> > Does anyone out there know what the draw in Colfax County would have > been to attract at least 5 families in 1879? > Peggy: Cheap land from the railroads was the big reason for people going to Nebraska during this time period. And the railroads advertised heavily, both in the US, but also in Germany, and as far away as the German settlements in Russia. Also, anyone in the US Army during the Civil War had available to them, 160 acres or more of land. Gary Martens mailto:garymartens@earthlink.net GRDB List Owner - AHSGR Database mailing list GER-Volga Co-list Owner - German Russian Volga mailing list AHSGR Village Coordinator for Schilling - Schilling Village Home Page - http://home.earthlink.net/~garymartens/schilling.html NEGenWeb Lincoln County Coordinator - http://www.rootsweb.com/~nelincol/