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There was town building fever in the country in the early 1880s - Broken Bow in 1882, Callaway & Gandy in '5. Merna & Anselmo in '86 and Arnold in '83. Unlike her sister villages, all platted by townsite companies, Arnold was established by one man, Richard Allen.
It was in 1880 when the Allen family left their Iowa home by covered wagon to seek land in central Nebraska. They struck the South Loup River and followed it wherever it might lead. The location they chose to settle was directly between the headquarters of the two big cattle companies, Henry Brothers and Arnold and Ritchie.
John and Bob Henry had come in 1875 and claimed as range for their thousand head of cattle, the big table north and northeast of the future townsite and as far west as the head of the Loup. George Arnold and Sam Ritchie had come in 1876 with a like number of cattle and claimed as their range the tables and valleys east and south of future Arnold. They filed on 320 acres for ranch headquarters.
The necessary surveying was done for Allen's 160-acre homestead, part of which would in time become the town of Arnold. A sod house was quickly put up. This move was viewed with alarm by the cattleman-settlers were not welcome here. The extremely violent winter of 1880-81 changed all this. Cattle died by the hundreds. These losses broke the ranchers and forced them to leave the country. Since 1886 mail for this part of the South Loup Valley was brought by horseback from Plum Creek every two weeks, addressed "Arnold and Ritchie Ranch, c/o Postmaster".
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