Edgar lies in the Little Blue River Valley just north of the
old Oregon and California trails. The
townsite was pre-empted in March 1872 by Henry Gipe with funds
provided by the Nebraska
Land and Townsite Company. The first postoffice was established
in June of that year in a log
cabin on the A. J. Ritterbush farm. One month later the St. Joseph
and Denver City Railroad
completed tracks into the area and laid out the town of Eden,
which later became Edgar. The
town was surveyed in May 1873.
Edgar was incorporated on March 15, 1875. The droughts and
grasshopper plagues of the middle
1870s slowed the development of the community temporarily, but
by 1880 the population had
grown to nearly 600. The 1886 coming of the Nebraska and Colorado
Railroad, part of the
Burlington system, assisted the community's rise as a manufacturing
center. At its height Edgar
had a creamery, a brick and tile company, a cannery, and several
mills. The farm depression of
the 1890s, however, signaled an end of growth for the town.
Edgar today is a quiet community and remains a part of the
great American agricultural
heartland. Although its role as a service center for the area
has declined, the people of Edgar
carry the proud traditions and the rugged spirit of their pioneer
ancestors.
Edgar Community Club
Nebraska State Historical Society
Nebr. 14, Edgar - Clay County
Marker 145