Joshua Lippincott

Lippincott place, showing old Halfway House behind

A shady avenue of cottonwoods once lined the road past the Lippincott place north of Cuming City. They had been planted by Joshua Coles Lippincott, soon after he settled here in 1860. He planted a large apple orchard too, and a silver maple he planted about 1865 was named Nebraska Champion silver maple in 1977 by the State Forestry Dept. because of its girth of 19'-10", height 74' and a 99' crown spread. Joshua Lippincott's own roots can be easily traced on the yellowed copy of the family tree. He was a descendant of Richard and Abigail lippincott, who settled in Boston in 1637. They had returned to England in 1651 due to difficulties with the church, but in 1663 came back to America, settling in Shrewsbury, New Jersey. Joshua C. was born there in 1811, and grew up working as a tradesman making coaches. When he turned 21, he began to work his way west, first to Virginia where he married Mildred T. Wood in 1833. They continued west in 1842, buying a farm in Indiana. Eventually Joshua scouted out better prospects in Washington County, Nebraska. In 1857, the family came by boat to St. Joseph, and to Cuming City, Nebraska Territory by ox-team. In 1860 he purchased 160 acres from a land speculator named Paris Green Cooper. He built a log cabin, soon adding a room to accomodate travelers who needed a place to spend the night. In 1868 a large frame house was built, which came to be known as "Halfway House". It was the stopping place for the stagecoach halfway between Omaha and Decatur. Agriculture of course was the mainstay, Joshua's son, Ephraim Coles Lippincott, (born in the log cabin in 1860) continued the agricultural traditions, having bought the farm from the other heirs after Joshua's death. He was the youngest, of the eight children. He renewed the orchard, and raised a dairy herd which produced 100 pounds of butter per week to sell. He was one of the first in the county to plant alfalfa and to be interested in crop rotation. He was also one of the first to send the team of horses out to pasture and buy a tractor. Between 1917 and 1920, E.C. built the large stucco house that provides a home for his descendants today. He had saved $7000 to pay for it, but skyrocketing prices of post World War I years tripled the final cost. Ephraim and his third wife (two previous wives died young) lived up to the tradition of hospitality begun by their parents. Mrs. Lippincott baked pies for soldiers camping nearby; school teachers and hired men boarded in the home; relatives came to stay extended periods. While many of Joshua's children moved to other parts of Nebraska, Ephraim's family stayed close to home. His five children are Viva Guyer of Blair, and Ruth M., E. Clark, Richard J., and Donald T. Lippincott, who live within a mile of each other north of Blair. Ephraim's grandchildren and great grandchildren are numerous in the area, too. Submitted by the Lippincott Family.

Source: Washington County Nebraska History 1980, page 252. The Washington County Historical Association.Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas, 1980.