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(the Ch is pronounced as the Sh is pronounced in Shut) is a city in Dawes County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,634 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dawes County. Chadron is the home of Chadron State College.
Chadron also is the United States Forest Service headquarters of the Nebraska and Samuel R. McKelvie National Forests, and the Buffalo Gap, Fort Pierre, and Oglala National Grasslands. The Museum of the Fur Trade is located near Chadron, at the site of the American Fur Company's former Bordeaux Trading Post.
Chadron is named for Louis Chartran, a fur trapper who ran a trading post on Bordeaux Creek in 1841.
In 1884 the town was formally established when the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad passed through the area from Omaha, Nebraska en route to Wyoming. Among the founders of the town were businessman Charles Henry King and his wife Martha. King established retail and freight businesses and banks in towns along the railroad's route, and capitalized on the flow of settlers and pioneers. Four of the five King children were born in Chadron, including their second son Leslie Lynch King. In 1908 the family moved to Omaha. In 1912 Leslie married, and in July 1913 became the father of future president, Gerald Ford.
Chadron was first named O'Linn for its founder Fannie O'Linn, who built a community at the confluence of the White River (Nebraska) and Chadron Creek. When the railroad passed six miles away on Bordeaux Creek, the townspeople packed up the entire town -- buildings included -- and moved it to the new location.
During the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, Chadron was the starting point of the 1,000-mile Chadron-Chicago Cowboy Horse Race. Nine riders competed for the $1,000 prize to be the first to reach the entrance of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Among the riders was former outlaw Doc Middleton. John Berry won the race in 13 days and 16 hours..