NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG4204.AM: Chester O. Bennett, 1891-1956
Papers: 1937-1947
Garden County, Neb.: Rancher and well driller
Size: 1 box; 0.25 cu.ft.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Chester Otis Bennett, son of George W. and Eva Louise (Thorp) Bennett, was born in New York, Iowa, on December 4, 1891. When Chester was 12, the family homesteaded near Cimarron, Kansas. In 1910 the Bennetts resettled on a section of Kinkaid land in Garden County, Nebraska.
In 1913 Chester Bennett was married to Thelma Tippetts. He and Thelma occupied a homestead close to his parents’ land. In the 1930s Bennett decided to augment the income from his eight hundred acre ranch by becoming a driller of wells in the Nebraska sandhills. His business thrived, particularly during the years 1935-1945.
Chester O. Bennett died in Garden County, Nebraska on November 13, 1956.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of one box of manuscript material arranged in two series: 1) Well-digging memos, 1937-1947, and 2) Miscellany. Series 1 consists of six volumes and one folder which Chester O. Bennett designated as Well-Digging memos. These memos are a detailed record of wells dug in the sandhills by Bennett during the years 1937-1947. The listings show the date, customer, legal description of the land, soil type, depth of well, water level, size and kind of well, pump information, and mesh and pipe sizes. The miscellany of Series 2 includes receipts, notes, and biographical sketches of Chester O. Bennett.
See also the photo component [RG4204.PH].
DESCRIPTION
Series 1 – Well-Digging memos, 1937-1947
Box
Volume/Folder
-
- 1937-1946
-
- 1940
-
- 1941
-
- 1942
-
- 1943
-
- 1944
-
- 1946-1947
Series 2 – Miscellany
-
- Receipts, notes, biographical sketches
ADDED ENTRIES:
Bennett, Chester Otis, 1891-1956
Garden County (Neb.) — History
Irrigation — Nebraska
Lewellen (Neb.) — History
Sandhills (Neb.)
Water resources — Nebraska — Sandhills
05-06-2009 Revised TMM/tmm
