Nuckolls County Museum/Nuckolls County Historical Society

10/16/2026

HARDY BOY HEALEY 🐲WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS PHOTO?

Story is on:
horsetrailriders.com

10/16/2026

To add a little more about the town of Superior, Nebraska. Due to the difficulties with the American Indians during the 1860's, it was not until 1875 that the town of Superior and the county of Nuckolls began to gain in population. By 1887, Superior finally becomes an incorporated city. By 1900, M. L. Pierce, the mayor of Superior, went door to door and took his own census. He found the town had 346 dwellings, with six being vacant, and a population of 1,775 people. The population of Nuckolls County was listed at 12,414. The cement plant in the early 1900's was called the Nebraska Portland Cement Company. In 1915 there was a major flood on the Republican River which caused damage to the plant. The plant was sold to new owners who came in and added many additional improvements and then renamed the business the Ideal Cement Company. In 1920 the plant village was started by putting up 12 poured concrete houses. Over the next seven decades, the plant became the largest industry in the area, closing in 1987. My Grandfather Leo worked at the plant for many years, and my dad Richard worked there for 33 years, dying on the job one day, a year before he planned to retire. (More about the plant and my memories about it later)

In October of 1931, my Grandfather Leo W. Bradrick and his family moved to Superior from Formoso, Kansas where he was farming and raising dairy cattle. He had lost almost everything in the 1929 Depression and was having to start over in Superior. He purchased a gasoline station on the southeast corner of 15th and Idaho street along with a large two-story home and began selling for Vickers Gas Company. He also established a large pasture area to the south of the home and began raising dairy cattle.

By 1940, Superior had grown to a population of 2,643 with Nuckolls County showing a population of 10,397. My parents were married in February of that year and had settled into living at the cement plant village. I was born on January 8, 1941, to these parents, in this cement plant village and in this town of Superior. It was to be my home until I joined the U. S. Navy in January of 1959, the day before I turned age 18.

09/29/2026

The May 4, 1972 issue of The Superior Express reported frontier justice had returned. For several weeks fish in the Superior Floral Company’s goldfish pond had been disappearing and a full scale watch was instigated. A raccoon was expected when tracks were discovered and plants knocked over. Some three weeks earlier, all openings to the greenhouse were sealed but the fish continued to disappear.. At time the raccoon apparently caught more than he could eat, as dead fish were found laying on the cement outside the tank. One morning Carl Suschland found and killed the raccoon in a corner of the greenhouse. He is pictured with his weapon and the unwelcome visitor.

09/29/2026

Bill Blauvelt recalls in his early years at The Express (1970s into the 1980s) he could count on about a wreck a month on the nearly right angle Highway 14 curve near the railroad crossing. The curve was posted at 20 miles per hour but if you knew what you were doing, you could take it faster and many tried. Most of the cars flew off the top of the curve but this vehicle went off the bottom--It is the only one Bill remembers doing that. Fortunately no one was seriously injured. The accident happened in the spring of 1972

09/29/2026

09/28/2026

Nothing to do with Nuckolls County, I just thought it was funny. 😂 Anyone have stories of "interesting" pets closer to home?

09/28/2026

If you think harvest season is a lot of work now, imagine operating this beast! The Red River Special threshing machine was exactly that, a thresher. Unlike modern combines that “combined” the cutting and threshing of grain crops, the Red River Special required a whole team of workers and only did one thing. First the crops were cut with horse drawn binders, then the sheaves were delivered to the threshing team who would pitch them into the machine. This model was run by either a steam or gas powered tractor that would turn a drive belt to supply the necessary energy. At maximum output it could thresh up to 150 bushels of wheat per hour. If you'd like to see the Red River Special in person, along with lots of other antique farm equipment, come on down and take a walk through Ag Hall!