Old Republican City

Another unique opportunity that exists only during periods of low water is the exposure of the Old Republican City remains.

History. In 1872, Dr. John McPherson came from Brownville, Nebraska. He brought lumber and material to start building a town, laid out lots in "Republican", and built several stores and a flourmill. When the post office was established, it was called "Republican City" after the Native Americans in the area who were mistakenly referred to as republicans by French traders. The Burlington Railroad reached Republican City by 1881 and insured the town’s future by establishing a concrete trading and travel route.

The Flood. The "big flood of 1935" hit the Republican River valley and Republican City with a vengeance. The storm of May 31/June 1, 1935 was unique for two reasons: first, it dumped an incredible amount of rain (20” to 24” in various locations) in the Republican River watershed. The entire upper Republican watershed witnessed an average rainfall of nine inches. Estimates place the number of lives lost at between 100 and 120 with damages of $26 million dollars placed on the disaster. In addition to human lives, over 10,000 head of cattle were reported to have been lost with over 300 bridges and well over 300 miles of highway and railroad tracks were ruined by the flood. 

Designing the Dam. Clearly, something had to be done to prevent this from ever happening again. Because of the devastation caused, the Corps of Engineers conducted research in the valley and determined the most beneficial location of a dam across the valley to be between Republican City and Naponee, Nebraska. The whole town of Republican City had to be moved to higher ground as the area would be inundated after the completion of the dam.

Moving the Town. Moving the town took place in 1951-52. Three homes at a time were loaded onto trucks, moved, and unloaded onto foundations in the new town. The large Methodist Church, built in 1931, had to be moved in two pieces. When the Harlan County Dam was dedicated in June 1952, the relocation was nearly completed however over half of the people had moved from the area.

The Underwater City. Many of the foundations from the old town remain under the waters of Harlan County Lake. During periods of low lake elevation, explorers can walk through the old streets and explore the foundations of houses and businesses that were in use prior to the construction of the dam and the filling of Harlan County Lake.