Endicott, Nebraska         

History

Endicott, population 139, sits along the Little Blue River in Jefferson County. Settlers started to make their homes in Endicott as early as the 1850's and 1860's because of the fertile grounds, the river's tributaries, and its proximity  to the Oregon Trail. In 1856, D.C. Jenkins built a way station and a toll bridge at "Rock Creek Crossing" a few miles northeast of Endicott to accommodate travelers on the Oregon Trail.  This was the site of the infamous McCanless "fracas," during which Wild Bill Hickok shot and killed station owner David McCanless in July 1861.

Within a few year there was a huge influx of settlers arriving to take homesteads. One was Edward Hawkes, who with "uncle" Billy Smith and his wife Elizabeth built a cabin in 1864 just south of the present town of Endicott on the Little Blue River.

The St. Joe & Denver City Railroad laid tracks through the Little Blue Valley in 1872, bringing further settlement. When word came that a new raiload...The Burling and Missouri River Railroad...was going to intersect the SJ&DC at the foot of the hill near Hawkes land, he saw the possibility of a town developing. He and Smith laid our the town on land they owned and sold lots for the town's development. Railway officials chose the name, in honor of William Endicott of Massachusetts, Secretary of War under President Cleveland, and the town's post office was officially establish in 1880.

The railroad built a hotel in Endicott in 1881. It was known as the Dooley House and later as the Central Hotel, and still stands today after more than 124 years, as does Smith and Hawkes' Cabin. The cabin was moved from its original location just south of Endicott to Fairbury years ago, then moved back to Endicott in the 1960's and is now located in the village's park.

Endicott's residents challenged Fairbury for the right of being the county seat in the mid-1880's, but were defeated by a close margin. The fierce competition resulted in a rift between the two towns and the population dropped from 700 to 250 in a matter of just six years.

The first school was taught in D.C. McCanless's dugout just east of Endicott in the early days with the first official school building erected in 1885. That building was destroyed by fire in 1904. A two-story school was built on the same site and used until Endicott merged with the Fairbury School District in 1992.

Today, Endicott is known for the bricks produced at Endicott Clay Products. The company was started in the 1880's when deposits of fine clay were discovered along the Rock Creek. The pit used to ship the clay to Beatrice by the trainloads where it was made into bricks. In 1920, Robert Fairchild and Herman Captain built a factory that turned the clay into bricks on site, it was known as Fairchild Clay Products Co. The company survived the depression and was vital in the survival of Endicott. Currently, Endicott Clay employs 250 and produces 100 million bricks annually that are shipped throughout the nation and world.

The community celebrates each October with Lord Acre's Day and specializes in growing and selling horseradish at the event.