Fairbury is at the heart of the Oregon Trail. Many settlers passed through the area on their way to conquer the west. The deep ruts left by their wagons are still visible today.   Rock Creek Station, just southeast of town along the Oregon Trail, was an important way station for those traveling the trail. Nebraska proved to be the most difficult and deadly portion of the journey, so rested animals and provisions were important. It was here that Wild Bill Hickock began his infamous gunslinging career, by shooting a man over a money dispute. The story became legend as dime novels and Harper’s Bazaar told of a wild tale of murder and intrigue along the Trail. James B. Mattingly, a frontiersman and freighter from Kentucky, first settled in gage County, Nebraska, but with the coming of the settlers and the prospects of a railroad being planned along the Little Blue River, he gave up on freighting and built a small saw mill along the banks of the Little Blue to take advantage of the town site opportunities. Woodford G. McDowell, a capitalist from Fairbury, Illinois also foresaw the advantages of a railroad coming through Nebraska and came to claim 160 acres. Each gave 80 acres of land for a town site, the north and south streets from First to Eighth, and the east and west streets from A to H streets. Right in the middle they left a block for the Public Square, half on Mattingly's land and half on McDowell's. They close McDowell's Illinois town of Fairbury for a name and thus was born the city of Fairbury, Nebraska in the year 1869. Fairbury was a town built on speculation. The early pioneers were the first to recognize Fairbury's potential by platting a town in anticipation of the railroad. With the coming of the railroad came explosive growth and prosperity, a place where people could test their ideas and launch their dreams. The Rock Island Railroad Depot is a symbol of the importance of the railroad to Fairbury's history. Now a Railroad Museum, many ...