The McCook Land Office

The following was taken from a letter by Mr. J.E. Kelley, pioneer resident of McCook printed in the April 3, 1942, edition of the McCook Republican.

In 1881, the Burlington (CB&Q) rail line came. In 1882, the Lincoln Land Company laid out and plated McCook, then named it division headquarters by the railroad. In May 1883, Congress established a new Land District, taking from the North Platte Land District, Townships 1 to 8 of ranges 26 to 42 inclusive, which included all of Chase, Dundy, Hayes, Hitchcock, and Red Willow counties and a large part of frontier county being designated as the McCook Land District with the location of the Land office at McCook.

In securing this location, the Lincoln Land Company agreed to furnish suitable offices, and erected a frame building that stood until May of 1942. In 1883, Gilbert L. Laws of Harlan County and Charles F. Babcock of McCook were appointed Register and Receiver respectively. They received the records from North Platte and opened this land office on June 15, 1883. The records for this District had been closed at North Patte when the McCook District was established, and prospective homesteaders came to McCook and camped and waited for the office to open. A land rush was on for some time after June 15^th.

The larger part of the lands in this District were vacant and were open to entry under pre-emption. Homestead and Timber Culture laws and were filed upon under some of those laws before 1887 when the offices were removed to the second floor of the A.O.U.W. building, newly erected at the southwest corner of Main and B streets. (This building is no longer standing). About 1889 when the Meeker block (now known as the Kelley building) was completed, the Land Office was again moved, occupying rooms on the second floor of 318 Main (Norris) Avenue, until consolidated with the office at Lincoln.

The original office building was bought by Edward Mitchell from the Lincoln Land Co. in 1900. Amount those owning the property since then were Dr. S. C. Beach, Mrs. J. I. Lee, Chas Hartman, and A. Barnett. The last occupant in the building was Carll Axelson, who operated a tailor shop and shine parlor, moving out about 1940.

This walnut desk was used by the first government agent in Red Willow County to get signatures for homesteads and other land governmental business.  It was bought into McCook by ox team.  It was donated to the Daughters of the Revolution and sat in their museum building in Kelley park until they donated their entire collection to the High Plains Historical Society.