Ogallala’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold just one old photo of Ogallala. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Ogallala first was founded as a terminus for cattle drives that traveled from Texas to the Union Pacific railhead located there. These trails are known as the Western or Great Western trails. The Union Pacific Railroad reached Ogallala on May 24, 1867. The city itself was not laid out until 1875 and not incorporated until 1884 The town's name comes from the Oglala Sioux tribe. Rowdy cowboys made this a dangerous place to be during the cattle drive months resulting in Ogallala getting a reputation as both "The Town Too Tough For Texas" and "Gomorrah of the West".
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Ogallala’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ogallala’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewWelsh Motor Court on Highway 30 (…, 1941: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Ogallala
See all 3 →
Ogallala, decade by decade
1990s
5 historic places in Ogallala
5 places in Ogallala are on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Welsh Motor Court on Highway 30 (NBY 9295) (1941) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (5) and the National Register (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.