Orella, Nebraska facts for kids

Orella was once a small town in Sioux County, Nebraska. It was located along the BNSF Railway Butte Subdivision. Settlers arrived in the mid-1880s. The railroad officially established Orella as a town in 1906. The last people left Orella in the 1960s. Today, the land where Orella once stood is private property.

The Story of Orella

Early Days and the Railroad

The area around Orella was first settled in the mid-1880s. Families like the Rosenbergs and Wasserbergers moved there. They built homes and started ranching near Cottonwood Creek. They called their settlement Adelia.

In 1889, the railroad reached this area. It built a water station and a telegraph office in Adelia. However, the train tracks going west from Adelia were very steep. So, in the spring of 1906, the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad moved its station. They moved it a few miles north to a higher, less steep spot.

Adelia was then renamed Joder. The new railroad location became known as Orella. It was named after a local woman.

A Town Grows and Thrives

The U.S. Government gave land ownership papers to settlers in Orella. Because of its important railroad connection, Orella grew into a busy town. It had several streets with a typical town layout. There were stores, a stable, and a church.

A post office opened in Orella in 1910. It stayed open until 1957. Around the same time, the railroad stopped offering passenger train service to the town. Orella was a key place for local ranchers. They used it to ship their cattle by train. The town even had a small area for trains to be sorted.

Orella was also home to the railroad's track maintenance team. This team lived there until 1960. Then, their base was moved south to Crawford.

Why Orella Shrank

Orella's population started to get smaller in the 1930s. This was during the Great Depression. This was a time when many people faced economic hardship. After World War II, the economy improved. Many people left small, rural places like Orella. They moved to bigger cities to find more jobs and opportunities.

The town faced more challenges in the 1950s. The U.S. Army began to reduce jobs at the Black Hills Ordnance Depot. This also caused people to leave Orella.

The Last Residents

The last people to live permanently in Orella were John and Mable Carnahan. They built their home on the east side of the tracks in 1923. John worked for the railroad's track team. Mable worked in a store and later became the postmistress.

In 1968, John and Mable left Orella. They moved to Edgemont, South Dakota because of John's health. They never returned to Orella. The town was officially removed from railroad maps and guides in 1992.

What Remains Today

As of June 2016, only a few buildings from Orella still stand. These include the Carnahan house, the railroad section foreman's house, and the old train station. The section foreman's house and the station have been moved. They are now on private property, away from the tracks.