THE BLUE SPRINGS CEMETERY THE EARLY YEARS Blue Springs, Nebraska The 1860's were filled with hope in the Blue River Valley. Robert Wilson arrived in 1857 to build two mills for the Big Blue River Reservation and returned to Iowa. In 1861, he and his young bride, Amelia, returned to settle in the little hamlet of Blue Springs near the Reservation's northern border. There was a trading post, a few log cabins dug into the banks of Spring Branch, Pawnee and Otoe roaming the prairie, grass fires, deep winter drifts and several failed attempts to build a bridge across the Blue River to the east. It was, it seems, the crystal-clear waters of the river, shelter from the oak groves and the whispers of the wind in the prairie grass that persuaded settlers to stay. With hard work and sheer determination, Blue Springs grew and has endured for nearly 170 years. Reverend James Johnson arrived in 1855 to minister to the people of the Reservation and built a log cabin near the river 3 miles to the north, returning to family in Iowa for the winter. In the summer of 1857, he brought his family to settle here. A short time later, their eight-year-old son, Allen, was gathering drift wood near the river and stepped off a sandbar into deep water and drowned on September 26, 1857. Reverend Johnson passed away from typhoid fever, on September 21, 1862. Martha Johnson, a true pioneer woman, went on to raise her family and passed on in January of 1899, she was laid to rest beside James and her son Allen. In 1861, James "Grandpa" Hollingsworth, was superintendent of a very successful Sunday School in the Johnson cabin. Hollingsworth and his family had come from England; lived briefly in Boston and Wisconsin; then decided to make Nebraska their home. They came in a covered wagon, driving one ox and one horse. It was a hard trip and two of their children became seriously ill and died on the way. In the meantime, the Johnsons had built a stick frame home on their farm. The Hollingsworth's rented the Johnson's cabin for two seasons. In 1857, the cabin was known as the Methodist parsonage and later in 1861 as the Methodist Sunday School and meeting place. Today the Johnson Cabin Museum can be seen in the Blue Springs City Park. (taken from: EARLY METHODISM IN BLUE SPRINGS by Eugene Watson 1982) Catharine, James' wife, passed on in 1886 and James was laid to rest beside her in 1902 in the Blue Springs Cemetery. John B. Maxfield, arrived in 1860 to settle a mile north of Blue Springs. His wife, Orpha J. (Summers) Maxfield became ill and passed on September 26, 1860. In 1861, he was ordained into the Methodist ministry and served the Beatrice Circuit for several years. James Tobyne, the three-year-old son of James Nelson Tobyne (grandfather of football legend, Guy Chamberlin) passed away a month later on October 16, 1860. The Tobyne's operated a freight station on their Homestead a couple miles NE of Blue Springs in Section 10. Fifteen-year-old, Lynus Knight, passed away a few weeks after on November 2, 1860. He was the son of Lynus & Mary Jane Knight who arrived in the area from Ohio on June 5 of that year. They farmed, for a time, on the western edge of Blue Springs south of Bill's Creek. In December of 1866, Lynus moved to their Homestead with Mary Jane and 4 other children. The Knight Family occupied this land in Section 21 of Sicily Township until 1928. THE METHODIST CEMETERY The need for a proper burying ground became clear and tradition places the founding of the cemetery in 1860 on Robert Wilson's land. History states that both Allen R. Johnson and Orpha Maxfield were buried on land occupied by relatives and later reinterred into the newly established cemetery. It is unclear when these reinterments were done, but Allen is registered as the first recorded burial. Robert Wilson and his wife, Amelia, deeded one square acre in the NE corner of the NE Quarter of the SW Quarter of Section 8 Township 2 to Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church (William Tyler, James H Johnson and Henry Hollingworth). The deed was dated January 15, 1862. The Wilson's lost all three of their sons very young; Charles (1862-1864), Frank (1866-1867) and perhaps most tragically, Harry (1872-1894) who died of injuries during a New Year's football game between Wymore and Blue Springs. Their daughter, Ella Wilson Swiler lived in Blue Springs until her death in 1956. Ella served as Secretary on the Blue Springs Cemetery Board in the 1930s. Today, they all rest in the cemetery near Robert & Amelia. Their sister Emma Wilson Hoxworth moved to Illinois when she married and was buried there in 1935. In 1865, Wilson acquired 1 acre of adjoining land owned by James Nichols and plotted more lots. On March 15th, 1868, Nelson Korner purchased 118 acres of land from Nichols bordering the cemetery on the south and west sides, leaving the 2nd acre Wilson had plotted as cemetery. On May 28, 1872, Robert Wilson and Nelson Korner deeded the two acres to the Trustees of the Methodist Church of Blue Springs, expanding the cemetery to 3 acres. Korner continued to plot his land as cemetery and in 1885, he deeded 2 acres as Korners Addition. NELSON KORNER Nelson Korner was born near Flat Rock, Ohio in 1848. He was a classmate of George Schock and together they left Ohio in the Spring of 1868 for Rulo, Nebraska. When a land deal near Rulo fell through, Nelson decided to pursue Homestead Land farther west. "To go west was more difficult than it sounded, for there was no means of transportation. Walking was possible, if not satisfactory" Mr. Korner stated in his biography. Before he reached Blue Springs, a friend, who had ridden horseback to Brownsville to file for a claim overtook him, and the horse carried the two over many creeks and rivers. 