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The Story of Royal , Nebraska - formerly " Savage "
With Pictures
Royal , Nebraska , is situated midway between Orchard - to its west , and Brunswick to its east - on State Highway 20 , approximately 100 miles west of Sioux City .
1990 was the official centenary of the coming of the railroad to Royal , Nebraska : a year when the small town's one hundred or so population had opportunity to celebrate their own history , especially recalling the beginnings of the town .It had been in mid-1890 that the railroad had come to the tiny hamlet of Savage , a soon to be flourishing township renamed Royal . A long anticipated and ambitious railroad project for a line to the Gulf of Mexico had been abandoned in favour of a railway to the Nebraskan town of O'Neill and in consequence tiny Savage suddenly found itself on the tracks . Unfortunately in Jessup , a local community that had been invested in substantially due to reasonable anticipation of it becoming a trackside town , there was disapointment .
However , Mr . John W . Allen , a civil war veteran already established in Savage , would have been a happier man . In 1880 he
had moved from Wisconsin to take a homestead and tree claim . When in 1890 the railway came , he agreed to deed a portion of his
farm for use as a new town site , and Royal's development began .
Above : The Railroad Station at Savage , Nebraska
The railroad brought about the development of Savage .
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" Railroad "
A reflection and childhood recollection
from the scrapbook of Ernie Johnston - provided by Joanne Walmer
" As I remember .... It must have been in 1889 that Pa went with a man by the name
of Frank Dorsey to help him secure right of way for the railroad between where the town of
Brunswick was to be located and as far west as Orchard . Some were so glad to get a railroad
that they would give the right-of-way . Others would sell for a little .
It ( an original railroad plan ) was to go from Sioux City , Iowa to Ogden , Utah : but it
never was built . The money was to come from English capitalists , as I remember . They
ran out of money (and) a man by the name of Hill was appointed Receiver .
...... A man by the name of Spencer graded from Storm's place to J.W.Allen's .(They) camped
in tents across from J.W.Allen's so they could have water for horses . John Dierks stayed
at our place and a Negro cooked in the house ; we moved across the road onto Jule Fannon's
homestead , ( it was ) a claim house and straw barn . Our place had a barn with hay mow ,
held twelve head of horses , and ( there was )a long shed . Don't know how many they
tied in it . Dierks was from Ewing , Nebraska .
How well I can remember the men going to work . Those that used wheel scrapers rode them in
and back to work . The men that used slip scrapers generally rode a horse or walked .
Some ( horses ) were not broke to ride , but were before the work was finished . Another
( work-gang ) worked from Bonestell's to ( Peter)Wemeldorf's Hill ( one mile west ) .
They camped at the Jacob Werneldorf place north of Bonestell's.It had a large grout barn
and house . The grading must have started in early spring as the track was laid in June 1890.
I heard them tell of breakfast at Storms' and Zeigenbeins' ( and of )work trains carrying
rails , ties and supplies to lay railroad track .
We could see the smoke of an engine pushing a work train coming down high ground where
Brunswick was to be . When it came up-grade from Royal , Pa , Ma , Jim , Dan and I went
in (the) lumber wagon towards town so we could watch the men lay ties on the new grade , put
the rails down and spike them in a few places . (Then) they moved ahead slow to lay ties
and another rail . After the work train (had) moved (on),the men finished spiking the rails .
People came for miles , north , south , east and west , to see the men and the train : some
on horseback and the rest in lumber wagons.(I)don't remember a spring wagon or buggy there ;
not many in or around (the) country them days . Think John Garland had a spring wagon : he
was Jim Blackburn's father-in-law , Arthur Blackburn's grandfather . It was sure a sight for
most of us boys , (we) had never seen a train .
At Royal the last elevator was built : from here on it was shovel houses : a long building
with bins to unload in (into) . They were built on stilts , timbers around seven or
eight feet high so the grain could be loaded in (into railroad) cars .
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Above : Savage , Nebraska , in August of 1903 : Looking North From Atlas Elevator .
NOTE : it is regretted that the quality of the picture as reproduced here is insufficient to permit the identification of the more distant
houses and structures that are shown plainly on Mr.Johnston's original 1903 photograph .
The above 1903 picture was a prized picture of Mr. Ernie Johnston who identified its features as follows : -
" From the Left corner : (1) Cal Hoskinson's house ; (2) the little low house ; (3) Silas Howard's ; (4) Ben Bonestell's - eventually became
Hans Hofer's ; (5) Otto Putney's house , (6) barn ; (7) Grandma Bonestell's house , (8) M.E.Parsonage ; (9) Little square one built for
Allie Clarke ; (10) Fannon's store roof ; (11) Edward and Bradford lumber sheds and hardware store ; (12) post 0ffice and butcher shop ;
(13) Mrs.Harnese's tent behind the barn not yet roofed , (14) old man Bartsch's little barn and house . (15) [ On west side of the road
or street , starting from the north ] Woodman Hall , built in 1890 by T.J. and Patrick Curtain and first used by them as both house
and lumber office ; (16) A.W.Sovereign's Store - in which the post office was relocated following a fire on September 5th , 1902 ;
(17) S.W.Swetland's real estate office [ a lot of big deals made in it ] .
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Above : a Section of a land map produced by Antelope County's Surveyor's Office - Dated April 15th 1915 : showing some of Royal's streets and the site of its railroad station and depot .
Construction of Sidewalks .
Construction of Sidewalks .
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A Gathering of local businessmen - 1907 .
Back row , left to right : Gordon Bonestell , Ben Bonestell , Albert Rundquist , O . Kint , Herman Rundquist , Archie Sparks , Lew Tranck , Jerry Cook .
Front row , left to right : I . S . Swetland , H . E . Fields ,
C . F. Johnston , William Bligh , O . L . Punteney , L . C. Hoskinson , C . W . Fannon , Georgie Fannon , the Son of G . W . Fannon , Martin Greenslit .
Mr . Frank Clifton , the Editor of the Royal Post - 1918 .
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Above Picture : The Pioneer Store on Royal's Main Street's North Side .
The first store building erected in Savage was the Pioneer Store of Mr . George W . Fannon , a man later
elected a State Representative . His store stocked both drugs and general merchandise .The building was
destroyed by fire on September 5th , 1902 , when practically the entire business block burned .
The South side of Royal's main Street .
Note the sign indicating the Post Office and Royal Street .
An 1889 photograph of both Sides of " Royal's " main Street.
Although the little town was then named " Savage " it was already known as " Royal Post Office " .
Further material is to be added
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