Fremont, Nebraska

The name answered a rival. James G. Smith, one of about six men who staked the site, recalled in 1869 that a town had just been laid out twenty-five miles west, near the mouth of Shell Creek, and named Buchanan, so his party chose Fremont to make the pair opposition towns. Frémont lost the presidency to Buchanan, Smith said, but in this Territory Buchanan was more than beaten by Fremont. A. T. Andreas's 1882 history says E. H. Barnard and John A. Kuntz set the first claim stake on August 23, 1856, near today's D and First streets.

What the plaque says

Fremont, Nebraska Fremont was laid out in August 1856. The town site was named for John C. Frémont, the new Republican Party's nominee for president in 1856, although Democrat James Buchanan was elected. Between 1842 and 1844 Frémont, then a U.S. Army topographical engineer, led two expeditions to explore the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin. In September 1842 Frémont and his men passed through the Platte Valley near here while returning east. Fremont became the county seat of Dodge County in 1860. MainStreet Fremont Nebraska State Historical Society, 2014

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Pawnee Villages — 2.4 mi
• The Great Platte River Route West — 3.9 mi
• Dodge County Poor Farm — 4.7 mi
• Platte River History — 5.9 mi