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February 20, 1971: Jackson Parkway opens, connecting Hamilton Parkway with Jackson through Oscar Woods.
1970
March 20: Hamilton Parkway opens, connecting Hamilton to downtown across a new large bridge.
August 14: The federal government funds the construction of two new bridges across the Lakota River, named after Nebraska's Senators at the time. The Hruska Bridge crosses at Jackson into Reed Station and the Curtis Bridge crosses at Emerson into Pleasantview.
August 14, 1968: Construction of Interstate 80 is completed through Marble Canyon with exits accessing Emerson, Johnstown/Harrison, and Florence. The highway cuts through the middle of historic Johnstown, causing land values in the immediate vicinity to plummet.
1967
February 19: Harrison Courthouse is demolished and rebuilt as the Marble Canyon Courthouse.
May 30: Pawnee Parkway opens, connecting downtown Reed Station Parkway to Pawnee, allowing much quicker access to downtown
August 4, 1966: The Western Parkway opens, connecting downtown Harrison through Winston and Pleasantview to Hunter Crossing.
January 18, 1964: After years of declining visitors, the Mulberry Beach Amusement Park closes its doors and sells off most of its rides. The land remains under private ownership.
March 15, 1963: The Reed Station Parkway with a massive bridge spanning the canyon is completed connecting Reed Station to downtown Harrison.
November 20, 1959: Willow Woods is sold to the Western Nebraska Teacher's College in Florence for the construction of a new football stadium. The new stadium will begin hosting the Marble Canyon football league tournament beginning in 1961.
March 1, 1958: The newly constructed Henry Tower is completed in downtown Harrison. The former landmark of Lakota Tower is demolished for the project.
September 2, 1957: The Fairview Bridge opens connecting Fairview directly to Golan/Carsten and onward to Hamilton.
December 31, 1956: The Lakota River Nuclear Power Plant opens in West Florence, the first of 2 to be built in Marble Canyon.
September 2, 1950: A new city park with a large fountain is built downtown to celebrate the end of World War II.
January 31, 1947: The town of Carsten is incorporated.
1942
The United States government purchases a large tract of land near Siluria to build an air force training base.
The entire region mobilizes its industries to assist the war effort, with a new local railroad line looping through the region with cargo stations at the airport in Siluria, Reed Station, Hamilton, and Hunter Crossing. Simultaneously, a local passenger rail line loops the region with passenger stations at Harrison, Port Murray, Florence, Pawnee, Reed Station, Jackson, Hamilton, Carsten, and Hunter Crossing.
May 19, 1938: A new tram line is built from downtown Harrison through Winston and ending at the Mulberry Beach amusement park at the railroad bridge.
January 20, 1937: Oliver Farm and Victoria Farm in Harrison are sold to the city as the downtown area expands. The land is being used for two new train stations, a new high school (George Oliver High School), and overall development of the land. Much of the production of these farms is moved to nearby Dale Farm and Heather Farm.
June 30, 1935: Harris Creek in Pawnee, which has long gone dry, again sees waterflow as an overflow canal for fresh water.
August 15, 1926: Cricket Cove is founded.
September 3, 1923: Tomsville is founded.
March 17, 1922: The town of Richardson is founded by nearby industries to provide more efficient rail access.
July 21, 1919: Oscar Mason breaks ground on his plan to build a trade school near Hamilton and incorporating a new town named after his destroyed business in the area, Oscar Woods.
June 14, 1918: Lakota Tower built in downtown Harrison.
August 23, 1916: Tram lines connect downtown Harrison with the neighboring towns of Johnstown, Port Murray, and Florence.
1915
Reed Station High School is the latest to build a football-specific stadium named Fitzgerald Field.
A forest fire almost completely destroys Oscar Woods near Hamilton. The business is unlikely to recover and will soon file for bankruptcy.
December 2, 1914: The Lincoln & Cheyenne Railroad's cargo station in Harrison is becoming way too overcrowded, causing traffic problems in the nearby neighborhood. Therefore, a cargo bypass is built with a new station south of Johnstown.
1913
The Lincoln Highway, one of the first transcontinental roadways in the United States, comes through Marble Canyon. It connects through the towns of Florence, Port Murray, Harrison, and Emerson (and bypasses Greenville, Johnstown, Siluria, and Winston) along the southwestern side of the Lakota River.
