After 1854 the Oto and Missouri Indian village and agency were located near here. For many years the two tribes had lived along the lower Platte River, but when Nebraska became a territory they relinquished all claims to those lands. In exchange they received yearly cash payments, agricultural equipment and other goods, along with a reservation of about 250 square miles around the village. According to Indian Agent Major A. L. Green, the community in 1870 consisted of 40 earth lodges, several bark houses and tipis, a combination school and church, and a two-story frame house for the agent. South of the village stood a blacksmith shop, a steam-powered sawmill and gristmill, and residences for other agency employees. In the early 1870's the Oto and Missouri expressed a desire to move to Oklahoma. The reservation was sold, and by 1881 the two tribes had left Nebraska for their new home. After they left, Francis M. Barnes opened a store nearby to serve settlers, and the community of Barneston was named in his honor.