'After fording the Blue River', Mr. Korner described: we asked a man how far it was to Blue Springs'. He replied 'Bless you, you are right in it.' The man was Grandpa Casebeer, grandfather of James Casebeer. The town was composed of six or seven log houses, and a few others scattered around the creeks. When he could find no suitable government land, Mr. Korner bought 118 acres of deeded land [in Section 8 bordering the cemetery] at $2.00 per acre near the townsite. After buying the land, Mr. Korner spent several days helping Jacob Casebeer quarry rock, without charge, for the old stone church." Blue Springs Bee - July 2,1931 A teacher by trade, Korner was hired in 1869 as the first teacher in Blue Springs. Old Methodist Stone Church once located where the Fire Station stands today Korner returned to Rulo for a time to teach school. When he returned to Blue Springs, a school district had been organized and a school was to be erected. In 1869, he was asked to be the teacher. In May of 1870, Nelson filed for Homestead Land in Section 7 of Sicily Township, after the government deeded the land to him in 1877, Nelson retained ownership of the land until his death in 1931. Roland & Ruby Hardin own this farm today and the original portion of their home was built by Nelson in 1917. His original farm bordered the Cemetery. He and his wife are buried in the Korner section of the cemetery. CEMETERY RECORDS of the 1870s & 1880s The newspapers recorded the details of burials. In June of 1871, Daniel Harpster had just laid claim to his Homestead when his nine-year-old son, George, drowned in the Blue River. Funeral services were spoken and both English and German. The boy had lost his mother, Mary, that February. In the fall of 1873, a fire started near the town and damaged some of the fences in the cemetery. In July of 1875, a Mr. Ball completed the survey and plat of the cemetery. Perhaps the most alarming incident occurred in December of 1876. Elizabeth Sommers, wife of Levi Sommers, passed on December 15, 1876 and was buried a few days later. The couple had come to the area only two months before. A few days later in December, Levi arranged to have her body moved back to their old home near Springfield, Illinois. Upon opening the grave, it was discovered her corpse had been stolen. The grave clothes had been cut and torn from the body and left in the coffin as well as other damage to the coffin. Grave robbers were prevalent during those years due to money offered for corpses for medical research. Cold weather and new burials were favored due to the need for preservation of the body. In April, 1887, four-year-old Florence, daughter of Frank McKinney passed away. Her sister, Edith had died that February. THE BLUE SPRINGS CEMETERY ASSOCIATION In April of 1892, a number of the ladies of Blue Springs met in the Evangelical Church for the purpose of making arrangements for a supper for the benefit of the cemetery fund and to form a cemetery association. On May 16th, 1892 the Blue Springs Cemetery Association was established. There was a committee appointed to draft the constitution and by-laws which included James H. Casebeer, Mrs. A.C. Miover, Miss Anna Craig, E. H. Burington and W. W. Wright. The by-laws contain 16 articles with are still in force with very little change. On February 20, 1893 the Trustees of the Blue Springs Methodist Church deeded the two acres of the Original section, a plat of lots and $169.57 of funds over to the Association. On the same date, Nelson & Ella Korner deeded their 2 acres known as Korner Addition over to the Association. In March of 1893 the Association was busy preparing to transform the neglected burying ground filled with weeds and prairie grass into a "pleasant and attractive house of the dead." Their description of the scene went on to describe "a tumble-down fence of rough boards enclosing a patch of prairie, broken by sunken graves and weed covered hillocks, with half rotten stakes and struggling rusty tombstones, without a tree or shrub to break the monotony or soften the glare of summer sun, with no shelter of protection for visitors or burial parties from storms and rough winds …" Aside from labor to clean up the grounds, in May 1893 the Association purchased trees and in August of that year 381 ft of iron fence arrived from the Champion Iron Co. in Kenton Ohio. The cost was $306.31 (or 80 cents a foot). The Champion Iron Co. - Kenton Ohio Actual fence from their 1880s catalog In January 1894, Korner sold and deeded 2 more acres to the Association which became the First Addition. In the summer of 1896, the Association was disgusted by the cemetery "being made a public pasture and the defacing of monuments and tombstones by obscene lettering by means of paint as practiced by conscienceless vandals." In the fall of 1897, Davis Fouts, a Blue Springs furniture dealer and undertaker, purchased an "elegant new snow-white hearse" which was used for funerals. In June of 1899, a hedge was removed on the north border and new iron fence installed on the north side of the cemetery in September. In May of 1900, Solon M. Hazen, one of the original settlers and merchants of Blue Springs passed on. He surveyed the town in 1860 for Robert Wilson and later represented Gage County in the legislature. Solon's wife, Prissa, passed on a year later and they rest together in the cemetery. In 1901 the Association reset the hitching rail on the east side of the grounds to prepare for planting a row of shade trees. In 1902, a building was completed on the grounds which comfortably sheltered and seated 50 people at a cost of $126.33. In 1902, an addition to the buildings on the grounds was able to seat fifty people with protection from sun and rain. In October 1904, the Association purchased ten rows of Lots east to west from Korners Addition to become the Second Addition. In December of 1904, there was a payment of $262.30 which most likely was new iron fence for the new addition. In 1905, the Association made plans to set a row of forest trees along the east side of the cemetery, allocating one lot in each of the nine blocks to place 25 evergreen trees. In 1912, the Association prepared to finish the last 300 ft of iron fence on the southern boundary at a cost of $500.00. The Champion Iron Works had ceased business about 1909 and Stewart Iron Works of Cincinnati, Ohio became the new supplier of iron fence. The cemetery's Victorian fence is still being manufactured by Stewart Iron Works. In 1912, hitching racks were erected along the south side of the cemetery. On January 30th, Blue Springs founder, Robert Wilson drank carbolic acid, mistaking it for castor oil and passed away at the age of 85. His wife, Ameila Ann, lived on until October 4th, 1927. The family is buried in the Original section Robert had donated in 1860. SOLDIERS & SAILORS MONUMENT OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO THE MEN & WOMEN OF THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FOR THEIR TIRELESS SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY. MANY GAVE THEIR LIVES. The Soldiers & Sailor's Monument was dedicated on what was then known as Decoration Day, May 30th, 1921. It was made possible through the generosity of Oscar E. Bishop, a Civil War Veteran. In 1917, he offered to match any sum citizens could raise. The Monument was designed by Miss Maybelle Holland, a 24-year-old art instructor at the Beatrice Schools. The Wymore Band performed during the unveiling ceremony and attendees were given a sprig of greens & flowers to drop at the Monument while passing. Members & Veterans of the Beatrice Guard, Grand Army of the Republic, WRC (Women's side of the GAR), American Legion & Spanish American War were in attendance.   The Fulton Monument Company was contracted to build and install the monument at a cost of $1,450 for the monument made from dark barre granite with light barre base, $153 for drafting and lettering, $550 for the bronze eagle, $100 for the foundation and $143.71 for shipping and installation, for a total of $2,690.71. At the annual meeting of the Association in April 1927, plans were made to provide water for the cemetery with a 150 gallon barrel storage cistern which would include a pressure tank and pump, piped about the grounds with taps at intervals. 1936 - MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS - OLDEST RECORDED CEMETERY In the spring of 1936, cemetery visitors noticed many improvements intended to enhance the beauty and interest in the grounds. Large brick pillars on each side of the entrances were the work of Jess Kimberly. The pillars contain a slab of Vermont granite with historic facts about the cemetery engraved by the Fulton Monument Company. To the right "Oldest Recorded Cemetery in Nebraska, January 25, 1862 and to the left "Blue Springs Cemetery Founded in 1860". It was Mr. Fulton who was responsible for confirming evidence that the cemetery is the oldest recorded in the state, having made several trips to Lincoln to look up records and other facts to its connection. The rest room was beautifully redecorated, varnished and the floor painted by Charlie Canfield. It was furnished with new floor coverings, library table, davenport and chairs. Cemetery officers and workers were highly complemented for the nice general appearance of one of the prettiest little cemeteries in the state. In 1940, a 24" Whirlwind Power Mower was purchased to cut the grass. To be continued ... 1948 - Third Addition 1962 - Dedication for the Memorial to Allen Johnson 2025 - Morris Addition