WALKING TOUR of  SIDNEY HISTORIC
DOWNTOWN DISTRICT   SIDNEY, NEBRASKA
(on the National Register of Historic Places).


EARLY HISTORY OF SIDNEY

This area was the passage of many of the major trails west, such as Emigrant Trail on the Lodgepole Creek; California- Oregon Trail; Overland Trail; Pony Express; Creighton Telegraph Line; and the Sidney-Deadwood Trail. Discovery of gold in the Dakota Territory established Sidney as the major outfitting stop for freighting and gold seekers on the Sidney-Deadwood Trail.

The Union Pacific Continental Railroad first established Sidney in 1867 as a division point between North Platte, NE and Cheyenne, WY. To protect the Union Pacific Railroad workers from the Indians, Fort Sidney was established ( 1867-1894 ).

During  the Gold Rush Days, a daily shipment of gold from the Black Hills arrived in Sidney, and the lure of easy money made Sidney a rendezvous for desperate characters from all over the U.S. Buffalo Bill was scouting for the military, Calamity Jane had her first affair with a soldier at the Fort. It is said her motto was "Make Love and War," for which the U.S. Calvary was grateful. Wild Bill Hickcock, Sam Bass, Whispering Smith, Doc. Middleton and Butch Cassidy all showed up. Sidney was also the home of the Gentlemen Gamblers which brought in the Canada Bill Gang, Dr. Baggs, Jim Bush, Jim Lavine and Rebel George. There were 23 saloons in one block, with 89 establishments selling liquor. The town was wide open with gambling and soiled doves. Lawlessness and murder were common. Money was no problem there was no change less than a quarter. This continued until 1882, when the Union Pacific took a hand and helped clear out the outlaws.

The Burlington Railroad came through Sidney in 1899. Illinois Street was formerly the old Lincoln Highway (1914)

1. Carnegie Library (Chamber of Commerce). Andrew Carnegie awarded the city of Sidney $6,500 for the construction of this library which served Sidney from 1914 to 1965.
    
2. U.S. POST OFFICE*, 844 Illinois, was dedicated February 11, 1934. Total construction cost was $62,000 plus $11,000 for the land. A distinctive feature of the building is a molded eagle perched on the cornice above the door.
    
3. AMERICAN LEGION POST #17 BUILDING*, 922 Illinois
    
4. GREENLEES, 845 10th Ave.,  (currently The Insurance Store) was erected in 1916-17 as a general merchandise store. Dating from the 1880's this site was always occupied as a general merchandise and grocery store. Please note that the second floor was the popular Sidney Hotel. The name is still on the door facing Illinois St.
    
5. MERCY ESSIG BUILDING,  (currently Cottonwood Creek Creations) 841 10th Ave. The ESSIG family were early merchants of Sidney in the late 1870's and built many fine structures, this building being one of the first. This native stone building was erected in 1885. In 1909 , a fire completely gutted the interior. In the restoration, fire walls were built between existing structures on either side. This is the oldest building in the District.
    
6. FLORA ESSIG BUILDING, 831-833 10th Ave. (Shirt Tales) This fine red brick building was erected in 1919 for the merchandising of hardware and furniture, in connection with an undertaking business. Elegant apartments on the second floor were the home of Essigs.
    
7. TYRONE ESSIG BUILDING, 827 10th Ave. was erected in 1887 of native stone (beneath the stucco) to merchandise stoves and later became a popular meat market. The original metal steps on the north side, led to the second floor occupied by The Sidney Telegraph.
    
8. The facade of this building indicates one building, but it was erected by two business men in 1916.
   LESLIE NEUBAUER, 824 10th Ave., was the owner of the north building, and
9. J.J. MclNTOSH the owner of the south building. The common stairway led to offices and apartments on the second story. A 1991 fire almost destroyed the two buildings.
    
10. SCANLON BUILDING, 836 10th Ave. This was the site of a pharmacy business since 1897. The native stone building you now see was erected in 1906.
     
11. These 3 buildings wrap around the corner of 10th Ave, and lllinois St. and were built by three owners, in 1908.
    O'KANE BUILDING, 838 10th Ave.was erected by Mrs. Bridget O'Kane, a widow, with four children, who decided that a commercial structure in this railroad town would be a good investment. Her first tenant was Lee Yee Hong, who operated a Chinese restaurant.
     
12. MOORE BUILDING, 842 10th Ave., was built to be a palatial barber shop.
     
13. TOBIN BUILDING, 1000 Illinois This is the site of Sidney's notorious Capitol Saloon. Con McCarty, Sidney's infamous Sheriff, owned the Capitol Saloon in 1876, and operated one of the biggest gambling houses in the West. Not only was McCarty into gambling, he was accused of horse rustling, and in on the Great Bullion Robbery of 1880. When Frank Tobin erected the existing building in 1908, he embedded a bogus gold brick behind the sign as a reminder of the Sidney-Deadwood Gold Robbery.
     
14. USA THEATER, 1021 Illinois.  The formal opening of this theater was Feb. 1919, and the bright lights ( note the holes around the facade which held the light bulbs ), could be seen for miles around. Noah G. Brewer built and operated the theater with a seating capacity of 800 and a balcony holding 400.
     
15. BREWER'S GARAGE*, 1026 Illinois., 1916. Behind the false front is a brick building that was the oldest garage in Sidney, with a wide reputation on the Lincoln Highway for its equipment, machinery and expert mechanics.
     
16. TREINEN'S GARAGE*, 1040 Illinois. This was the former site of a garage operated by John D. Treinen, who was an expert auto mechanic, as well as a Cheyenne County businessman and farmer. This location is now a Law Office.
     
17. P & T BUILDING, 1044 Illinois. Note the stone on the top of this 1886 native stone building. The P for John Patenburg, a homesteader and freighter, and T for Charles Trognitz, a Sidney merchandiser and Sheriff of Cheyenne County. The first business in this building was a flour and seed operation.
     
18. FINNEY'S, 1035 Illinois. Three different buildings are behind the false front, In the alley, you can see the outline of the different buildings as well as the size of the bricks used. The oldest building was to the east- Ed Doran's building.
     
19. CHOWINS BUILDING, 1015 & 1017 Illinois.  Mr. & Mrs. Harry Chowins were early and well established merchants in Sidney when they built this 1888 structure. Mr. Chowins carried a line of hardware and coal on the west side, and Mrs. Chowins had a millinery and dress business on the east side. A central stairway led to the fine apartments on the second floor.
     
20. McALEESE BUILDING, 1003 Illinois.  Daniel McAleese, a bachelor, was an early pioneer of Sidney in the grocery business. His wooden building was burned in a 1904 fire while he was visiting Ireland, and immediately upon his return, he constructed this fine structure.
     
21. NEUBAUER BUILDING, 1003 Illinois.  Leslie Neubauer, who erected this 1908 red brick structure, was one of Sidney's prominent businessmen, whose favorite hobby was betting on fighting cocks at Fort Sidney on Sunday mornings.
     
22. CLEBURNE BUILDING, 1001 Illinois.  Chades Callahan erected this imposing structure in 1908, costing between $12,000 and $15,000. Steam from Sidney's power plant heated this building as well as many of the other establishments. It was named for Mrs. Callahan's family. There was an elegant fiat on the second floor that was used by the owners.
     
23. MOORE &
24. OSBORN BUILDING, 924 & 932 10th Ave. There are two buildings built in different years, but share the same exterior design. Ernest Stuht & Otto Hink, Jr ran a shoe business. Later, it became the Bassett Drug Store, in this 1916 structure. Mrs. Anna Osborn built a year later in 1917. The Weeken Furniture and undertaking business occupied her building.
     
