St. Paul, NE. was founded by James N. and Nicholas J. Paul, two young surveyors who had been surveying in Nebraska as land opened to settlers. They took out homesteads, successfully petitioned the state legislature to form a new county to be known as Howard County, and laid out the town site. They brought the first settlers to the county in March 1871 and established the seat of government in St. Paul. It officially became the county seat by vote in 1874 and was incorporated in 1881.
During it first twenty years, Howard County was a typical western frontier with covered wagons, cowboys, huge cattle herds, rowdy railroad construction gangs, and Army detachments stationed between its borders. As homesteads and the railroad extended North and West, the town of St. Paul served as an important trade center. Some of the nineteenth-century buildings remain on Main Street, which is still paved with 1918 bricks. The beautiful courthouse dates to 1913 and is on the Historic Register. A handsome 1905 church has a state Historical Marker nearby. A unique cooperative school-city library can be seen at the West end of Main Street as part of the modern school system and athletic fields. Primitive hospitals in various still-existing homes succeeded each other but were replaced by a 21st century all-inclusive facility bounded by Sheridan, Kendall and Sherman Streets. Almost 200 Civil War veterans took up claims in the county and many streets were named after Civil War heroes. A Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Leander Herron, lived at 1311 Seventh Street. The homes of several other Civil War veterans still exist along that street, but their simple dwellings are no longer recognizable. Herron is buried at Elmwood Cemetery, as is the baseball hero, Grover Cleveland Alexander.
St. Paul was the home of Frank Iams, the nation's largest importer of European draft horses from 1882-1917, three-star General C.S. Irvine who broke the record for long-distance flights in a B-29 shortly after World War II and Herbert Paul, the Adjutant General of Nebraska National Guard for 19 years. Several innovations were also developed in St. Paul, such as the first self-rising flour, Nebraska's first chicken hatchery, and the popular Dorothy Lynch Salad Dressing, which is now sold nationally.
Well-known graduates from St. Paul schools include Jean Potts, writer of Edgar-winning whodunits; Richard Keating, who flew around the world at the speed of sound to prove Einstein's theory of relativity; Dr. Paul Harvey, agronomist who developed the first hybrid corn; Roni Haggart, past-vice president of Motorola; and Dr. Ann Haruda Nielsen, who is involved in cancer research.
Grover Cleveland Alexander, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, was also born in the area and retired to St. Paul at the end of his sports career. The Museum of Nebraska Baseball Greats on Main Street began with artifacts from his life and now includes hundreds of items and historical facts on other Nebraska baseball heroes. An annual town festival held the weekend after July 4 ("GCA Days") is dedicated to Alexander. It has been expanded to include one of the largest classic car shows in the state, as well as fine food and many family activities. A Historical Marker for Alexander stands in the City Park. St. Paul was named the "Historical Baseball Capital of Nebraska" in 1997.
-As recorded by first female mayor of St. Paul, Marion Bahensky, in 2006 for the Chamber of Commerce
During it first twenty years, Howard County was a typical western frontier with covered wagons, cowboys, huge cattle herds, rowdy railroad construction gangs, and Army detachments stationed between its borders. As homesteads and the railroad extended North and West, the town of St. Paul served as an important trade center. Some of the nineteenth-century buildings remain on Main Street, which is still paved with 1918 bricks. The beautiful courthouse dates to 1913 and is on the Historic Register. A handsome 1905 church has a state Historical Marker nearby. A unique cooperative school-city library can be seen at the West end of Main Street as part of the modern school system and athletic fields. Primitive hospitals in various still-existing homes succeeded each other but were replaced by a 21st century all-inclusive facility bounded by Sheridan, Kendall and Sherman Streets. Almost 200 Civil War veterans took up claims in the county and many streets were named after Civil War heroes. A Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Leander Herron, lived at 1311 Seventh Street. The homes of several other Civil War veterans still exist along that street, but their simple dwellings are no longer recognizable. Herron is buried at Elmwood Cemetery, as is the baseball hero, Grover Cleveland Alexander.
St. Paul was the home of Frank Iams, the nation's largest importer of European draft horses from 1882-1917, three-star General C.S. Irvine who broke the record for long-distance flights in a B-29 shortly after World War II and Herbert Paul, the Adjutant General of Nebraska National Guard for 19 years. Several innovations were also developed in St. Paul, such as the first self-rising flour, Nebraska's first chicken hatchery, and the popular Dorothy Lynch Salad Dressing, which is now sold nationally.
Well-known graduates from St. Paul schools include Jean Potts, writer of Edgar-winning whodunits; Richard Keating, who flew around the world at the speed of sound to prove Einstein's theory of relativity; Dr. Paul Harvey, agronomist who developed the first hybrid corn; Roni Haggart, past-vice president of Motorola; and Dr. Ann Haruda Nielsen, who is involved in cancer research.
Grover Cleveland Alexander, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, was also born in the area and retired to St. Paul at the end of his sports career. The Museum of Nebraska Baseball Greats on Main Street began with artifacts from his life and now includes hundreds of items and historical facts on other Nebraska baseball heroes. An annual town festival held the weekend after July 4 ("GCA Days") is dedicated to Alexander. It has been expanded to include one of the largest classic car shows in the state, as well as fine food and many family activities. A Historical Marker for Alexander stands in the City Park. St. Paul was named the "Historical Baseball Capital of Nebraska" in 1997.
-As recorded by first female mayor of St. Paul, Marion Bahensky, in 2006 for the Chamber of Commerce