The Sandhills Moving forward
One definition of community sums up the Sandhills of Nebraska very well. Community – “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals”
The main interest in the Sandhills is ranching. The area was, at one time, deemed the “Great American Desert,” yet when men entered the region to find cattle lost from drives, they found the animals fat and thriving due to freshwater ponds and lakes from the Ogallala Aquifer and the thick grasses stabilizing the sand dunes. To ranch in the Sandhills, God and Mother Nature dictate that man adapts to the land; to farm in other areas of Nebraska, the land adapts to man. Both approaches are needed to help feed the world.
Homesteaders trying to farm in the rolling grass-covered dunes lasted only a few years and they sold their land to ranchers. Many current ranchers are fourth or fifth generations on the land. They are the original environmentalists. If they are not good stewards of the land, they would not survive. The goal is, and always has been, to leave the land better than the past generation so it can be passed to the future generation.
In the Sandhills town of Thedford, the lumber company is the oldest business, built in the late 1880s. It remains in its original location with it fourth owner as of February, 2023. The bank was founded on the west side of the lumber store, moved a couple times and then was built back at its original location in 1956. Security 1st Bank is the fifth banking company in Thedford. East of town, Western Nebraska Bank purchased Purdum State Bank in 2014, moving it and building a new bank in 2021.
Ewoldt’s Grocery store is transitioning to the fourth generation of Ewoldts. Cay’s great-grandfather, Henry, began a store in Stapleton; his grandfather and father, Alfred and Allen, continued it. More than twenty years ago, Allen purchased the store in Thedford and, over the years, has renovated and updated it. Cay and his wife, Stephanie, moved from Lincoln to Thedford in 2022. Several years ago, the Ewoldts also began a river recreational opportunity, Sandhill River Trips. It brings people from all over the country to enjoy the Middle Loup River in a stock tank, canoe, kayak, or inner tube. The couple purchased property on the river and are working on establishing a campground.
Thomas County population, as of 2010 census, was 647. In
2021 it was 673. Thomas County can boast a population increase while surrounding counties populations have declined.
The town of Halsey to the east of Thedford had 64 residents in 2021 Thedford had 211 and Seneca, an unincorporated village to the west, had 19. Seneca was incorporated until 2014 when one vote of its residents made it unincorporated.
Thedford has always been the Thomas County seat, however, when the courthouse burned in 1920, Seneca tried to claim the title. At the time, Seneca was larger, boasting a division point
on the railroad, with a roundhouse allowing trains and crews to change directions and employing eighty men. Between the 1920s and 40s, Seneca had two banks, two motels, a lumber company, three grocery stores, two garages, a telephone office, two liquor stores, a drug store, a barber shop, a harness and shoe shop, a restaurant, a mortuary, an implement shop, a millinery, a dress and notion shop, a theater, a high school, a post office, a blacksmith shop, two automobile agencies and a livery barn. In 1948, President Truman’s Goodwill Train stopped in Seneca. Several passenger trains served the area, the last one ran in the summer of 1968.
Now the only businesses are the Seneca UCC church, the post office and Stable Productions Exotic Animal Ranch which is home to over 200 non-native species of animals. The old high school auditorium has been renovated and boasts many community gatherings. On the last Sunday in October, the Seneca UCC holds a turkey dinner and bazaar, a fund raiser that’s been happening for more than 75 years.
Halsey celebrates Sandhills Day the Saturday before Independence Day, ending at night with a fireworks display put on by the local rural fire department.
The Thomas County Fair is the last full weekend in July. If you haven’t seen turtles race or enjoyed a pit-roasted beef sandwich, come to Thedford on the last Saturday of July.
Ribbons were cut for five Thedford businesses in 2018; all are still thriving today – Dollar General, CARS (Crossroads Auto Repair Specialists), Ewoldt’s Grocery Grand Reopening, Prairie Feed Supply and With Love Photography Co.
A visit to the Sandhills can’t be complete with taking note of the Nebraska National Forest near Halsey. Started as an experiment in 1891 to see if trees could grow in the Sandhills, the all hand-planted forest eventually covered 30,000 acres. Major wildfires in 1965 (10,000 acres) and 2022 (9,300 acres) have taken a heavy toll. Cabins and campgrounds burned in 2022 yet the forest is open to recreation. Sandhills residents and Nebraskans across the state are looking forward with hope to rebuilding the camp and replanting the forest.