April 12, 1912: The residents of the Mulberry Residence along Fort Laramie Road create a new amusement park in their backyard with terrific views of the Lakota River. They name the park Mulberry Beach and begin construction, with a roller coaster the initial landmark of the park.
1911
Florence paves their downtown area. Not to be outdone, other towns in the region follow suit, including Harrison, Jackson, and Hamilton.
Harrison begins to allow high-density zoning for the first time.
1910
The Carsten Post Office opens in Reed Station.
The CaptCity Post Office opens in Hamilton.
The Dukestoner Post Office opens in Florence.
Florence High School builds a new football stadium, and also wins their 3rd championship in a row.
September 14, 1909: Harrison Courthouse built
March 30, 1908: Siluria founded
January 29, 1907: Mount Roosevelt National Park established
February 8, 1906: Harris Crossing citizens vote to rename the town “Pawnee”
April 19, 1906: Jackson Crossing shortened to “Jackson”
September 20, 1906: Town of Golan founded
June 19, 1905: Western Nebraska Teacher's College founded in Florence
In March 1903 the Nebraska State Legislature appropriated $50,000 to build a teaching school in western Nebraska. After 91 ballots, the Legislature accepted Florence's offer of 30 acres adjacent to the city and all necessary infrastructure.
The first classes on campus were held in the fall of 1905 as buildings were being completed.
The first president of the college is Anthony Nipp, who was originally from Iowa.
The stadium, capable of seating 2,000 people, is named after the current Governor of Nebraska John H. Mickey. It is used for most sports in the region, including hosting the high school football championship game.
With a college in Florence, nearby towns scramble to create high schools to reap benefits of the college. By the end of the year, all towns over 1,000 people plan for a high school.
July 4, 1902: Portersville renames itself Harrison after the recently departed Benjamin Harrison. Leaders of the rebranded Harrison hope to grow into a national city. Many nearby communities resent this approach, particularly Florence, Johnstown, and Winston.
January 20, 1899: Kansas City & Cheyenne Railroad builds station in Portersville. Personal connections between Portersville leaders and owners of the railroad cause the station to be built there. Leaders of Johnstown resent this as they also wanted the stop in their town.
May 30, 1897: Reed Station built by Denver & Minneapolis Railroad
August 8, 1889: Bridgeport established
1884: Fishing pier built in Jackson, Harris, and Hunter Crossing
1873-1876: 4 bridges built connecting to all land bodies
February 20, 1867: Hamilton established by the Union Pacific Railroad
March 16, 1867: Jefferson established by the Union Pacific Railroad
December 1, 1866: Adams established by the Union Pacific Railroad
August 9, 1861: Jackson Crossing built with ferry connection to Harris Crossing
March 13, 1860: Hunter Crossing built with ferry connection to Winston Old Lighthouse is built near Hunter Crossing at divergence of the Lakota River
April 14, 1859: Harris Crossing built across the Lakota River with ferry connection to Florence
July 23, 1859: A speculator from Pennsylvania, John Squires, creates the town of Johnstown
March 4, 1858: Portersville platted
A group of 5 speculators from New York and Connecticut seek to build a new town on the frontier.
The town is named after one of the investors, also lending their names to the original streets.
It struggles to attract settlers initially but soon takes off because of spectacular views of the Marble Canyon below.
October 28, 1858: Emerson founded
Terrence Emerson founds a new town in a flat area along Ft. Laramie Road
February 2, 1854: Winston founded
A town is built around a new fishing pier by Lucas Winston, who names the town after himself.
1850
The pier built by Arthur Murray goes bankrupt, becoming the dilapidated relic we see today. A new pier is built by a businessman named Amos Graves. The new pier does become successful.
August 7, 1848: Greenville founded
A fire in the industrial area near Florence causes business owners to build a fire station. They plot a new town to help pay for the expenses, naming the town Greenville after a settler nearby.
April 17, 1846: Port Murray constructed
Robert Murray, a fisherman/settler from Louisiana, builds Port Murray.
November 16, 1844: Forrest builds roads on his farm and sells lots
The new town names itself Florence after the nearby pier, hoping to appear as a place of commercial opportunity.
William Gibson, a settler from Pennsylvania, serves as the first head of Florence HS, the first in the area (1847).
June 2, 1842: Florence Harbor constructed
Florence Harbor is built by Owen Patterson in honor of his wife Florence, who died in childbirth the previous year.
August 21, 1842: Jebediah Forrest settles in the area
July 11, 1840: Owen Patterson and his brother Jeremiah settle in the area and build a well
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