Historic Seward Square

The Seward County Courthouse Square Historic District is one of the finest nineteenth and early twentieth century commercial districts. The district’s focus is the three-story, limestone courthouse, constructed 1904-6, and designed in the County Capitol form by architect George A. Berlinghof. Other noteworthy buildings include the 1887 Tishue Block; the J. F. Goehner Building, built in 1908; and the Zimmerer-Rolfsmeier Building, built about 1920. Public buildings and structures, such as the Carnegie Library, City Hall, and the Bandstand Park, are also found in the district.Nebraska State Historical Society

Roughly located in the center of the county, Seward was platted in 1868 and emerged as the county seat after a bitter fight that was not concluded until 1871. Soon after the community was platted, W.H. Tuttle built the Commercial Hotel and Beaty & Davis opened a general store. Growth was rapid after the county seat issue was settled and the Midland Pacific Railroad line was completed in 1874.

Seward possessed many of the trappings of a well-developed city by the mid 1890s. During the period, a YMCA (SW09-173) and a Carnegie Library were constructed (SW09-172). The city no longer possessed a pioneer town appearance as represented by its fifty-two blocks of paved streets and twenty miles of board and paved sidewalks. Utility services included electricity from the local light plant and water from a municipal waterworks. Telephone service also was in operation by the 1890s.

The downtown commercial district evolved around a public square, which became the site of the Seward County Courthouse (SW09-093) in 1906. This district served the city’s two thousand residents with a wide variety of enterprises. Soon a number of ornate and substantial buildings were constructed to house these enterprises. Notable examples include the Zimmerer Hardware Store Building (SW09-136), the Tishue Block (SW09- 147) and the I.H. Feary Building (SW09-175). Many of the city’s businessmen also constructed large houses in the community. Those owned by the Jones (SW09-074) and Cattle (SW09-006) banking families are examples.Seward County: Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey (2007). The Heritage Research, Ltd. Prepared for the Nebraska State Historical Society.