Editing North Bend, Nebraska (section)

==History==
The site of North Bend was settled in 1856 by a party of Scottish immigrants.  En route from [[Lake Zurich, Illinois]] to [[Kansas]],<ref name=casde>Freeman, Kate.  [http://casde.unl.edu/history/counties/dodge/northbend/ "North Bend&mdash;Dodge County".]  [http://casde.unl.edu/history/about/index.php ''Nebraska...Our Towns''.]  Retrieved 2010-06-21.</ref> they stopped at a bend at the northernmost point of the Platte River,<ref name=libresearch>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070130235836/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/public/municipal_finding_aids/north_bend_ne.pdf "North Bend, Dodge, Nebraska".]}}  {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/19981111190309/http://nebraskahistory.org/ Nebraska State Historical Society.]}}  Retrieved 2010-06-21.</ref> where they were invited to an impromptu Fourth of July celebration at a newly founded townsite named Emerson.  Finding the site congenial, and concerned about the [[Bleeding Kansas|"Border War"]] in Kansas,<ref name=casde /> they opted to remain there, founding a nearby townsite that they named Franklin.<ref name=libresearch />

The site grew with the arrival of new parties of settlers.  One such party brought a steam-powered sawmill and meal-grinder,<ref name=casde /> the first steam mill in Dodge County.<ref name=perkey>Perkey, Elton A (1995).  ''Perkey's Nebraska Place Names''.  Nebraska State Historical Society.  p. 61.</ref>  In 1858, Emerson's name was changed to Wallace, after a Philadelphia philanthropist who had offered to build a library in any town taking his name.<ref name=casde />  In the 1860s, the town had a pontoon bridge across the Platte River allowing for trade with the farms to the south of the river making into the local [[grain trade|grain market]], a prime business opportunity for the incoming Union Pacific Railroad.<ref name=bowman>{{cite book|last1=Bowman|first1=J. R.|editor1-last=Shearer|editor1-first=Frederick E.|title=The Pacific tourist. J.R. Bowman's illustrated transcontinental guide of travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean|date=1882|publisher=J.R. Bowman|location=New York|page=26|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nbsUAAAAYAAJ&dq=The%20Pacific%20tourist.%20J.R.%20Bowman's%20illustrated%20transcontinental%20guide%20of%20travel%20from%20the%20Atlantic%20to%20the%20Pacific%20Ocean&pg=PA26|accessdate=9 May 2018|oclc=752667534}}</ref>

The combined townsite arrived at its present name in 1864, when the Union Pacific (UP) Railroad bought a piece of ground for a depot on the proposed [[First transcontinental railroad|transcontinental railroad]].  For many years, surveys had shown the town's location as "the north bend"<ref name=histbldgs /> and was the northernmost point of the UP in the state of Nebraska.<ref name=bowman /> The residents and UP officials agreed on North Bend as the name for the town.<ref name=libresearch />

The first train arrived in North Bend in 1866, and the town was platted by the railroad in 1867.<ref name=histbldgs />  By 1876, the population had reached 250; there were 21 businesses, a school, and two churches.  The city's first newspaper, the ''Independent'', was founded in 1879.<ref name=casde />

Growth continued steadily.  In 1890, the population reached 897; a city building was constructed.  By 1920, North Bend had electricity, a waterworks, and paved streets; the population was 1,087.  The town continued to grow through much of the 20th century, with its population reaching a peak of 1,368 in 1980.<ref name=histbldgs />