Westerville 1880-1980

Among the Black families the plaque mentions were Moses and Susan Speese. Moses was born enslaved near Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1838 and sold for $1,200 to an enslaver named Speese in Yadkin County; Susan was sold more than once. Free after the war, they reached Indiana and by 1880 Seward, Nebraska. On October 11, 1882, Moses filed a homestead claim near Westerville and later added a timber claim, 318 acres in all, proving up in 1889 with a sod house, a windmill and 140 hogs. Susan delivered babies across the county. Both are buried in the Westerville cemetery.

What the plaque says

1880 Westerville 1980 Westerville, nestled in picturesque Clear Creek Valley, was the first town in Custer County. It was named for James H. Westervelt on whose land the townsite was platted August 11, 1880. The town became an important early trade center after pioneer families, both black and white, homesteaded here during the late 1870's. Westerville had many firsts in Custer County- the first frame church, the Methodist, whose bell echoed across the valley; the first newspaper, The Custer Leader, and the first doctor, lawyer, banker, monument cutter, and general stores. A sod house, hotel, blacksmith shop, livery barn, and flour mill aided early development. The County Agricultural Society was organized here and held the first two county fairs in Westerville, 1881-1882. The first county teachers institute also convened here. Westerville was bypassed as the county seat and, when the railroad was built farther south in 1886, the town gradually declined. After 100 years, the village is an active community center which remains proud of its heritage. The modern farms which dot the peaceful valley pay tribute to the courage and perseverance of Westerville's early pioneers who now rest in the cemetery overlooking the village. Westerville Centennial Committee Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Hartsuff State Historical Park — 29 mi
  A small infantry post of 1874 in the North Loup valley, built of local lime concrete on the raiding road between Lakota and Pawnee country, and kept nearly whole by eighty years of farming.

More markers nearby

• Mitchell and Ketchum Homesteads — 6.5 mi
• Ansley 1886-1986 — 7.3 mi
• Arcadia Centennial, 1885-1985 — 13 mi
• Broken Bow Town Square — 13 mi