Grand Island Nebraska

This significant site has never been plowed and possesses a high degree of historical integrity. The Hall County Historical Society purchased the land in 1995 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 5, 1998.  One of the only remaining ruts on the Mormon Trail in the heart of central Nebraska.  This 2.4-acre site is west of and adjacent to the Wood River Crossing area.  Upon leaving the Wood River Crossing, travelers were funneled onto a narrow ridge, which separated the winding Wood River from the wetlands of the Platte.  Every traveler on this trail was forced onto this narrow pathway, creating the wide and shallow swale, which remains today.   The name of the Townsley – Murdock site comes from the first owners of the land. This site was originally settled by Marshal Townsley around 1860 and later occupied by Phineas and Catherine Murdock in 1866.  Survey notes from 1866 note this tract of land contained the Murdock home, a sawmill and a telegraph line.  This sawmill probably supplied the railroad ties for the first transcontinental railroad by Union Pacific Railroad in the 1860’s as it was located just one mile south of the tracks.

Information/photo source – Hall County Historical Society