Colfax County

In the late 1880s, the Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW) came to the area of present-day Clarkson. Joseph H. Rudersdorf had built a home a mile further south with a post office and store inside. He quickly moved his building near the tracks. The train brought growth and prosperity to Clarkson and was considered one of the busiest depots for C&NW. (Courtesy of Clarkson Historical Museum.)

Josef V. and Anna (Vlastovicka) Lopour are seated in front of their home, located three miles south of Clarkson. Standing from left to right are four of their eight children: Anna (Mrs. John Luxa), Mary (Mrs. Frank Castka), Frank Lopour, and Josephine (Mrs. Joseph Popelka). Josef fell down the stairs in this house and died instantly from a broken neck on February 3, 1914. (Courtesy of Alma Meyer.)

As families moved into Colfax County, the young people found partners with whom to build a life and families of their own. This wedding photograph was taken in front of the Holy Trinity Church of Heun in 1916. Jim and Amalie (Coufal) Prokupek pose with their attendants: Klotilda (Coufal) Cech (left) and John Coufal. (Courtesy of Delva and Charles Prokupek.)

Ambitions followed the influx of pioneers and settlers. Businesses opened wherever there was a calling. Grain and flour mills were built in many communities, and some were water driven on streams. This shows the machinery inside of an old mill. Three workers check out the mill equipment. Those in the photograph are identified as, from left to right, “Uncle” John ?, Jos. Krikac, and ? Nemec. (Courtesy of Clarkson Historical Museum.)

General merchandise stores supplied farmers and residents with staples and ready-made household items as well as groceries. Settlers raised or hunted their table meat and grew vegetables but still needed salt, spices, and sugar from the store. J.H. Otradosky stands in the front entrance of his store. Near the roofline, he advertises his business as the Cheap Store. (Courtesy of Schuyler Historical Museum.)

In this scene on a Schuyler street, F.E. Dudek’s Dry Goods Store has the words “Dry Goods and Shoes and Hats” painted on his front windows. Dudek stands third from the left, and J.H. Otradosky’s Grocery store is on the right. Otradosky stands on the step of the entrance to his grocery. The others are not identified. (Courtesy of Schuyler Historical Museum.)

The first bank in Clarkson was the Clarkson State Bank. As fortunes rose, a safe place was needed for funds. Bank owners helped with financing for businesses, homes, and expenses. Judging by his stance, a proud banker (left) appears to be greeting the prospective customer coming toward him while a third gentleman surveys the street. (Courtesy of Clarkson Historical Museum.)

Here is the back room of the early Merchant’s Tailor Shop in Schuyler. The gentlemen in the back are unidentified workers. The two men in the front are Joe Novotny (at the sewing machine) and owner Joe Svoboda (right). A cutting and measuring table is on the left. Garments that are in process or finished hang around the shop on the walls. (Courtesy of Schuyler Historical Museum.)

Rural District No. 1 of Colfax County was established near the Village of Rogers. This photograph is dated 1894. One young girl on the left near the water hydrant is identified on the back of the photograph as “Julia Kroupa (Mares).” Schoolhouses for the children’s education were of high priority, but many schools began in private homes. More than 40 children of all ages are in this group picture. (Courtesy of Schuyler Historical Museum.)

Julius Wacha owned and operated a general merchandise store in Clarkson. An interior photograph shows the variety of goods available for purchase. The people in this photograph include, from left to right, Emily Cada, Julius Wacha, two unidentified people, Ed Makousky, and Fil Wacha. (Courtesy of Clarkson Historical Museum.)

This early 1900s photograph was taken of the Catholic Workmen’s Lodge group marching from the Holy Trinity church to Heun Hall during the celebration of Pout (pronounced “poath”). Pout means “pilgrimage,” which the people made to celebrate this feast day of the church. The daylong event had car races, food, and drink after church services. Dancing lasted all day and night. (Courtesy of Allan and Marvene Koliha.)

Pioneers strived to be self-sufficient and raised their own food. They planted gardens and harvested grain to make flour and to feed their hogs and cattle. Even though there was an abundance of wild game, they raised chickens, geese, and ducks for table fare and for feathers used for bedding. A small calf is also shown on the upper left. (Courtesy of Clarkson Historical Museum.)

Post offices first were established in homes and stores with the development of a community. In the early 1900s, mail was carried around the rural communities by horse and mail cart. Gerhard Koopman is shown delivering mail to a drop box with his team of horses and mail cart. (Courtesy of Howells Historical Museum.)

Entrepreneurs Stangel and Boley (first names unknown) set up a shop in Howells. Five men associated with the painting and paperhanging business, according to the sign above them, stand near the shop for this photograph in the late 1800s or early 1900s. None are identified, but Stangel and Boley are probably two of the men in the picture. (Courtesy of Howells Historical Museum.)

Death follows all, whether of natural or accidental in nature. This 1892 funeral procession of a horse-drawn hearse shows pallbearers carrying the casket to place it into the back of the hearse. Basket bouquets of flowers line the road, and more horse-drawn buggies follow the deceased to his or her final resting place. (Courtesy of Schuyler Historical Museum.)

Anton Kupka opened a fine jewelry store in Schuyler in the early 1900s. Frank Herbrich, a clerk, is on the left behind the counter. Anton Kupka stands behind the right-hand counter. Frank Herbrich and his wife later opened their own jewelry shop in Schuyler. (Courtesy of Schuyler Historical Museum.)

The advent of railroads, which transported supplies, equipment, and furnishings to the frontier, afforded the opportunity for dray services in towns with a railroad station or depot. Three men prepare to deliver orders off-loaded from the furniture car with their dray wagon and horses. A portion of Illinois Central can be read on the side of the railcar. (Courtesy of Howells Historical Museum.)

Joseph Thomas first built a general merchandise store called the Boston One-Price Store in 1890. This store was sold to Joseph Slama in 1899, and he turned the business into a saloon on the first floor with a pool hall upstairs. In 1909, Slama moved this building into the street to accommodate Gottlieb Storz, who erected a brick structure for the Storz Brewing Company on its former site. (Courtesy of Clarkson Historical Museum.)

In 1899, Alois Cerv erected this building, which later housed Frank Cerv’s harness shop in 1909. The building is identified as being the Alois Cerv Sedlar Harness Shop. The men in the photograph are unidentified. The business was short lived, as in 1910, Anton Vais owned it and operated a variety store in this location. (Courtesy of Clarkson Historical Museum.)