White Settlement
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Settlers - Stores - Occupations - Celebrations - Troubled Times
Brownlee is an inland village located along the north bank of the North Loup River. John R. Lee and his brother, William B. Lee originally established this town in 1886. They named the settlement after their grandmother, Jane Brownlee (Early History of Cherry County, Nebraska). However, according to A Sandhill Century, Peter Rousche was one of the first settlers in the Brownlee area, arriving in 1882.
Settlers
Numerous
settlers came to the Brownlee area and took up land under one of the three
land acts. Settlers to the north included John Chaloud, Ed Reiser, Frank and
Edward Lee, E.R. Vandergrift – a Civil War veteran with a big family,
and Johnny Doyle, who later became a merchant in the Thedford area. Settlers
in the main valley included John Salzman, Billy Shephard, and H.B. Tyler.
To the south, settlers were Tom, Matt, and James Shanley, B.J. McGuire, Ira
Spencer, the Eatingers, and M. Higgins, an elderly railroad builder, along
with his seven sons (A Sandhill Century).
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Stores
Eventually
many stores were built in Brownlee. John R. Lee built the first store in 1886
(A Sandhill Century). It was a general merchandise store and was built on
a large frame. Soon afterward a post office was built and the mail was brought
to Brownlee from Thedford. Others stores and shops, including a Blacksmith
Shoppe, livery barn, drug store, hotel, bank, and community hall were later
built. A church was also added and in 1887 the first Sunday school class was
organized. Brownlee was a very important community center and drew trade from
numerous miles away. After some time, Brownlee supported three general merchandise
stores.
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Occupations
In order
to survive in the country, families had to have a stable occupation. The majority
of the inhabitants farmed to a certain extent. One past resident, Mrs. Edward
Lee, remembered that they built a corncrib. It was filled every year and farming
continued during the years that rainfall was average or above average. However,
farming was soon out of the picture. Ranching expanded immensely in the Brownlee
area causing Brownlee to become a very successful ranch community. In time,
early settlers sold their holdings to neighbors. As a result, the ranches
got bigger and the population grew smaller. The cattle on these ranches were
practically all purebred since registered sires were brought into the area.
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Celebrations
A
celebration that was very memorable to Brownlee was in 1887 when they decided
to celebrate the fourth of July with a ‘grand celebration.’ Activities
included an impromptu band, which was made up of local residents, a ball-game,
dancing, singing, and a horse race. Lumber was brought in from Woodlake, Nebraska,
in order to construct the dance floor. Miss Mamie Lee, a teacher at the school,
read the Declaration of Independence to the community.
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Troubled
Times
Just
as with any town, there have been various interesting, yet terrible incidents
in the Brownlee area. One example was on April 7, 1891. Mrs. Everett was walking
on her way home and was overtaken by a prairie fire. Tragically, she was burned
to death. Luckily, because her little girl was at a friend’s house,
she was kept safe. In 1918 a terrible flu 
epidemic
spread through Brownlee and eleven people’s lives were taken. Dudley
McDonald had a dreadful experience while he was riding his horse in the middle
of the summer. He was bucked off and fell in such a manner that both his legs
were broken. For two days and two nights he drug himself with his hands and
arms toward the nearest road, which was three miles away. Luckily, Frank Kime,
who was putting up hay, heard Dudley cry out and rescued him before he crawled
the entire distance. Thankfully, Dudley fully recovered. These incidents are
just a few from the history of Brownlee.
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