill and the other the area around the railway water stop and telegraph station.

Forming a village

In 1885, Allen D. Beemer, George Canfield, and K.C. Morehouse laid out lots to the north of the Rock Creek water stop and

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 Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted a village to be known as Rock Creek, as filed in the county seat of West Point on May 26, 1885. Mr. Beemer built the first rail depot building, and led the drive to build a wooden bridge across the Elkhorn. His efforts on behalf of the area were rewarded in 1886, when Congressman Edward K. Valentine secured a post office for the settlement, naming it the Beemer Post Office. On July 15, 1886, in response to a petition of 54 residents, a village named Beemer was incorporated with Harry Delmont, W.D. Gibbon, John M. Barber, F.J. Fitzgerald, and Niels Hansen the village trustees. In that year Mr. Beemer founded a newspaper, the '' Beemer Times''; and the rail company changed the name of the station from Rock Creek to Beemer, although its telegraph call signs remained "R C" (for "Rock Creek") until the depot closed in 1963.

Beemer's first century, 1886 - 1986

The first century was marked by spurious growth and numerous initiatives to develop Beemer. The Beemer Times, founded by A.D. Beemer around March 1, 1886, chronicled the times, the progress, the achievements, the disasters, and the dilemmas that faced early Beemer. The paper assailed ills like the muddy streets, the lack of sidewalks, and the excessive number of taverns; and it reported on more favorable developments like improvements to the schooling, new commercial enterprises, and major modernizations such as waterworks, electrification, road improvements, and telephone systems. Beemer Community Church from SW

Churches

Five churches were established in Beemer during this era. The Methodist Episcopal Church was built at the northeast corner of Fifth and Beemer Streets and dedicated September 5, 1886. In 1904, it moved to a new building on the northwest corner of Third and Fraisier streets. The first St. John's Lutheran Church building, with a steeple, was built on the southeast corner of Third and Lambrecht streets and dedicated July 2, 1893. The Congregational Church at the northeast corner of Third and Canfield streets was dedicated January 14, 1900. The Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church, at the southwest corner of Sixth and Frasier streets, was dedicated on September 20, 1914. The Mennonite Church at the southwest corner of Sherman and Fourth streets was dedicated on March 15, 1959.

Schools

The first Beemer Public School was held in a small frame building located on the northeast corner of Third and Beemer Streets. By 1886, in order to support its 32 enrolled pupils, a two-room, frame building was built on the southwest corner of Fifth and Beemer Streets. The names of absent or tardy students were duly reported in the Beemer Times. In 1892, voters approved $10,000 in bonds for a modern two-story brick school. The school officers, F.J. Fitzgerald, A.D. Beemer, and Charles Decker reported an enrollment of 210 pupils. The building was erected on the north side of Third Street between Blaine and Harrison Streets (approximately where a 1964 addition to the school was eventually built). In 1917, the village passed another bond issue for a new school building on the northeast corner of Third and Blaine Streets. The new building was used for the graduation ceremonies in May 1918; the older, adjacent building was torn down that summer. The 1918 building would continue to be used until 2008.

Railroad Service

The tracks of the Fremont. Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad arrived in Beemer in 1871. This route was laid from Fremont to reach the Black Hills of South Dakota. The

Chicago & North Western The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

took over in 1903. By the mid-1970s, the freight traffic volumes began mildly declining. C&NW ended railroad service in the spring of 1982, after flooding damaged many sections of the track & abandonment was applied for. The tracks were removed just a few years later.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 678 people, 291 households, and 172 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 321 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 92.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 5.6% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 7.7% of the population. There were 291 households, of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 1.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.9% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age in Beemer was 52 years. 21.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.3% were from 25 to 44; 21.5% were from 45 to 64; and 34.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 47.2% male and 52.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 773 people, 298 households, and 196 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 315 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.47%

, 0.39% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 2.98% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 3.62% of the population. There were 298 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were

living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.08. The median age in Beemer was 43 years, with 24.7% of the population under the age of 18, 6.6% aged 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 26.5% 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males. As of 2000, the median income for a household in the village was $30,938, and the median income for a family was $36,429. Males had a median income of $26,842 versus $16,806 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $14,653. About 4.5% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure

Facilities

Nearly 100 percent of Beemer's neighborhood streets are paved and complete with storm sewage systems. The village property includes a village office building, a fire station, the town park, a dance hall, and a library. The village operates its own works system in the eastern outskirts of town and a sewage treatment plant located close to the nearby Elkhorn River. Power and telecommunications services are provided by regional companies. Recreational facilities include the school gymnasium, the Beemer park which is complete with tennis courts and picnic areas, and the nearby Indian Trails Country Club, an 18-hole course on the bluffs of the Elkhorn River colloquially known as the ‘Beemer Golf Course’. Senior citizens are entertained at the Senior Citizen Center collocated with Post 159 of the American Legion.

Schools

The Beemer elementary school, located in Beemer, is part of the West Point-Beemer Public School system. The district's high school is located about 10 miles from Beemer.

Notable people

* William E. Galbraith – National Commander of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

1967-1968 * Earnest Cary - American classicist *

Mel Harder Melvin Leroy Harder (October 15, 1909 – October 20, 2002), nicknamed "Chief", was an American right-handed starting pitcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball, who played his entire career with the Cleveland Indians. He spent 42 sea ...

, baseball player and manager * Karl Hubenthal, cartoonist

References

External links

Google Map of Beemer
{{authority control Villages in Cuming County, Nebraska Villages in Nebraska