History Note - Alliance, Nebraska

HISTORICAL NOTE - Alliance, Nebraska

Box Butte County was organized in March of 1887. The village of Nonpareil was chosen as the first county seat and a new court house erected there in that same year. After several movements and a heated county seat battle, the courthouse and title settled at Alliance, Nebraska, in June of 1899. A new courthouse was erected there in 1914.

With the building of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad through Box Butte County, a makeshift town by the name of Grand Lake appeared along the route of this road in 1887 near property belonging to the Lincoln Land Company which was owned by officials of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co.

A year later, a post office was established at Alliance, just opposite Grand Lake, on February 23, 1888. Lots for this new town were sold by the Lincoln Land Co. at Grand Lake on February 25, 1888. Many buildings erected at Grand Lake were moved across the way to the new town Alliance and the former ceased to exist.

Alliance was incorporated March 28, 1888. Due to its rapid growth in area and population, it was incorporated as a second class city on April 8, 1893. The population in 1980 was 9,920 persons, about the same as near the time of Alliance's second incorporation. During the period 1950-1970, the population of Alliance and Box Butte County declined. Alliance became the center for supplies to the settlers in this area of the county. It also became a cattle center with large stockyards. The town was once the headquarters of the Nebraska Stockgrowers Association.

The Burlington Railroad reached Alliance in 1888. Since that time Alliance has become an important town along the route of this road through Box Butte County. It is the main line for the coal business from Wyoming, and an important cattle shipping center. Alliance became the headquarters for the Wyoming Division of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy RR Co.

One source states that the town of Alliance was named by an Engineer of the Burlington road, J. N. Paul, after his home town of Alliance, Ohio. Perkey's Nebraska Place Names says that the road was named by the superintendent of this road, George
W. Holdrege.
(Above taken from this web site http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/public/municipal_finding_aids/alliance_ne.pdf)




Visit this site to see Alliance NE business streets in 1908.  Point mouse over picture for a panoramic view.