Nebraska County Countdown: 78 - Deuel County, The Sam Bass Gang

Welcome to the great county of Deuel! Named after Harry P. Deuel - the superintendent of Union Pacific in Omaha - Deuel county has a population of around 2,000 residents. The largest town and county seat Chappell, Nebraska, came to be when Charles Henry Chappell set up a railroad post in the middle of the newly formed county. Shipments from Omaha going west would have instructions to “Send this to Chappell” and the name has stuck.

Deuel County gained notoriety on September 18th, 1877, when the Sam Bass Gang robbed Train No. 4 carrying 60,000 dollars worth of gold. They also went through the train to rob the passengers of their money and jewlery, put out the fire in the train engine, and…