At one time Angus boasted a population of about 600 to 700. It is located just a few miles notheast of Nelson, Nebraska. On October 30, 1873, a post office was issued in the name of Ox Bow. This was most likely due to the large U-sahped bend in the river, where only a neck of land remained between the channels. There was a flour mill here. The name was changed to Angus on December 6, 1886. The post office was discontinued in 1977.
Angus also had a bank, a hotel, lumberyard, livry stable, three general stores, a depot, two churches, a hardware store. It was just a couple miles from the famous Oregon Trail. It even had the first concrete swimming in the county. It was built in the 1920's, but is now filled in out in the middle of a pasture. The was also a train that came through Angus. The train depot was finally closed in 1942. The tracks were pulled up in the 1980's. The foster father to Calamity Jane also lived here in the late 1800's.
Before the town of Angus was officially dead, it made the headlines a few times recently. In 1983, someone released two African lion cubs in the area. They were eventually captured one mile west of Angus. Angus is also the home of the largest fossil discovery of a mastadon in the U.S. It was over 14 feet high. It is now in a museum in Denver.
Today, all that remains in Angus are four houses and a store and repair shop. All other buildings have already fallen down.
The town of Amboy is just four miles east of Red Cloud on Highway 136. The post office was started in the name of Webster Center on March 7, 1879, due to its closeness to the center of th county at the time. The name was changed to Amboy on December 23, 1879. It was maos likely named for Amboy, Illinois. The post office was discontinued on January 8, 1890. Some of the remains include a schoolhouse, a mill, depot/warehouse and a barn.
(PRODUCER OF FULLER CARS)
Charley Fuller grew up working in his dad's blacksmith shop in Angus in the late 1880's. He learned how to build many mechnical things. In 1898, he built the first automobile in Nebraska.
He then went to work for the Buckeye Manufacturing Company in Anderson, Indiana. He supervised the assemby of the friction drive Lambert car. In 1907, he shipped two of the Lamberts back to Angus. The townspeople were so impressed that they wanted to build a automobile factory of their own and the wanted Charley to run it. Charley agreed and the Angus Automobile Company was in the works. Shares of stock were sold at $10 each to local investors. The company quickly had $50,000. Production started on February 16, 1907. The company expanded very fast. Dealerships were established throughout Nebraska and all the way to Denver. They produced four models, under the name of Fuller cars, ranging in price from $1500 to $3500. The cars greatly outperformed all of the Fords of the day.
A company in Omaha was so impressed that they offered to buy the company. They were willing to pay $100 for each $10 share. Some stockholders wanted to sell and other did not. A bitter struggle ensued for power of the company. At the end of the stockholders meeting, Charley was so upset that he decided to sever all ties to the company. The factory was moved to nearby Nelson, but it never manufactured another car.
During it's brief existience (1907-1909), The Angus Automobile Company produced more than 600 Fuller cars. They were considered one of the best car producers in the nation while they were in business.
Oak Grove Station is located just two miles southeast of present day Oak, Nebraska. It was stop #7 on the Pony Express Trail in the 1860's. The most famous event that happened here was an attack by the Souix Indians in 1864, that killed many people. Oak Grove Station is very near the ghost town of Angus (above). It is located on the Little Blue River along the Oregon Trail. The town originated on the south side of the river when the Pony Express station was set up there. Later a mill was built on the other side of the river. The town moved across the river to be closer to the mill where many people worked. A few years later the railroad came through about two miles to the northwest. The town again moved and shortened its name to Oak, which is still in existience. Today, only two houses and a graveyard remain close to where the mill used to stand. There is also a historical marker here denoting the Oregon Trail's location.