hanksgiving in 1896 was celebrated on Nov. 26, and
editor F. M. Kimmell of the McCook Tribune took
advantage of the holiday to reflect on Red Willow
County's recent past. "I wonder if any one has thought
of this month being the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first
settling of the county," he wrote in the Tribune on Nov. 27,
1896.
"The first Thanksgiving dinner was eaten in camp near
the mouth of Red Willow creek, and in some respects was
the most unique Thanksgiving dinner ever eaten. The eleven
men who represented 'The Republican Valley Land and
Townsite company,' had reached their destination [starting
from Nebraska City] the latter part of November, 1871, and
A Brief History
By the Nebraska State Historical Society
T
Red Willow County's
First Thanksgiving
12 NEBRASKAland • NOVEMBER 2017
The townsite company men could only dream of a Thanksgiving such as this one celebrated in Wausa, Nebraska. NSHS RG2797-35
