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An Invitation to South-East Nebraska…With a Sectional Map of Nebraska.
Omaha, Neb.: Burlington Route Passenger Department, 1887. State Journal Company, printer, Lincoln. 8vo (8.75” x 5.75”), printed green wrappers. [1]–16 pp., 1 folding lithographic map, 21.75” x 39.25” plus margins, folds to 8.25” x 5.5”, with railway lines highlighted in red; map laid in (i.e., not attached). CONDITION: Overall good, some foxing and light wear to pamphlet and map; map reinforced on verso repairing separations at folds. A promotional pamphlet designed to attract prospective buyers to southeastern Nebraska, including a map showcasing the Burlington Route railroad network in the region. By 1887, the southeastern region of Nebraska was already well-settled and connected extensively by rail, largely dominated by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q, commonly known as the Burlington Route). However, cheaper lands and larger plots were available in the northern and western parts of the state. In an effort to attract business to the southeast, the Burlington Route, in collaboration with Robert W. Furnas, issued this pamphlet extolling the virtues of the region—namely, the presence of “schools, churches, and other important factors characteristic of more advanced civilization” and more favorable conditions for small-scale agriculture. Furnas writes of a soil that is “generally of greater depth, more productive, and better adapted to diversified agricultural pursuits” whereby “[t]he smaller practical farmer, especially with some ready means, will find many advantages in the region indicated not found elsewhere in the West.” The pamphlet also mentions an ample supply of water, clay, and a highly fertile variety of Loess soil, while suggesting that the land has been undervalued: “In matter of valuation for taxable purposes, we copy from official records, and cannot refrain from expressing the belief that great wrong is done in the mode practiced.” Following these remarks is a list of counties in the region detailing their geography, acreages of available land, populations, modern conveniences, and proximity to Burlington Railroads. An advertisement for the Burlington Route on the inside of the front wrapper includes a small map of regional tracks from Chicago to Denver. A similar map appears on the outside of the rear wrapper. The large folding map included here—Map of Nebraska and Eastern Colorado—highlights the Burlington Route lines in red overprinting. It shows all of Nebraska and part of northeastern Colorado, with county names, cities, rivers, and Indian reservations (at Fort Robinson, Fort Sheridan and the Sioux Indian Reserve in the northwest, and the Omaha Reserve and Winnebago Reserve in the northeast). The entire area is covered with a grid down to the square mile, reflecting the Public Land Survey System. The legend further provides the location of Surveyor General’s Office, regional land offices, and an alphabetic key for macroregions of the state—such as South Platte (“S”) and Republican Valley (“R”). The scale is given at twelve miles to one inch. The map includes both numbered guide meridians and standard parallels. The Burlington Route operated an extensive network of track in the Midwest, Great Plains, and Texas. Founded in 1849 as the Aurora Branch Railroad, it later derived its more recognizable name from three cities—Chicago; Burlington, Iowa; and Quincy, Illinois—that it connected early on. Its several decades of regional dominance saw the first Denver–Chicago connection in 1882, the introduction of diesel locomotives, and a mid-twentieth-century golden age of private passenger rail travel in streamlined Zephyrs. CB&Q became part of Burlington Northern following a 1970 merger, and later merged with the Santa Fe Railway in 1995 to become today’s BNSF. Per the front cover, this pamphlet was available “for free distribution upon application to P.S. Eustis,” who is listed inside the front wrapper as the General Passenger and Ticket Agent of the Burlington and Missouri River Rail Road (a subsidiary of the CB&Q). F. Hirschfield is credited as the author of the map. Robert W. Furnas (1824–1905) served as the second governor of Nebraska from 1873 to 1875 and was one of the state’s foremost promoters. After establishing himself as a newspaperman, Furnas came to Nebraska in 1856, where he established two newspapers: the Nebraska Advertiser and the Nebraska Farmer. He served as colonel in the territorial militia during the Civil War and later as Indian agent for the Omaha Tribe. At the time of this pamphlet’s publication under his direction he was Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture. F. Hirschfield was a civil engineer who is credited on several other maps of Nebraska produced by the State Journal Company during the 1880s. Many of these use a similar plate as this map. REFERENCES: “Furnas, Robert W.” at the Nebraska State Historical Society online; “Gov. Robert Wilkinson Furnas” at National Governors Association online.
Item #8773
Price: $1,400.00
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