Regional History
The
Republican River Valley was once occupied by one
of the greatest concentrations of buffalo on the
Great Plains and was a favored hunting ground for
the Pawnee, Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indian
tribes. The great number of buffalo led the
Pawnee to call it the "Manure
River." The present name of
"Republican" was derived from the
Republican band of Pawnees that lived and hunted
in the river valley.
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Although the area was of prime importance as a
hunting ground for Indian parties, it was not of
any great importance to the early white settlers,
mainly because it lay isolated between the Santa
Fe and Oregon trails. The region was
undoubtedly visited by many trappers and Indian
traders, but they left little of no record of
their movements. One early
trapper who did leave a record, was young William
F. Cody (Buffalo Bill). In the fall of
1859, Cody set out with a companion up the
Republican River on a trapping expedition. Following the loss
of one of their oxen, they made camp in a dugout
about 5 miles southwest from what is now
Republican City. Soon after, young Cody
broke a leg forcing him to spend 27 days in he
dugout while his companion went for help.
During his stay, he was visited by Sioux hunters
who stole his rations, leaving him unharmed.
Settlement in the area tended to follow the Republican River Valley because of the
availability of water, timber, and good river
bottom soil. Local tradition has it that
the Indians warned early settlers not to build
homes in the river bottom because of the
"big water."
Ignoring these warnings, farmers were lured into
the valley because of the rich farmlands.
Floods were a common occurrence over the years,
but it was not until 1935 that the settlers learned
what the "big water" actually
was. It was described by witnesses as a
wall of water 8 feet high. Over 100 people
drowned in the flood and most ridges and farm
buildings were swept away. The Harlan
County Dam and several other dams were later
built to prevent the collection of a single mass
of water like the one that caused the disaster in
1935.
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