Post Offices as a Measure of Nebraska's Settlement Frontier

Abstract

Knowing how, when, and where people moved into an area helps to understand past and present culture. Post office establishment dates can serve as a proxy of settlement if one considers a township settled once a post office is established within or adjacent to its boundaries. The resultant patterns, when mapped, reveal the relative importance of availability, productivity and accessibility of land to the settlement process. A plethora of land policies and laws were implemented to distribute land. With few exceptions, the widespread availability of land had little impact on the settlement patterns. Nebraska's image, which changed according to shifting climatic conditions, affected the speed of settlement. Transportation networks, particularly rivers and then railroads, were important considerations for settlers, too, as these affected access to market. A better understanding of the settlement patterns in Nebraska is achieved when considering these conditions and local history.