History THE HISTORY OF MULLEN, NEBRASKA On this page you will find information about the beginnings of our community, including some of the early families. If you would like additional information on the history or families, you may contact either the Hooker County Historical Society or the Hooker County Genealogical Society. Contacts for these 2 organizations may be found on our Organizations page. For more detailed information about the genealogy and history of Hooker County, please be sure to visit the History & Genealogy of Hooker County, endorsed by the Hooker County Genealogy Society! Hooker County, Nebraska: the First 100 Years 1889-1989 by Hooker County Historical Society, Mabell Cox and Claudia Tompkins, Coeditors. Copyright ©Curtis Media Corporation-1989. This history begins in the late 1870's. At that time, the area was very desolate. Cattle were driven from Texas to the Lakota Indian reservation in South Dakota. There were no permanent settlements or outposts in the immediate area. In 1877 Buffalo Bill Cody and Major Frank North established the first ranch headquarters in what was to become Hooker County. This ranch was not a homestead, but was all on government land. The original log cabin built on this site is now on display at Scout's Rest Ranch in North Platte near Buffalo Bill's house and barn. During 1878-79, Chief Spotted Horse and a band of his tribe left the reservation in South Dakota, hoping to live free again. But troops from nearby Fort McPherson and Fort Robinson were notified, and it was the last time the Native Americans were to live free in what is now Hooker County. Much of the history of the Sandhills area is recorded in the books Cheyenne Autumn by Marie Sandoz and Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt. General Joseph P. Hooker (Date Unknown) In 1884, the first permanent settlers moved into the area. They were Josiah Downing, Webster E. Bowers, and Chauncey Tucker and families. Other homesteaders began to follow. And in 1887, the Grand Island and Wyoming line of the Burlington Northern Railroad began laying rails across the Sandhills. A depot was set up about a mile east of Trefren's Trading Post and was given the name of Mullen after one of the railroad's contractors. Mullen would become the county seat when Hooker County became organized in 1889. The county was named for the Civil War Union General Joseph P. Hooker (1814- 1879). Joseph Hooker was born in Hadley Massachusetts and graduated from the United States Military Academy. During the Civil War he received the nickname "Fighting Joe Hooker" due to a newspaper article entitled "Fighting -Joe Hooker". Newspapers across the country began running the story, dropping the hyphen. Much to Hooker's disgust, the name would forever be connected to him! Mullen remains the county seat and is the only surviving town in the county.               Top of Page