Editing Beemer, Nebraska (section)

===Early settlement===

The first settlers of European descent arrived in the Beemer area by prairie schooner in 1864, seeking land under the [[Homestead Act]].  The new inhabitants built dugouts, sod houses, and, eventually, log cabins. The earliest settlers in [[Beemer Township, Cuming County, Nebraska|Beemer Township]] included M. Brayrerton, George Graham, Joseph S. Emley, Robert Fehlmann, Dr. H.H. Howe, Howard Howe, James and Michael  McNamara, Judge Newburn, the Rabe family, W.S. Schneald, William Sharp and two sons Martin and Silas, Casper Schifferns, David Simons, Wm. A. Smith, J.E. Spencer, Benjamin Ewing, John Wagaoner, Henry White, James Wilson, and William Witte.<ref name=somehistory>Some Early History of Beemer, Nebraska, Nebraska State Historical Society.</ref>

The first school in Beemer Township was taught by Mrs. William Sharp in 1867 in her log cabin, a short distance to the northwest of where Beemer is now located.<ref name=somehistory/>

West of Beemer, a small stream called [[Rock Creek (Nebraska)|Rock Creek]] flows into the south side of the Elkhorn River.  In 1865, August Lambrecht built a water-driven grain and flour mill on the creek about {{convert|1000|ft}} from the river.  Lambrecht's mill, combined with the creek and with favorable agricultural conditions, attracted a small concentration of settlers; the area was known as "Rock Creek", after the stream. {{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}

In 1871, the tracks of the [[Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad]], which followed the Elkhorn upstream from [[Fremont, Nebraska|Fremont]], reached [[Wisner, Nebraska|Wisner]]; the line reached [[Norfolk, Nebraska|Norfolk]] in 1879.<ref name=norfolk>Pangle, Mary Ellen. A History of Norfolk. Published serially in Norfolk Daily News. 1929</ref> As the railway was extended, [[water stop]]s were needed at {{convert|7|to|10|mi|adj=on}} intervals to support the [[steam locomotive]]s.<ref>[http://www.cityofallen.org/pdf/DrivingTourBrochure1.pdf. "History of Allen"]{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, a brochure about [[Allen, Texas]]</ref><ref>For example, a section of the [[Atlantic and Pacific Railroad]] running in the [[Mojave Desert]] between [[Ludlow, California|Ludlow]] and [[Amboy, California|Amboy]] had water stops spaced by 5-10 miles: [[Lavic, California|Lavic]], [[Ragtown, California|Ragtown]], [[Ash Hill, California|Ash Hill]], [[Klondike, California|Klondike]], [[Siberia, California|Siberia]], [[Bagdad, California|Bagdad]], see [https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.557016,-115.745065&spn=0.40,0.40 Google Maps], all eight of them being [[ghost town]]s now.</ref> The railroad stops were also served by [[telegraphy|telegraphs]] for the purpose of administering and controlling the railroad as well as business development of the telegraphs.<ref name=telegrapher>Thompson, Jim. The Railroad Telegrapher, Vol. VII, No. 2, Fall 1993 / Winter 1994. Retrieved from http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/ozarkswatch/ow702h.htm on July 31, 2010</ref> The telegraph station at the water stop located at the site of present-day Beemer was named after the nearest significant settlement, Rock Creek, and used the call letters "R C".<ref name=somehistory/>  So, for the next fifteen years, two locations, several miles apart and on opposite sides of the Elkhorn, were referred to as 'Rock Creek': one was the area around the Rock Creek stream near Lambrecht's mill and the other the area around the railway water stop and telegraph station.