Saltillo, Nebraska

Saltillo (/sælˈtɪloʊ/ sal-TIL-oh) was an unincorporated community in Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States.[1]

History

The settlement of Saltillo was formerly located along the Salt Creek where the corners of Grant, Centerville, Yankee Hill, and Saltillo townships meet.[2] Originally a community was planned at the site to be named Olathe.[2] In 1862, John Cadman built a road ranch called Saltillo Station in the area to provide lodgings for travelers along the Oregon Trail between Nebraska City and Fort Kearny.[2][3] A post office was established at Saltillo in 1862, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1906.[4] The community was likely named after the city of Saltillo, Mexico.[5][6] The name is derived from the Spanish word salto, meaning leap, the diminutive suffix renders the meaning of the name "little leap."[5]

Saltillo remained a small community for its entire existence, never exceeding a population of 50 people.[2] The village economy relied heavily on wagon train traffic from the Oregon Trail, which became obsolete in 1865 with the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad.[2] Two railroads passed through Saltillo, the Atchison and Nebraska Railroad in 1872 and the a branch line of the Union Pacific called the Omaha and Republican Valley Railroad in 1883.[2][7] The Atchison and Nebraska Railroad was later sold to Chicago, Burlington & Quincy in 1908.[8]

Plat maps produced in 1903 show the village with three streets and the path of Salt Creek flowing through roughly half of the lots.[9] Frequent flooding, a lack of travelers and thus income, as well as the continuous growth of nearby Lincoln all sent the population of Saltillo into decline.[2] By the 1950s, the last visible remnant of Saltillo was the grain elevator which was torn down in 1953.[2]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Saltillo, Nebraska
2. "Lincoln Lancaster County Genealogical Society - GHOST TOWNS OF LANCASTER". llcgs.info. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
3. "Jim McKee: John Cadman's house and the Oregon Trail Cutoff". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
4. "Lancaster County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
5. Fitzpatrick, Lillian L. (1960). Nebraska Place-Names. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-5060-6. A 1925 edition is available for download at University of Nebraska—Lincoln Digital Commons.
6. Fitzpatrick, Lilian (1925-01-01). "Nebraska Place-Names". University of Nebraska Studies in Language, Literature, and Criticism.
7. "Saltillo, Nebraska". johnmarvigbridges.org. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
8. "A&N to be sold to Burlington". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
9. "Rokeby; Jamaica; Saltillo". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2019-04-10.