In the summer of 1865, a small contingent of Germans left their home in Wisconsin to survey land along the Elkhorn River in Northeast Nebraska in hopes of finding a place for a new settlement. They arrived in mid-July and were pleased with the open prairie that, they felt, would grow an abundance of crops. The river would provide the water needed to maintain life, as would the plethora of wildlife that roamed the area. So they returned to Wisconsin and reported their findings to their fellow German settlers. All agreed they should move to the fork of the Elkhorn River in what was then...