The Founding of Oakland

The oldest county history tells this founding with other dates. A. T. Andreas's History of the State of Nebraska (1882) has Aaron Arlington arriving from Philadelphia in 1859 with his wife and four daughters, and John Oak arriving in 1862 and buying Arlington's place; it has Oak appointed postmaster in 1867. The railroad town then grew quickly: 345 people in 1880 and an estimated 700 a year later, a two-story high school costing $3,000 finished in 1881, and the Independent, founded by George W. Brewster on October 1, 1880. Oakland counted 1,369 residents in 2020.

What the plaque says

The Founding of Oakland The Aron Arlington family arrived as the area's first Euroamerican settlers in 1857, later moving near Decatur. Norwegian John Oak and his wife, Inger Askwig Oak, came to the Logan valley in 1866, occupying the abandoned Arlington cabin. As settlers arrived, Oak provided them shelter and assistance filing homestead claims. Oak's cabin hosted the first school board meeting, September 30, 1867, electing Oak treasurer. Andrew Morell's sod house, hosted the first term of School District 14 in May 1868. In 1868, John P. Anderson petitioned the Burt County Supervisors to honor John Oak by naming the town Oakland. On May 11, 1868, the U.S. Post Office established the Oakland Post Office with Oak as postmaster. Oak resigned in 1869, moving to Dakota County to build a grist mill. He died December 17, 1875, and is buried in the Taylor Cemetery in Dakota County. To accommodate the railroad, in 1879 Oakland moved to the present site on land purchased from James Askwig, S. M. Lundstrom, and the state, and developed by George Thomas. Oakland was incorporated on April 13, 1881. Millicent J. (Neumann) Troupe Oakland Historian 1923-2016 Nebraska State Historical Society, 2018

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Blackbird Scenic Overlook — 21 mi
  A pull-off on US-75 at Macy on the Umóⁿhoⁿ reservation, looking over the Missouri valley toward the hill where Wazhiⁿga' sabe, Blackbird, was buried after the smallpox of 1800.

More markers nearby

• Governor Frederick Valdemar Erastus Peterson — 0.8 mi
• Victor Colson Homestead — 1.6 mi
• The Logan Creek Site — 1.9 mi
• Lyons — 7.3 mi