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Welcome to Rushville, Nebraska
This is the #1 place on the web for old photos and postcards of Rushville!
A great deal of time, research and money has gone into obtaining and documenting these images. Please do not download or repost photos/text without permission!
Multiview postcard from the Kandy Kid store (it was located on 2nd Street near the current post office and 20 Bar).
This is a great view of the building originally used for the Sheridan County courthouse.
Note the wooden boardwalk and the unpaved streets. Photo was likely taken around the 1900. According to the excellent reference book, Recollections of Sheridan County, this building was known as the Hoyt building. County offices were located on the lower floor, while the upper floor contained the District Court. The building was also used as a theater and for community gatherings. This building was located on the NE corner of Loofborrow and 2nd Street (now Highway 20). During the 1940s-1950s, I know that the building contained apartments. The building burned in 1962.
Armstrong House Museum of Rushville, Nebraska
Detail from the Multiview postcard above. This photo was taken after the new courthouse was built in 1904, so the building was then used for other businesses, such as the Maverick Loan and Trust Co.
The cornerstone laying celebration for the Sheridan County courthouse was held September of 1904. Note the old school off to the left side of photo.
Armstrong House Museum of Rushville, Nebraska
A very early view of the courthouse with a windmill to the east.
Detail from the Multiview postcard above. Note that the trees are bigger and that this view has a power pole, which would date it towards 1908 or so.
A very early view of the Sheridan County Courthouse, considering there are no trees yet planted.
This old postcard shows the Sheridan County Courthouse in Rushville. The postmark on the card is Sept 1908 (mailed from Gordon, to Gordon). Considering courthouse was built in 1904 (and jail building is not yet built), this must have been taken soon after completion.
View from in front of the courthouse, looking west. Steps to the left are up and into the courthouse. If you look closely, there are blocks on the ground next to the house across the street. Perhaps the house was in the process of being built. If you look closely in the distance, there is a hotel. It was located across from what is now Sides and Milburn. My uncle called it a flop house. According to info on the back of the Stockman's Hotel photo (Main Street Views), the original Stockman's Hotel was moved to that location. Lastly, the old courthouse can be seen to the right of center in this photo.
Courtesy of Armstrong House Museum of Rushville Nebraska
Unusual view that highlights the jail, with courthouse behind. Still unsure when the jail was built... Assuming sometime between 1904 and 1910. Photo by Ray.
This postcard shows both the courthouse and jail.
I don't know when the jail was built, but the utility poles might provide a clue. The electric plant was built in 1910 and telephone service started in 1913. The poles have no wires on them yet, but in the postcard "Looking East on 2nd Street" (see Misc Views) and dated April 1913, there are wires on the poles. This photo must predate that photo. I've seen photos from 1908 that show power poles, so this photo could be as early as 1908.
View of courthouse from late 1940s. Amazing to see so many trees at that time.
Photo courtesy of Tony Hindman
Sheridan County Courthouse 1942.
Lots of trees! Most are gone now due to Dutch Elm Disease.
Photo taken 2005, prior to the 2012 effort to add a elevator to the front of the building. It will certainly change the look of the courthouse.
Sheridan County Courthouse 2004.
This is a rare individual photo of the Rushville Jail building (it was situated just to the east of the courthouse). The front part of the building (and upstairs) contained living quarters for the sheriff and his family. The back part of the building contained the lockup area.
Rushville School Views
Rushville School Views
Early view of the first Rushville Public School (left) built around 1888. You are looking to the SSE in this view. Postmarked 1903 or 1908. This photo was taken by famed photographer S. D. Butcher and Sons of Kearney, Nebraska.
Very early view of the school building prior to the addition added in 1911. Building is facing north. The church off to the right is St. Pauls Lutheran.
By 1909-1910, the school in Rushville could no longer hold the growing population of children. Bond votes were held to fund building an addition, which was eventually built in 1911. It would interesting to figure out who all the people were at the rally. The photo is clear enough to recognize faces.
The rally (above) was successful in convincing the community to pass the bond vote. The old original school building was built around 1888 with this showing the addition built in 1911. The building seen in the foreground is the addition, while the building in back (and including the tower) is the original building. The building, as shown, faced the north. Postmarked June 1913.
This postcard image was postmarked 1922 and shows that trees had been planted around the school. This school would be used until the 1930s when the new schools (Cravath Elementary and the High School) would be built.
Another view of the old school during the 1920s.
Looking north on Sprague Street. The large building to the left is the old original school. The courthouse can be seen in the distance on the right. Postcard was post marked June, 1913.
Cravath Elementary School was dedicated in 1939.
The kindergarten, 1st, 2nd and 3rd classrooms were on the ground floor (from left to right in the picture), while the 4th, 5th and 6th classes were upstairs. There was also a library on the second floor. On the backside of the building was a gym where we had recess when it was too cold or rainy to go outside (and full of wasps in the fall and spring).
These side-by-side pictures show Rushville High school (built 1926) as it looked around 1940 and how it looks now. Note that the trees have grown a bit over the years. The school is still very much in use and has had many alterations/improvements over the years. On the new picture, you can see the auditorium (built in the 1960s) behind the school.
NOTE (2005): The Rushville and Gordon schools have voted to combine districts. Starting in 2006, high school is held in Gordon Nebraska, while the old Rushville High School building is used as the district's Middle School.
Rushville High School Auditorium 1956 - 1957
I believe this photo was taken soon after the building was completed. Prior to that time, the basketball court was located in the center-lower section of the the school building. In the 1970s, a visit to the basement of the school revealed a very low ceiling and the original wooden basketball floor.
St. Mary's Catholic Church and school.
The original church was built in 1907 and the school in 1916. I don't remember exactly when the school closed, but it was in the mid-1960s (the Catholic students moved to the Cravath elementary when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. They were a spirited bunch, which livened up the public school!). Both buildings were torn down in the 1970s.
Another view of St Mary's school. This appears to be a very early photo.
Click here to go to the Main Street views of Rushville.
Click here to go to the Miscellaneous views of Rushville.
Click here to see photos of the 1909 Fire in Rushville.
Click here for Farm and Ranch views from Rushville area.
Click here for more recent Rushville photos!
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