Found some grafiti today lol

[Cal]

Left before it got light out this morning, went down to the place on the Niobrara. It has both old homesteads (I think they were homesteads) where two sets of my great-grandparents lived in the early part of the 1900s, a couple miles apart. Luckily, it's never been sold off.

Now who could this guy be, signing his name in the lower left hand corner? :wink:

Marker where John Gordon's wagon train, heading for the Black Hills looking for gold was burned, thus the name Gordon, NE.....as I understand it. Maybe Soapweed or BobM will add to or correct that.

old corn sheller, I think

must have been an environmentally friendly "green" vehicle. Full of Cedar needles under the hood. :shock:

Looking down at the river from a pretty high bluff

friend and his son crossing the river, a little deep in places.

 

[Jassy]

Great pics of the river...what a view! As for that name on the sign...hmmmmm...lol

 

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

Oh that's too funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Soapweed]

You have some scenic real estate down along the Niobrara River, Cal. I have lots of fond memories of picnics and trail rides down in that neck of the woods. One time, there was a car tour to the area where the Gordon Party's wagons were burned and rolled into the river. It was organized by your granddad Harvey and his sister, Pearl. What a colorful pair those two were, and what a fun day that turned out to be.

Once when I was a young boy, I rode in an old washtub for half a mile down the river. Some of the rest of the youngsters used innertubes. The old washtub had a split in it near the top, and my left arm still carries a scar near the elbow where the tub cut me that day. :roll: :wink:

As to the story of the Gordon Party, this is what Dena Buckles wrote about the incident in the book GORDON, NEBRASKA--OUR FIRST ONE HUNDRED YEARS, 1885-1985.

"The village of Gordon was officially created on November 19, 1885, when the county board granted its petition to incorporate. The town was named for John Gordon of Sioux City. The lure of gold reported to be found in the Black Hills brought an expedition to this area which was still Indian Territory and forbidden to whites. On May 13, 1875, while they were encamped several miles southeast of the present site of Gordon, they were overtaken by U.S. Cavalry. Most of their wagons and freight were burned by government troops and Indians under government authority. Later, the Lieutenant commanding the attachment was dismissed from service for this offense, and John Gordon was reimbursed for his losses."

 

[Cal]

Thanks!

Soap, look in the second picture towards the bottom. The faded signature dated '56. Was that your uncle? You all better go back down there sometime.

 

[Horseless]

I think your corn sheller is a burr grinder. We have a few around that look like that and we don't have corn. I remember dad using one to grind barley for some pigs.

 

[Soapweed]

Thanks!

Soap, look in the second picture towards the bottom. The faded signature dated '56. Was that your uncle? You all better go back down there sometime.

Is there any chance that could be '86 instead of '56? I doubt if my uncle would have been down there in '56. That was about the time John Burton bought his ranch in that area, and it was a few years after that when my dad and my uncle traded any work with John. I'm not even sure the "monument" was in place as early as 1956.

Probably that 1993 date was the last time I visited the site. That particular Sunday, many parishioners of the local Methodist church hauled their horses to church. We had a carry-in dinner in the annex, then we hauled our horses to Dale Cady's ranch. We unloaded and rode our horses several miles, with our destination being the site where the Gordon Party wagons were burned. One of our group did find an old rifle bullet from the incident.