Central Platte Valley

The town on the meridian began as one man's purchase. Andreas's 1882 history says John J. Cozad of Ohio bought 40,000 acres from the Union Pacific in 1873, arranged for a depot, and went home to organize a colony; about thirty men arrived that December. He wanted brick business houses and contracted for 500 cords of wood to fire a brickyard. Quarrels with the settlers nearly emptied the town, Cozad left, and early in 1882 the station and post office became Gould. His son became the painter Robert Henri.

What the plaque says

Central Platte Valley Here in Dawson County, much of the early history is concerned with the pioneer trails to the west. The Mormon Trail to Utah and the first transcontinental railroad passed through here on the north side of the Platte River; the Oregon Trail and the Pony Express followed the south side of the Platte. Indian trouble was not uncommon here in the early days of settlement. The Plum Creek Massacre occurred in 1864 when Sioux Indians attacked a wagon train, killing several men and taking prisoners at a site near here in Phelps County. Also near here, in 1867, a group of Cheyenne led by Chief Turkey Leg cut the telegraph line, derailed a locomotive, and killed several Union Pacific Railroad employees. The 100th Meridian, on which the nearby town of Cozad is now located, was considered an important goal in the building of the first transcontinental railroad. When the tracks reached this point in 1866, some 250 businessmen, senators, congressmen and other notables came here to celebrate. The 100th Meridian is often cited as the "line of aridity," west of which rainfall is usually insufficient to support non-irrigated agriculture. Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Central Platte Valley — 0.7 mi
• The 100th Meridian — 5.4 mi
• George E. Johnson — 9.5 mi
• Swedish Crosses Cemetery — 19 mi