PROSECUTING ATTORNEY INDICTED

The first district court in the county was held in 1859 with Augustus Hall presiding as Chief Justice. The courthouse had not yet been built, so the town hall in Columbus, known as Saints Chapel was used. After Judge Hall died, William Kellog came into power. During Kellog’s first term, the prosecuting attorney was Robert Moreland, who by no means was an ornament to the office. Moreland had previously been bound over for breaking the peace and the only indictment returned that term was against the prosecuting attorney for assault and battery.

THE LYNCHING OF WILSON

In the winter to 1867, a man named Bob Wilson worked for a settler named Grant. For whatever reason, Wilson shot and killed Grant, then later turned himself into then Sheriff John Browner. Before and during Wilson’s trial, George Grant, brother of the slain man, prepared a death warrant, which he urged citizens to sign. As Wilson began to boast he was going to be set free or buy his way out of jail, the community feeling began to run very high. Wilson was remanded to the district court on charges of murder. Immediately on the court’s announcement, a group of men made a rush for the prisoner as he was led from the courthouse. The mob overpowered the sheriff’s officers; threw a rope around Wilson’s neck and dragged him to a cottonwood tree, where he was hung. After Wilson died, his body was tied behind an ox wagon and dragged to the river bank, where a hole was chopped in the ice and Wilson’s body thrown in.

EFFORT TO MOVE STATE CAPITOL

In 1875, an effort was made to move Nebraska’s state capitol to Columbus because of it’s central location in the state and the fact that Columbus was on the Union Pacific Railroad’s main line. Efforts were later dropped; the capitol was moved from Omaha to Lincoln.

FIRST MARRIAGE LICENSE

The first marriage license issued in Platte County was issued in 1858 by A.B. Pattison. The first sheriff of Platte County was Jacob Guter, who served from 1857 to 1859. The first sheriff to serve after Nebraska became a state, was John Browner.

PLATTE COUNTY’S COURTHOUSE

Platte County's first courthouse was erected in Columbus in 1870 on Columbia Square. Construction costs were $18,000. The present courthouse, relocated to 2610 14th St., was built in 1920 with jail facilities on the third floor, and was added onto and completed in 1976. The new addition housed the current jail facility, a community room, offices of the sheriff, county treasure, county court, district court, probation offices, emergency management, and the Nebraska State Patrol.

PLATTE COUNTY DETENTION FACILITY

The Platte County Detention Facility located at 1125 E. 17th Street was completed in June of 2003 at a cost of $7,176,034.00. The facility has an inmate capacity of 144 adult inmates. The Platte County Detention Facility replaces the old Platte County Jail which is located in the Courthouse. The previous jail had a inmate capacity of 27 adult inmates. The old jail is still used  on a daily basis for persons sentenced from court until they can be picked up and those transported to the Courthouse from the Detention Facility for court appearances.

Platte County Sheriffs: