The Sky Chief Springs Ranch 3 miles east of Cambridge was the campsite of the Pawnee the night before being massacred by the Sioux at Massacre Canyon. Present owners are Dr. and Mrs. Bob Stear.

First settler Hiram Doing staked a homestead claim in 1871 on the plateau at the junction of the Medicine Creek and Republican River. J.W. Pickle purchased the land from Doing in 1876 and laid out the town, which was first called Northwood.  The name was changed to Cambridge in 1885, after the prestigious city of Cambridge, England.

The Cambridge School District 21 was organized in 1874. In 1888, the first brick school was built on the location of the present-day Cambridge Public School. The school system has been a great source of community pride and a high level of public support is always close at hand.  A new playground was installed this summer, 2002.

Many churches were built in the 1880’s. Five denominations are represented today: Baptist, Catholic, Congregational, Lutheran, and United Methodist.

The Cambridge Milling Company was the first business, established by Pickle in 1887. Lake Lavonia was formed by the mill dam and water powered the mill.

Cambridge had a band in 1885 called the Silver Cornet Band which was in popular demand everywhere in southwestern Nebraska

C.M. Brown gave the City of Cambridge 20 acres east of Lake Lavonia to be used as a park in 1887, which became McKinley Park, now an affiliate site of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum.

C.M. Brown founded the First National Bank in 1887. The Cambridge State Bank began in 1907 by C. A. Phillips.  Both banks are still locally owned today.

A pleasure steamboat, the Cambridge Clipper was built in 1889, carried 70 passengers around Lake Lavonia.

The Mousel Brothers began breeding and selling Hereford cattle before 1904. A bull Superior Mischief sold for $22,000 in 1920, a record that held for 25 years. The Mousel Barn, built in 1887 without nails, is a landmark on the highway to Harry Strunk Lake.

Wm H. Faling, Cambridge’s first Mayor, constructed his home from 1907 to 1910. The home was Furnas County’s first and only building listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significant architecture and now operates as the Cambridge Bed & Breakfast. Many splendid homes and buildings, which still stand today, were constructed during this era. 

In 1915 Cambridge was the site of a large July 4^th celebration, which attracted a crowd of nearly 10,000 people. Highlights included an address by General George Hastings and an elephant swim in Lake Lavonia.

In the early 1920’s a group of local musicians organized an orchestra and named it the Cambridge Little Symphony. Two concerts and numerous special performances for the Chautauqua’s and other events were held annually. Genevieve Fodrea Trenchard was the director and had returned to Cambridge after studying music in Vienna, Austria in 1909.  The opportunity for this study experience came from an area-wide fundraising consortium recognizing her great violin and musical talent. 

In 1924, Tommy Watkins, a local Cambridge musician recruited a group of musicians from Fort Morgan, Colorado to form the Tommy Watkins Orchestra. Among these musicians was 20-year old trombone player Glenn Miller, who had left college to begin playing and arranging music full-time. A Cambridge Clarion article entitled “Cambridge-Where Big Band Began” revisits the importance of this historic event.

A replica of the Statue of Liberty stood in the middle of the intersection of Patterson Street and Highway 6 & 34. It was carved by Bob Danfield of Cambridge and was unfortunately destroyed in the flood of 1935.

The disastrous flood of 1935 in the Republican River Valley was reported the worst in the history of Nebraska.  Without question, Cambridge suffered the heaviest property damage of any town along the river.  The Park improvements were destroyed, many homes and businesses severely damaged or destroyed, and three lives were lost.

The Cambridge Museum was opened in 1938.  The collection of Great Plains relics, birds, animals, fossils, Indian artifacts, and displays of pioneer homes, businesses, and agricultural items is significant.  A new building in 1989 now houses these displays.

Twin Valleys Public Power District (still commonly known as REA) was organized in 1944.  The present building was constructed in 1982. From the first pole, Twin Valleys has developed into 2,300 miles of energized distribution line serving about 5,600 meters and 160 miles of transmission lines.

In 1945, Captain Robert “Butch” Luther was killed in WWII. He was a greatly admired for his quality of character, humanitarian interests, and as a star football player, going on to play at the University of Nebraska (a half-back on the 1941 Rose Bowl team).  An honor in his name is given each year to a high school senior athlete each year.

The Medicine Creek flood that occurred in 1947 came without warning in the early morning hours. Thirteen lives were lost in this disaster and, again, numerous homes and businesses damaged or destroyed.

The Medicine Creek Dam project (built for flood control, water conservation, and recreation) was finished in 1948 and the resulting 2,000-acre Harry Strunk Lake is now said to be the most scenic lake in Nebraska and the surrounding 6,000 acres of land support a vast array of nature based recreation.

The Butler Memorial Library, a donation from Senator Hugh Butler, Frank and Maudlee Butler, was dedicated in 1950.  An expansion to this building in 1999 has increased public use with high-speed Internet access on several computers.

The Cambridge Memorial Hospital opened its doors in 1958 and serves a large area in Southwest Nebraska.  Now known as the Tri-Valley Health System, satellite rural heath clinics and/or physical therapy operating in Indianola, Oxford, and Arapahoe are important in offering comprehensive health care. Tri-Valley’s system of rural health clinics was the first in Nebraska to adopt this program and is the largest employer in Cambridge.

Cambridge won both the Nebraska and National Community Betterment Contest in 1968 under the direction of Mayor Harold Hilton.  Nebraska had 64 of the 182 entries in the National contest. While in Washington D.C. accepting the award, Mayor Hilton was researching Federal Programs.  The Park Side Manor Housing project resulted. The state NCIP (Nebraska Community Improvement Program) continues today.

The Heritage Plaza Retirement Home, opened in 1971, was said to be the first facility of it’s kind in the United States. 

In 1991, citizens involved in the START program, concerned by retail business closings and other happenings, went to the Cambridge City Council to discuss their ideas.  The Cambridge Economic Development Board was put in place and a Director was hired. In 2001, the Cambridge Economic Development efforts received statewide awards for housing initiatives and tourism development and marketing from the NCIP, NE Rural Development Commission, and the NE Dept. of Tourism.

In 1993, the Cambridge Telephone Company piloted local dial-up Internet access in small town Nebraska.  Cambridge and Bartley residents were given free access for a two-year period. This enterprise has evolved into a business known as Pinpoint Communications.  

In 2001, the Cambridge Public Golf Course was redesigned and expanded to 18-holes.  This feature, now named Cross Creek Golf Links, along with the lake, park and other historical attractions, makes Cambridge a perfect “small town vacation”. 

In 2001, Southridge Apartments, a 16-unit (LMI) housing project and the 20-unit Tri-Valley Assisted Living Home were completed to address changing housing needs. 

In 2004, Cambridge Economic Development recruited Mid-America Agri-Products to build an ethanol plant in Cambridge.

In 2005, Pinpoint Communications expanded the broadband Internet capacity with a link into the Level (3) fiber optic line. This is the only access point between Omaha and Denver and brings an unprecedented opportunity for locating high technology businesses to a rural area.

Cambridge voters passed a 1% city sales tax in 2005 to support Economic Development and to subsidize the water department.

Cambridge alumni Christina Houghtelling earned National Volleyball Player of the Year in 2005 playing for the Nebraska Cornhusker Volleyball team.