Historical Society to Present
Portrait of County Namesake
A framed portrait of Harry Porter Deuel, namesake for Deuel County, is scheduled
to be presented to local county officials at 10 a.m. on Monday, June 19, 2000, at
the Deuel Count Courthouse in Chappell.
John Schleicher, Education and Statewide Services Coordinator for the Nebraska
State Historical Society in Lincoln, will present the portrait of Deuel and a famed
account of his life and historical significance to the county.
Deuel County was named in honor of Harry Porter Deuel, an Omaha pioneer who
figured prominently in its steamboat and railroad development. Deuel was born in
Clarkson, New York in 1836. He came to Nebraska Territory in 1859, and
immediately secured positions as agent for the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, the
nearest railroad to Omaha, and as agent for the Hannibal and St. Joseph Packet
Company, which operated a line of boats between St. Louis and Omaha.
When the railroads finally superseded steamboats, Deuel became the agent for the
Burlington Railroad, a job he held until 1888. He then became the city passenger
agent in Omaha for the Union Pacific Railroad, but in 1896 returned to the
Burlington as the superintendent of the company's new station in Omaha. In 1899
Deuel left to seek public office and held posts of Douglas County auditor and
register of deeds. He died in 1914.
On November 6, 1888, Cheyenne County voters authorized a division of the
county to create Banner, Deuel, Kimball and Scotts Bluff counties. Governor John
Thayer set January 15, 1889, as the date of Deuel County's organization. In 1909
its northern part became Garden County.
County portrait presentations are a program of the Nebraska State Historical
Society's Education and Statewide Services Department. For further information
about Deuel County, and Nebraska's other counties, contact the historical society at
800-833-6747.
The Chappel Register Volume 108 Number 19 Thursday, June 8, 2000