The Seward Blue River Historical District took a major step forward in its development last week.
On Feb. 7, the log cabin that will be its centerpiece arrived on site.
Pat Coldiron, one of the district’s developers, said they’d been waiting to hear from Tieken House Moving in Cordova to find out when they could move the 1866 cabin.
“On Friday, Feb. 6, he called. He got the permit and everything. He got everything ready,” Coldiron said.
The only thing that remained was to have the Seward County Roads Department drive the route to make sure no wires or anything needed to be moved.
Once that was done, Tieken’s crew started the drive, transporting the cabin to its new home. Duff Campbell led the way on his four-wheeler to make sure traffic wasn’t an issue.
Coldiron was impressed by how efficiently the crew worked to put the cabin on the i-beams to move it.
“Each one knew where to put the next board, the next brace. It worked like a charm,” she said.
The story of the cabin’s new location began about 25 years ago when Coldiron worked for the Seward Chamber of Commerce. Clark and Diane Kreiser approached her about the cabin on their property, wanting to preserve that piece of history.
“Clark’s dad realized it was history,” Coldiron said.
About five years ago, the district was created as a 501(c)3 organization that allows it to apply for other funding. It tried to buy five acres of land on Izaak Walton Road, but it was part of a section purchased by John and Janice Heath.
Coldiron met with them to tell them what the district wanted to do with the space and see about buying it from them.
“They liked our vision and said we could have it,” she said. “They’ve been nothing but supportive.”
At that point, the land had to be cleaned up after it had been neglected for years. Coldiron said they removed dumpster loads of junk.
As the clearing began, Coldiron said they were contacted by Donna Rios, whose family wanted to put up a historic marker to honor an ancestor who had rescued a child from being hit by a train.
Andy Hartmann and Gerhold Concrete donated time and concrete to install the marker, which was done in 2025. Bill Anderson and his crew also donated time. The foundation and a new roof for the cabin have also been donated.
The red building on the site will become an information center and a community meeting room, Coldiron said. Nate Kreiser will do the drywall for the inside of the center.
The cabin itself was built in 1866 by Lewis Lubach on his homestead for his wife and three children. They planted 20 fruit trees and built a granary and a barn, Coldiron said. Lubach filed his claim in 1873.
Eventually, the family had seven children in the 17-foot by 19-foot cabin. Lubach died after a horse fell on him. His family donated the land for Immanuel Lutheran Church (Middle Creek) and cemetery, Coldiron said.
The plan for the district site includes three stations, Coldiron said. A walking trail around the site will include signs and benches. One station will focus on agriculture in the Blue River valley.
One will focus on Chief Standing Bear’s story. He and his tribe walked through Seward County on their way to a reservation in Oklahoma. While in the county, Standing Bear’s daughter Prairie Flower and a granddaughter died and were buried at Ruby.
The third station was originally planned to focus on the tall grass prairie, but that has changed, Coldiron said. Duane Fosler of Milford shared the story of the Blue River Cattle Drive that came through Seward County, and that will be the topic of that station.
A pollinator garden has already been planted, thanks to the efforts of Marty Nissen, Lori Anderson, Melanie Walter and Deb Van Steenhoven, who worked with the Pollinator Association of America to put it together.
“We do a little piece at a time because we love it,” Coldiron said.
The district will have a potential tax levy on the ballot in November for voters to decide. Coldiron said she’d like county residents to consider it an investment to draw more visitors to the area.
“It will be a wonderful addition,” she said.