25. MclNTOSH BUILDING. 936 10th Ave. This building was constructed by J. J. McIntosh in 1916. During World War II, it was the site of Sidney's USO Canteen.
     
26. MASONIC LODGE BUILDING, 940 10th Ave. Frank Welch Lodge #75, A.F. & A.M. occupied the second floor of this 1908 structure. The U.S. Post Office leased the ground floor.
     
27. CHEYENNE COUNTY COURTHOUSE was built in 1967-68.
     
28. SIDNEY FEDERAL SAVINGS & LOAN, 1045 10th Ave.
    -built in 1976.
     
29. STOVER BUILDING, 1025 10th Ave. Harry Stover erected this 1922 building for his plumbing and heating business. Later, the business was known as Hutchinson Stover Plumbing & Heating.
     
30. HARDY BUILDING, 1013, 1021 & 1023 10th Ave. A. S. Hardy erected this 1916 building for his furniture business.
     
31. HORNADAY BUILDING, 1005 10th Ave. C.W. Hornaday used his 1918 building for new and used furniture. Later, it was used as a dentist office, and office supply business and now, a bar and pool hall.
     
32. NEBRASKA STATE BANK, 1001 l0th Ave. When F. M. Woolridge erected this 1916-1917 bank building, it was Sidney's fourth bank. After the bank closed, it was known as the Roche Hospital.
     
33. BUILDING*, 945 10th Ave. Presently occupied by R.V. Borchert Oil Producer.
     
34. BUILDING* occupied by Reker's Tax Service, 937 10th Ave. and Merle Norman Cosmetics, 935 10th Ave.
     
35. JORGENSON BUILDING, 933 10th Ave. A. J. Jorgenson was a Sidney businessman and banker. His 1922 building was occupied for many years by the Model Cleaners.
     
36. GAPEN BUILDING, 925-929 10th Ave. The Gapen brothers, Henry & Fred, erected this 1909 structure for Henry Gapen's Law Office and Fred Gapen's operation of The Sidney Telegraph, of which he was editor and publisher until his death in 1918.
     
37. AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK BUILDING, 901 10th Ave. This site has always been occupied by a financial institution since 1869. J.J. Mclntosh bought the Exchange Bank in 1889, and as president of the American State Bank, constructed the corner building in 1916. Two additions have been added.
     
38. HAHLER BUILDING, 931 Illinois.  In 1917, Frank Hahler erected this impressive structure for his meat market and rented the east half of the structure to William Breternitz, who operated a bakery.
     
39. HARPER-WRIGHT BUILDING, 925 Illinois (Draper Photography for 25 years).  This 1904 structure was built to merchandise hardware, stoves, ranges, harnesses, buggies, sporting goods, cutlery, etc. In 1905 they added undertaking.
     
40. HARPER BUILDING, 919 Illinois. This 1918 structure also housed furniture. The second floor was a commodious apartment for the family.
     
41. SILVER DOLLAR BAR*, 913 Illinois,  constructed in 1949.
     
42. The corner was occupied by the Elwell Motor Co*. for some forty years.
     
43. FIRST NATIONAL BANK*, 841 Illinois.
     
44. SIDNEY TELEGRAPH*, 809 Illinois. Established in 1873, is the oldest newspaper in the Nebraska Panhandle, and one of the oldest in the State. The Sidney Telegraph was one of the first newspapers to pick up the dispatch from a Pawnee Scout, telling the world of the massacre of Custer's division at the Baffle of the Little Big Horn. The Sidney Telegraph and the Union Pacific Railroad are the only two businesses still active in Sidney that date back to the 1870's.
     

Other locations in Sidney on the National Register of Historic Places are the FORT SIDNEY COMPLEX, consisting of the OFFICERS QUARTERS ( MUSEUM ), COMMANDER'S HOME and POWDER HOUSE, as well as CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

*Places NOT on the National Register of Historic Places.

Compiled by the Research Team Cheyenne County Historical Assoc.