American Legion #214
R.R. Hendricks Post #214 was chartered on January 28, 1920. Annually they sponsor the Memorial Day services and in recent years have sponsored the “Avenue of Flags” at the cemeteries in Axtell. They participate in military funerals for deceased veterans in the area. The present hall was built in 1992 mainly through sponsorship by the Legion, Knights of Columbus, and the Axtell Community through monetary contributions and labor. The Legion Hall is an asset to Axtell as an available place for community events, dinners, and wedding receptions.
R.R. Hendricks Post #214
Memorial Day Services
9:00 am - St. Bridget Cemetery
9:30 am - St. Michael's Cemetery
10:00 am - Rose Hill Cemetary
Axtell Doughboy Monument
At the intersection of Fifth and Maple in Axtell stand a Doughboy monument. It is a tribute to local men and women who served in World War I. The monument was the brainchild of the newly formed American Legion R.R. Hendricks Post 214. It contains a plaque listing the 150 men and two nurses who served. It arrived in Axtell in the spring of 1925, and the April 30 issue of the Axtell Standard carried a financial statement of the memorial. The bronze Doughboy had a cost of $1,173, the monument base $550, bronze tablet with names $110, freight and labor $12.39. The town still had to raise the final $150 toward the purchase price. This project had been in the works for two or three years with towns people raising funds by having box socials, raffles, and other forms of money-making ventures. The city donated $500.The statue, according to The Chamber Monthly of Spencer, Indiana, was designed and copyrighted by E.M. Viquesney of Spencer in 1920. It was titled “The Spirit of the American Doughboy.” It is a World War I infantryman advancing through No Man’s Land, through stumps and barbed wire entanglements, his rifle held in his left hand while his right hand is raised high, holding a grenade. The Viquesney creation has two stumps, one front and one rear, and the sculptors name is imprinted on the statue. These features distinguish it from doughboys done by other sculptors. Formal dedication of the Axtell Doughboy took place on “Decoration Day,” May 31, 1925. The six-and-one-half-foot statue stood on a six-foot base which had been placed on a large concrete block in the center of the main intersection of town. It remained there for 35 years but was frequently the victim of pranksters and vandals. It was also more and more frequently the victim of the ever-increasing automobile population. In March 1955, the city obtained a lease from the railroad for a small piece of land on the northeast corner of the intersection so the Doughboy could be moved to a more appropriate location. For reasons unknown it remained in its unenviable position for another five years. It was during this same period that Axtell was struggling to build and finance a new hospital so the monument may have been relegated to second place on the list of priorities.In April of 1960, the Doughboy and its base were removed from the concrete perch and positioned on the land at the northeast corner of the intersection. Local organizations and the city arranged for the planting of shrubs and flowers to provide a suitable location for the monument.The monument is a noticeable feature in Axtell, and every spring the R.R. Hendricks American Legion Post 214 begins its Memorial Day services at the Doughboy.Submitted by LeNore Stumpf in the Axtell 125 year book
David Smith Overland Trail Stage Station
Years ago, the Oregon and California road went winding through Nemaha and Marshall County. On this trail, northeast of Axtell, was the little town of Ash Point, located on high ground where there was a large grove of ash trees. There was a general store and a hotel. These buildings, along with several dwellings, constituted the town. The hotel at Ash Point was on the South side of the trail and there were two large sleeping rooms, one for the men and one for the women and children. Another large room was used as a dining room and dance hall. A very large barn was built near the hotel to house the horses and mules of the travelers and Pony Express rides. Several sheds for storing grain and hay were nearby. Small as it was, there were several streets in Ash Point. The well at Ash Point was the first one on the trail after leaving Seneca, and it was an ideal place for travelers to make their noontime stop. Many Indians passed through Ash Point, especially in the fall of the year, when they would visit other tribes in what is now Nebraska. The Pottawatomie tribe were regular visitors at Ash Point, often camping there overnight. The building of the railroad and the birth of Axtell in 1872 was the beginning of the death of Ash Point.
David Smith and his wife, Emily Shockley Smith, came to Marshall County from Indiana in the fall of 1861 and settled north of what later became Axtell. In July of 1862, Smith took over the Ben Holliday stage line station, located on the Little Vermillion Creek about 1 ¾ miles north of what later became Axtell. The station was part of the Overland Trail. The stage made daily trips both directions, succeeding the Pony Express which had traveled over the same route from April 1860 to November 1861.Smith operated the station and inn for three years. It was the first stop enroute to Guittard Station, near present Beattie, from Ash Point, a trading post on the Oregon Trail and former Pony Express relay station. Ash Point was located on the Nemaha-Marshall County line, two miles from the Smith station as the crow flies.
Pony Express | Overland Trail Station
Years ago, the Oregon and California road went winding through Nemaha and Marshall County. On this trail, northeast of Axtell, was the little town of Ash Point, located on high ground where there was a large grove of ash trees.There was a general store and a hotel. These buildings, along with several dwellings, constituted the town. The hotel at Ash Point was on the South side of the trail and there were two large sleeping rooms, one for the men and one for the women and children. Another large room was used as a dining room and dance hall. A very large barn was built near the hotel to house the horses and mules of the travelers and Pony Express rides. Several sheds for storing grain and hay were nearby. Small as it was, there were several streets in Ash Point. The well at Ash Point was the first one on the trail after leaving Seneca, and it was an ideal place for travelers to make their noon-time stop.Many Indians passed through Ash Point, especially in the fall of the year, when they would visit other tribes in what is now Nebraska. The Pottawatomie tribe were regular visitors at Ash Point, often camping there overnight. The building of the railroad and the birth of Axtell in 1872 was the beginning of the death of Ash Point.
