Lynch, Nebraska

Lynch is a small village in the Ponca Creek valley of eastern Boyd County, founded in 1890 by one of the very first homesteaders. For more than a century it has been a trading town, a school town and home to the county's only hospital, and members of our family are buried in its cemeteries.

Beginnings

The Ponca Creek valley was part of the old homeland of the Ponca people, whose 1865 reservation covered much of eastern Boyd County and neighboring Knox County. Much earlier, around 1450 to 1550, a large village of round earthlodges stood near the site of the present town; archaeologists call it the Lynch Site.

When the land opened to settlers in 1890, John A. Lynch was among the first to stake a claim. He ran a post office out of his dugout home and served as postmaster for nine years, and the town took his name. A general store opened the same year. Everything had to be hauled in by wagon, usually from Niobrara or Fort Randall. Settlers met in 1892 to organize a village, and Methodist and Catholic congregations were both formed that year.

A Czech Colony on Ponca Creek

Lynch drew many Czech immigrants, beginning in May 1890, and it became one of the two largest Czech settlements in the county, along with Spencer. Their mark is still visible in the Bohemian National (ZCBJ) Cemetery just east of town. Families of other backgrounds settled alongside them, ours among them.

Early years tested everyone. A tornado nearly wiped out the young town in 1896, and neighbors rebuilt it together. During the drought of 1894, Lynch settlers sent one of their own to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to raise money for food and seed. Still, the town grew: a mill was running by 1895 and a brickyard by 1900.

The Railroad Years

The Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad reached Lynch in June 1902, and a boom followed. New businesses, brick buildings and fine homes went up, boardwalks gave way to concrete sidewalks, and the town annexed new land. A reservoir and water mains came in 1903. The iron truss bridge built over Ponca Creek near town in 1904 still stands and is the oldest road bridge in the county. By the 1920 census Lynch had 589 people, the most it would ever have.

Lynch was also a school town. The original town survey set aside lots and $1,000 for the school district, and the first schoolhouse was sod; three more buildings followed over the years. The village had its own school district until 2017, when it joined the consolidated Boyd County Public Schools.

Hospital and Community

Lynch had a series of pioneer doctors, and in 1971 Niobrara Valley Hospital opened its doors. Today it is a 20-bed critical access hospital and the only hospital in Boyd County, serving Lynch and the surrounding farm country with emergency care, therapy and specialty clinics. Residents have built much of their town themselves: a community hall raised without public money, a swimming pool given by a local doctor's family, a public library opened in 1983, and a volunteer fire department active since the early 1900s.

The 2019 Flood and Today

In March 2019, after a sudden thaw and heavy rain, Ponca Creek and Whiskey Creek overflowed and flooded a large part of Lynch. Reports say roughly a third of the homes in town were flooded. Volunteers ran rescues from the fire hall and sandbagged the hospital, which came through with only minor damage. When the town's grocery store did not reopen, residents formed a cooperative and opened a new one.

The 2020 census counted 194 people in Lynch. It remains a place where the names on the cemetery stones, ours included, tell the story of the families who came in the 1890s and stayed.

Timeline

1865 Treaty sets aside Ponca land in present Knox and Boyd counties.
1890 John A. Lynch stakes a claim and opens a post office in his dugout; first store opens.
1892 Village organizing meeting; Methodist and Catholic congregations formed.
1893 Village incorporated (January, per local history).
1896 Tornado nearly destroys the town.
1902 Railroad reaches Lynch (June).
1904 Ponca Creek truss bridge built near town.
1971 Niobrara Valley Hospital opens.
1983 Public library opens.
2017 Lynch schools join Boyd County Public Schools.
2019 Ponca Creek and Whiskey Creek flood the town (March).

Lynch through the decades

Family members can watch eight videos about the history of Lynch, one for each decade from the 1890s to the 1990s, in the members’ section: Lynch through the decades (you will be asked to sign in).

The family in Lynch

The family records have 664 people who were born, lived, married, died or were buried here. These are the earliest of those who have passed away. Their pages are in the members’ section; you will be asked to sign in.

Rilla Collins born 1889
Pritchett born 1891
Leon Clarence Mellor born 1892, lived 1900
Marion Edward Pritchett born 1892
Lizzie Clementine Higgins born 1893, lived 1910, lived 1920
Ada M. Mulhair born 1894, buried 1986
Clemen Christensen born 1894
Leonard Edward Fernen born 1894, lived 1900, lived 1910
Mable T. Mulhair born 1894, lived 1900, buried 1974
Rosie Julia Clara born 1894, lived 1910
Andrew Jackson Pritchett born 1895, buried 1967, died 1967
Edward Voyd Mulhair born 1895, lived 1900, lived 1920
George Joe Kreycik born 1896, lived 1910, lived 1920
John Leroy Fernen born 1896, lived 1900, lived 1910
Steven Henry Kreycik born 1896, lived 1910, lived 1920
Walter James Pritchett born 1896
Mary Agnes Mulhair born 1897
Emillia Josie Kreycik born 1898, lived 1910
Frank Daniel Mulhair born 1898, buried 1974
Gladstone Prescott born 1898, lived 1900
Mae Isabel Fernen born 1898, lived 1900, lived 1910
Mary Pritchett born 1898, lived 1930
William James Mulhair born 1898, lived 1949, lived 1950
Ann Cullen died 1899, buried 1899
Agnes Tuch lived 1900, lived 1910, lived 1920
Albert William Schindler lived 1900, died 1971
Anna Larson lived 1900
Arthur Albert Bessert lived 1900
Blanche Prescott lived 1900
Charles F. Pritchett lived 1900
Christian Larsen lived 1900
Clarence Albert Moody lived 1900, lived 1950, died 1963
Cleo Ann Mulhair born 1900
Daniel Collins born 1900, lived 1910
Ella Josephine Walsh lived 1900
Emil Fred Kreycik born 1900, lived 1910, lived 1920
Francis James Mulhair lived 1900, lived 1910, lived 1920
Francis Peter Fernen lived 1900, lived 1910, lived 1920
Frank Rudolph Bessert lived 1900
Grant Willis Higgins lived 1900, lived 1910, lived 1920
Guy William Mulhair lived 1900, buried 1954
James Fernen lived 1900, lived 1910, buried 1917
James Victor Fernen lived 1900, lived 1910, lived 1920
John Henry Haun born 1900
Lula Prescott lived 1900
Mary Levi lived 1900, lived 1930
Peter Mulhair lived 1900, buried 1947
Walter Sedden Spencer lived 1900
Warren Prescott lived 1900, lived 1930, lived 1950
William George Prescott lived 1900, lived 1930, died 1936
William Robert Larson lived 1900, died 1959
Etta Mae Pritchett born 1901, buried 1968, died 1968
Mabel Dollie Fernen born 1901, lived 1910
Pauline Elsie Mulhair born 1901, buried 1975
Ralph Alford born 1901
Carrie Lenora Frost born 1902
John S. Higgins buried 1902, died 1902
Marie Ann Kreycik born 1902, lived 1910, lived 1920
Marie Ann Kreycik born 1902
Miles Charles Mulhair born 1902, lived 1910

… and 525 more.