History of Washington County

Authors

Perry Selden

Date of this Version

1887

Comments

Published in TRANSACTIONS AND REPORTS OF THE NEBRASKA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, vol. 2 (Lincoln, NE, 1887).

Abstract

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.