CRETE

History of Crete

The first settler, J.C. Bickle, staked off his place in 1863. In August 1870, Bickle platted land and called his new city "Blue River City". The sale of lots proceeded, and Bickle operated the first Postoffice out of his home. As Mrs. Bickle home was in Crete, Illinois, the Postoffice was registered as Crete. The Bickle's pioneer home is preserved on the west edge of Crete as the "Maples".

From the book "Pioneer Days in Crete, Nebraska", Blue River City was destined to exist for a short time, and in 1870, a town bordering it was platted and called "Crete" by the Burlington and Missouri Railroad. On March 7th, 1871, the two towns were combined by the Nebraska Legislature under the name of Crete. On August 1st, 1871, the county commissioners granted a petition incorporating the town of Crete.

In 1870, Thomas Doane, Chief Civil Engineer for the Burlington Railroad, decided the line would cross the Big Blue River at Crete. The first train pulled into Crete on new layed tracks on June 12th, 1871. A number of businesses had opened and shipments of merchandise was now possible. More stores had sprung up along Main and 13th Street.

A big addition during Crete's second year was the founding of Doane College. Members of the Congregational Church in Lincoln arrived on the first train from Lincoln to approve a hilltop site for the college. Doane College, Nebraska's first independent liberal arts college was founded in 1872.

The first Nebraska Assembly of the Chautauqua movement was held in 1882 on the ground that is now Tuxedo Park. Each year between 3,000 to 5,000 people attended the ten-day event for the religious, political, and entertainment events. Crete's Chautauqua were among the largest in the nation. The last Crete Chautauqua was held in 1897 but the tradition continues today through activities of Doane College and other community groups. In 2001, the Crete community was honored to have the opportunity to experience the great tent show revival as it hosted the Great Plains Chautauqua at Tuxedo Park.

Crete's first industry, the Crete Mills, produced flour in a small mill along the river. Established in 1869 as the Mapleton Mills, the Crete Mills has expanded to become the industrial mainstay of the community. Today the company - a division of Lauhoff Grain Company - produces food grain products for the worldwide market.

(The following was edited from Crete, Nebraska archives.)

Crete, Nebraska Homepage: http://www.crete-ne.com

Webmaster: Roger W. Miner at minerland@neb.rr.com

Last modified : January 1st, 2007

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