Editing Surprise, Nebraska (section)

==History==
White people began settling southwestern Butler County in about 1866.  In 1881, George Miller built a gristmill on the Big Blue River.  He was pleasantly surprised to discover that so much waterpower was available so close to the river's headwaters, and this led him to name the mill "Surprise".  Businesses and homes were established near the mill; and in 1883, a post office was established under the name "Surprise".  The town plat was registered in 1884.  In 1887, the [[Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad]] established a depot in Surprise, resulting in further expansion of local businesses.<ref name=casde>[http://www.casde.unl.edu/history/counties/butler/surprise/index.php "Surprise - Butler County".]  [http://www.casde.unl.edu/history/index.php Nebraska... Our Towns.]  Retrieved March 18, 2013.</ref>

In 1913, [[chautauqua]]s began to be offered at Chautauqua Park on the river.  In the same year, the Surprise Opera House was built.  Events held at the latter included local gatherings, lectures, musical performances, and moving pictures.  The opera house's role in the community declined after about 1917, as increasing automobile ownership enabled residents to attend events at larger facilities in [[David City, Nebraska|David City]], [[Seward, Nebraska|Seward]], and [[Osceola, Nebraska|Osceola]].  Chautauquas continued to be held into the early 1930s; at their peak, the population of Surprise expanded to 1,500 during its week-long Chautauqua Show.<ref name=casde/><ref name=opera>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120716151900/http://nebraskahistory.org/histpres/nebraska/butler/BU14-008_Surprise_Opera_Hs.pdf "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Surprise Opera House".]}}  {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110307215553/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/index.shtml Nebraska State Historical Society.]}}  Retrieved March 18, 2013.</ref>  The last performance at the opera house took place in 1954; the building is now listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name=nrhp-butler>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20000407174827/http://nebraskahistory.org/histpres/nebraska/butler.htm "Nebraska National Register Sites in Butler County".]}}  {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110307215553/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/index.shtml Nebraska State Historical Society.]}}  Retrieved March 18, 2013.</ref>

The population of Surprise reached its peak of about 350 in the early 1920s.  Its businesses included a brick factory and two grain elevators; it was an important shipping point for livestock, and exported ice cut from the millpond in the winter.<ref name=casde/>

[[File:Surprise, Nebraska opera house from SW 2.JPG|thumb|alt=One-story concrete-block building, fairly small; pedimented porch with four columns|Surprise Opera House]]

In 1924, Surprise's school was expanded to provide [[K–12 (education)|K&ndash;12 education.]]  This continued until 1953, when Surprise and four other districts consolidated their high schools. The Surprise school shut down and assets were liquidated around 2000.

The railroad line through Surprise was abandoned in 1942.<ref name=casde/> The Surprise post office was discontinued in 1988.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=NE&county=Butler&searchtext=&pagenum=2 | title=Butler County | publisher=Jim Forte Postal History | accessdate=August 25, 2014}}</ref>