Nebraska State Historical Society
Title
History of Washington County
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
January 1887
The county of Washington, in a historical point of view, assumes
more importance than that of any other county in the state of Nebraska,
and dates back to the administration of Mr. Jefferson, and the famous
expedition of Lewis and Clarke, in A.D. 1804. Although there
is an honest doubt existing as to the exact locality, yet it is generally
accepted as a fact that the original " Council Bluffs of Lewis
and Clarke was at what is now known as Fort Calhoun.
Certain it is, that in the year 1824, during Mr. Monroe's administration,
a military post was established there and named in honor of
John C. Calhoun, who was at that time secretary of war.
Thirty years later, Fort Calhoun was re-occupied by actual settlers
at an earlier period than any other portion of the county, and as
early as the earliest in the state, then the unorganized territory of Nebraska.
Comments
Published in TRANSACTIONS AND REPORTS OF THE NEBRASKA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, vol. 2 (Lincoln, NE, 1887).