Part 1 of a Series
While Independence Day might be over, there are still several months left in this celebratory year of our nation’s founding. It was 30 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark concluded their expedition through the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. Their trek brought them through Nebraska, paving the way for future settlers.
A lot can be learned about a town’s history by visiting, of all places, the local cemetery. That’s exactly what I did, setting out on a quest to find some of the oldest grave markers at the Gothenburg Cemetery I could find, then looking for the stories behind them.
The Union Pacific surveyors platted Gothenburg in 1882, four blocks long and two bloc…