Fontanelle

History

The site of repeated incursions by the neighboring Pawnee tribe, Fontanelle was an early boom town in the Nebraska Territory, but waned in importance after failing to secure a railroad connection in the late 19th century. The 1860 Federal Census showed the town having dozens of residents, including farmers, carpenters, blacksmiths, clergymen, lawyers, and other professions. The town dwindled from a population of 500 to a few dozen after an early university left in the 1870s, it failed to get a railroad connection, and the nation suffered a financial depression. A misspelling of the name of Logan Fontenelle, this town was named in honor of the Omaha Tribe leader, who was killed in 1855 by Sioux. He had served as interpreter to a delegation of Omaha chiefs in negotiation with the United States when they agreed to cede most of their land in Nebraska to the US. The town was originally organized by the Nebraska Colonization Company, founded in Quincy, Illinois, in 1854. The company's goal in founding the town was to develop "a literary institution which shall be known as the Nebraska University." In spring 1855 a prospecting party chose the site about twelve miles from the present city of Fremont. Fontanelle was the original seat of Dodge County, but later became a part of Washington County. It was originally promoted for the territorial capital, but lost to Omaha City to the south. It had one of the first churches in the Nebraska Territory. The Nebraska Territory Legislature awarded a charter to the Nebraska University, also called Fontanelle University, in 1855, and the first building was erected in 1856. Operated by the Congregational Church the University flourished for several years. When Fontanelle lost the county seat, leaders decided to move the university, and…

Geography

Fontanelle is in western Washington County, northeast of Fremont, along Nebraska Highway 91. It is east of U.S. Routes 77 and 275.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,573
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  2,039
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,954
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  1,890
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,775
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,745
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,722
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,648

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2010-11-18
  4 km E of Octavia, Nebraska