History
Living History
The North Loup Valley is rich in frontier-era American history. At the front lines of manifest destiny during Westward expansion after the Civil War, the Loup Valley tells the entire story of the pioneers that came here in the late 1800’s. The North Loup Valley was part of the settling of the Great American Desert and the valley’s history is full of tragic stories about settlers, Indian wars, hardship and peril. Yet you will also find stories of great heroism, the pioneering spirit and the taming of the wild west.
Ord is also home to Evelyn Sharp, a pioneering aviatrix during WWII. You can learn more about these stories at the Valley County Museum and Historical Society located in downtown Ord.
Fort Hartsuff
Fort Hartsuff was an active fort and economic hub during the Plains Indian War. From 1874-1881 Fort Hartsuff served as a buffer zone between the settlers and the Indians in the North Loup River Valley.
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Evelyn Sharp
The Evelyn Sharp Airport, built in the 1950s, was named after Evelyn Sharp who graduated from Ord High School in 1937. She was the youngest person in the United States to earn a transport license to fly a plane and flew the first mail plane into Ord.
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Valley County Museum & Historical Society
The purpose of the Valley County Historical Society and Museum is the preservation of historical artifacts, archiving of documents and photographs and the display of artifacts to the public.
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Happy Jack Chalk Mine
Happy Jack Chalk Mine is one of only two underground diatomic mines known to have existed in the United States, and the only one that is open to the public. The “chalk” was discovered in the 1850s by an Army explorer and by 1877 local residents had begun to mine the strange lightweight rock.
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