xxxThe original town of Imperial was built on the land homesteaded by Thomas Mercier and M.L. Goodrich. The road which is now the Grant highway, running east and west was the dividing line between the two homesteads.
xxxThese men gave a town lot to anyone who would put up a building and help to start the town. On one corner was a bank; on another corner was a two-story double building. C.N. Cottrell had his hardware store in one side of the building, and Otto Fliesbach had general merchandise in the other side. The families lived upstairs over the store. On the other two corners were two more general stores, Brittell’s and Mercier’s. The post office was in Mercier’s store. There were also a lumber yard owned by Mr. Whitman, a drug store owned by a Mr. Smith, a livery stable owned by Smith Brothers, (L.T. and B.T.), and a blacksmith shop. Not long after the town started, there was another bank headed by Frank Thuresson. Most of the buildings were put up by the summer of 1886. Materials for the buildings as well as supplies for the stores were freighted from Benkelman.
xxxThe first bank, which was owned by Mr. Beltzer, soon failed with some loss to the depositors, but O.P. Shallenberger, soon after this bought twenty-five feet from the back end of the lot where Mill’s filling station now stands and, together with J.M. Sewell started what has always been the Farmer’s and Merchant’s bank. For some time there was no church here but Sunday School was held in Fliesbach’s home over their side of the store.
xxxWhen the railroad went through, the Lincoln Land Co. gave lots to all those men who would move their buildings to the new townsite, or rather they traded new lots for the old ones in the original town. Nearly all of the buildings were moved and the present location of the business part of the town was established.