Red Oak

S. M. Senden

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Year: 2008
• Print ISBN: 9780738561318
• eBook ISBN: 9781439636787
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Where the Red Oak Creek flowed into the Nishnabotna River, thick groves of walnut, oak, and cottonwood trees crowded about their banks. This gentle intersection of waterways was to become the junction of railroads, highways, and so many peoples lives. The seeds of the hopes and dreams of early pioneers where planted in the fertile soil. Nurtured by the promise of the railroad, the town began to grow and earned the honor of becoming the county seat. With the building of the railroad, Red Oak Junction was regarded second only to Deadwood as a wild outpost on the western frontier. With the completion of the railroad, the laborers left, taking that reputation with them, and Red Oak blossomed into a booming city directed by the strong personalities of the city fathers who sought to have it be a leader of culture, building, technological improvements, and businesses in the state. Fires, grasshoppers, hailstorms, and floods could not dampen the indomitable spirit of those who have lived in Red Oak through the years.

Three
A NEW CENTURY

At the dawn of the 20th century, Red Oak experienced a great surge of growth and prosperity. Fire, grasshoppers, and flood could not keep Red Oak from growing. As with any city, the lives, loves, ambitions, and business interests of a strong group of leaders interweave into a tapestry that becomes the fabric of a city and its history. Red Oak has been fortunate in its leaders as they worked to make Red Oak a shade better than it had been in the past.

Great strides had been made in keeping Red Oak Junction up to date and modern. The waterworks was established in 1880. The first telephones were installed in 1881. By 1882, gas service had begun, and a local street car provided service from 1882 to 1902. In 1892, Red Oak Electric Company, as agent for Westinghouse, began service. The railroad was redesigned, and a new depot was built. The streets around the square were paved, sidewalks were laid in concrete instead of wooden boards, and steam heat from the power plant was piped to businesses though an innovative underground system around the square.

On June 13, 1901, the word junction officially dropped from the name. Red Oak had grown from a small cluster of four houses and Charles H. Lane’s mercantile to a thriving city ready to face the new century with hope, pride, and an indomitable spirit.

What lay ahead no one could predict. They had come through the pioneer days, and with fierce determination were ready for what lay ahead. The world was changing, and Red Oak was ready to keep up, change, and grow. The lives, loves, hopes, and dreams of the citizens of Red Oak continued to weave together creating the fabric of its history. People like Thomas Murphy and Charles Wilson would weave their threads into this tapestry and would made Red Oak known throughout the nation and the world.

Thomas Murphy remained in Red Oak and established the Thomas D. Murphy Company. He purchased the Red Oak Express. Murphy gained a statewide reputation for his pungent editorial style. In 1900, the Murphy Company’s first factory building was located on Coolbaugh Street just east of the square. Later it became the Red Oak Express offices. Murphy’s business was growing quickly, he needed more and more space. At one point, seven buildings were utilized for the growing calendar company.

The Thomas D. Murphy Company continued to be highly successful, but he kept outgrowing the buildings that housed his company. Murphy decided to build his own plant at 214 South Second Street. By 1904, there were seven buildings in use, and offices in London with 30 salesmen. On a late afternoon in 1904, three men, George Vannausdale, Mr. Marcum, and W. A. Butenkoff, stand in front of the Murphy Company building as it is being constructed.

This postal card displays the newly completed T. D. Murphy Calendar Company. The business continued to grow, by 1906 there were 300 employees in Red Oak. Murphy had to expand again. He enlarged this factory.

This postal card from about 1915 boasts that the factory is the largest exclusive calendar factory in the world with floor space of two acres. The plant had its own power plant to provide steam heat to the entire building, an automatic sprinkler system in case of fire, and a railroad spur line.

Pictured here is the office of the president of the Thomas D. Murphy Company. Beautiful leaded windows partitioned the room, some of the artwork that was not displayed in the art gallery hung on his wall. Note the up-to-date dictation system, an Edison record-making machine on the table below the painting, and the latest in air-conditioning, an electric fan on the desktop.

William Cochrane sits in his office in the new factory. When Thomas Murphy ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• One THE PIONEER DAYS
• Two RED OAK JUNCTION
• Three A NEW CENTURY
• Four THE WAR YEARS
• Five POLITICS, PARADES, REVELRY, AND DISASTER
• Six PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE