1926 Moses Stocking

On the banks of the winding Sand Creek near the northwest corner of the East Half of the Northeast quarter of Section Ten, Township Fteen, Range Seven, East of the 6th principal meridian still remains the site which to Moses Stocking was his first home on the Nebraska prairies after a long trek from Michigan which consumed with various stops at other points and temporary, short resting places along the way, full two months from his original starting place.

On the north side of the Stocking farm site stand a fringe of towering maples, cottonwood and boxelders as guardians of the old homeplate. These trees were planted by the veteran frontiersman and it seems to have been a hobby with him during the early period of the settlement of the Sand and Wahoo valleys to plant tracts of timber here and there, some covering many acres and others smaller. Today these saplings of the years a gone are towering reminders of his worth and works. It may not have been a hobby, we did not have his personal acquaintance, these timbered tracts may have been the result of economic study as to what the country needed at that time.

But to retrace our steps to the spoy now hallowed by his personal endeavors to build a house it should be said that whatever human habitation he erected has long since been torn down and the lumber of which it was constructed has been used for other purposes.

The writer well remembers the long building, erected by the veteran homesteader, built for utility rather than beauty. It would house comfortably company and was doubtless the gathering place of most of the weary plainsmen who crossed the country in those days following the course of the Wahoo and Sand Creeks.

To the north of this site and across the bend in Sand Creek is a forest of walnut trees today covering twenty acres of the Stocking land a corner which gives evidence of being sandy and it is certain that he expended much effort in converting this tract into a dense wood in the hope of breaking the wash of the soil. At this time, it is a beautiful grove, in which the tall walnut trees stand as straight as gun barrels and picnickers often revel in the mossy covering which has come as the result of the dense foliage.

Here we have attempted to give a pen picture of the personal surroundings which were most familiar to his everyday life and movements. It is to be regretted that the house has disappeared, but an ancient building erected of enduring native timber with massive sills, calculated to withstand the ravages of nature for an indefinite period still remains on the little plat in the bend of the creek as a testimonial to the best workmanship of our revered friend - Moses Stocking. It is standing by the side of the road at the foot of the hill below Wahoo Sunrise Cemetery as the only relic of the years when the country was young and Mr. Stocking and his numerous family of youngsters were the only inhabitants of this virgin region for miles around.

This site embraces the present Saunders County Fairgrounds and much of the southern part of the city of Wahoo known as Stockings addition. On the organization of the County, Stocking precinct in which Wahoo is situated was named after him.

The memoir of Moses Stocking, written by himself and published in Volume 1 of the transactions and reports of the State Historical Society give every evidence that notwithstanding the poverty of his early life and the privations to which he was subject, Moses Stocking had a clear understanding of the English language and became in his latter years a forceful contributor to the files of this society. How he attained the mastery of the English language that enabled him to assume important civic stations in life that called for much writing and some oratory we are unable to say at this time. Future historians may be able to clear up this cloudy point in his checkered career which covered a variety of menial employments and much weary plains travel, when the dangers from heat, thirst and redskins were a constant menace. It is now known that he accomplished what was the keynote to livestock raising in Saunders County through his indefatigable efforts in behalf of the sheep and cattle industry, brining to the state and county the first pedigreed stock to cross eastern ranges, all of which must be transported on foot. We cannot dwell on the minutia of this enterprise except to say that is won him the title of the pioneer sheep man of the county, a laurel more precious to him than any endowment he would have wished; that his endeavors in this line were not confined to breeds he bought and raised both coarse and fine wools under circumstances that would have daunted the souls of men less used to exposure and privation. His sheep ranch selected for its admirable location for feed and shelter became the mecca to which all eyes were turned when the cry of wool was first raised in the state. For his endeavors he was rewarded by being made a member of the Fine Stock Breeders Association later organized and when the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia was launched the fame of western sheepman had reached even to the effete ease and he was honored by being appointed on the committee of awards on wool. The example set by this sterling figure continued long after he had resigned the reins into younger hands and his ranch on the Wahoo and Sand Creeks hold frequently as many as 60,000 well-bred sheep.

He died as he lived in the conscientious performance of every civic duty, a true lover of the country and its institutions. Beneath the shadows of the sturdy towering elms and examples to which he devoted much time, today repose the remains of this gifted friend and veteran defender of our early institutions. On the crest of the hill overlooking his humble dwelling place he rests in the dreamless sleep of eternity honored though unseen.

NOTE: In the fall of 1871 the Hon. Moses Stocking was employed by the Burlington Railroad to examine their lands. He made a personal examination of the entire belt and made his report of the same which is now on file in the Burlington land department.