After 1861 an important variant of the overland trails system,
the Nebraska City-
Fort Kearney Cutoff, passed nearby, over which freight was transported
from the
Missouri River to western forts and mining camps. The region's
first settlements were
road ranches supplying trail travelers. Permanent towns and villages
sprang up in the late
1860s and early 1870s as farmers came to claim land under the
Homestead Act of 1862.
In 1880 the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad extended
its line from York
to Grand Island, platting Bradshaw on land purchased from Jesse
and Mary Bradshaw
Richards and giving the village Mary Richards's maiden name.
A major event in Bradshaw's history was the June 3, 1890, tornado
that destroyed
the village, killing twelve and injuring sixty. By 1900 Bradshaw
had been rebuilt and
tallied a population of 365. In that year 354 railcars of cattle
and hogs and 672 railcars
of grain were shipped from Bradshaw. In the twenty-first century
agriculture remained
the economic mainstay for Bradshaw and the surrounding region.
Michael Breiner, M.D., Class of 1952, BHS
Nebraska State Historical Society
Village park,
400 Lincoln Ave., Bradshaw
York County
Marker 440