Nebraska Community Histories

The story of Nebraska is not only the tale of wide prairies, great rivers, and the steel rails that bound the state together, but also the story of its towns and villages. Every community, no matter how small, carries its own record of founding, growth, struggles and endurance. Some places grew into thriving cities, while others remained crossroads villages, yet each holds significance for the families who settled there and for the broader development of the state.

The community histories presented here are not exhaustive, but rather concise accounts that highlight the essential details of a community’s origin and early development. They may describe how a town was founded and named, when its post office and schools were organized, which churches and businesses first served its people, and what events—such as fires, floods, or the coming of the railroad—left a mark on its growth and its people.

Doniphan, in Hall County, provides a useful example. Founded in 1879 along the St. Joseph and Western Railroad, the town began with a store, a post office, and the determination of its founder, W. J. Burger. Within a few years it had schools, churches, and businesses. Its citizens endured a devastating fire in 1887, rebuilt, and continued to prosper. They established banks, welcomed electricity and telephone lines, and organized traditions like the Cedar View Cemetery Fall Festival, which survives into the present. The town’s history reflects how railroads, commerce, and community spirit combined to give life to a settlement that remains an active Nebraska village today.

In this series you will encounter many such stories. Some communities, like Doniphan, retain their vitality. Others dwindled or disappeared, leaving only faint traces on the landscape. Yet every one contributed to Nebraska’s settlement and development. Whenever possible, these histories are accompanied by historical photographs, offering a visual glimpse into the past. Though brief compared to the full-length local histories and county volumes that have been written over the years, they provide you with a reliable starting point for understanding the communities that shaped your ancestors’ lives.

Towns

A

Abie
Adams
Ainsworth
Albion
Alda
Alexandria
Allen
Alliance
Alma
Almeria
Alvo
Amella
Ames
Amherst
Angora
Anoka
Anselmo
Ansley
Antioch
Arapahoe
Arcadia
Arlington
Arnold
Arthur
Ashby
Ashland
Ashton
Atkinson
Atlanta
Auburn
Aurora
Avoca
Axtell
Ayr

B

Bancroft
Barada
Barneston
Bartlett
Bartley
Bassett
Battle Creek
Bayard
Bazile Mills
Beatrice
Beaver Crossing
Beaver City
Bee
Beemer
Belden
Belgrade
Bellevue
Bellwood
Belvidere
Benedict
Benkelman
Bennet
Bennington
Bertrand
Berwyn
Big Springs
Bingham
Bladen
Blair
Bloomfield
Bloomington
Blue Hill
Blue Springs
Boelus
Boone
Bow Valley
Boys Town
Bradshaw
Brady
Brainard
Brandon
Brewster
Bridgeport
Bristow
Broadwater
Brock
Broken Bow
Brownlee
Brownville
Brule
Bruning
Bruno
Brunswick
Burchard
Burr
Burton
Burwell
Bushnell
Butte
Byron

C

Cairo
Callaway
Cambridge
Campbell
Carleton
Carroll
Cedar Bluffs
Cedar Creek
Cedar Rapids
Center
Central City
Ceresco
Chadron
Chambers
Champion
Chapman
Chappell
Chester
Clarks
Clarkson
Clatonia
Clay Center
Clearwater
Clinton
Cody
Coleridge
Colon
Columbus
Comstock
Concord
Cook
Cordova
Cornlea
Cortland
Cotesfield
Cowles
Cozad
Crab Orchard
Craig
Crawford
Creighton
Creston
Crete
Crofton
Crookston
Culbertson
Cumminsville
Curtis
Cushing

D

Dakota City
Dalton
Danbury
Dannebrog
Davenport
Davey
David City
Dawson
Daykin
Decatur
Denton
Deshler
Deweese
Dewitt
Dickens
Diller
Dix
Dixon
Dodge
Doniphan
Dorchester
Douglas
Dubois
Dunbar
Duncan
Dunning
Dwight

E

Eagle
Eddyville
Edgar
Edison
Elba
Elgin
Elk Creek
Elkhorn
Ellsworth
Elm Creek
Elmwood
Elsie
Elsmere
Elwood
Elyria
Emerson
Emmet
Enders
Endicott
Ericson
Eustis
Ewing
Exeter

F

Fairbury
Fairfield
Fairmont
Falls City
Farnam
Farwell
Filley
Firth
Fordyce
Fort Calhoun
Foster
Franklin
Fremont
Friend
Fullerton
Funk

G

Gandy
Garland
Garrison
Geneva
Genoa
Gering
Gibbon
Gilead
Giltner
Glenvil
Goehner
Gordon
Gothenburg
Grafton
Grainton
Grand Island
Grant
Greeley
Greenwood
Gresham
Gretna
Gross
Guide Rock
Gurley

H

Hadar
Haigler
Hallam
Halsey
Hamlet
Hampton
Harbine
Hardy
Harrisburg
Harrison
Hartington
Harvard
Hastings
Hay Springs
Hayes Center
Hazard
Heartwell
Hebron
Hemingford
Henderson
Hendley
Henry
Herman
Hershey
Hickman
Hildreth
Holbrook
Holdrege
Holstein
Homer
Hooper
Hordville
Hoskins
Howells
Hubbard
Hubbell
Humboldt
Humphrey
Huntley
Hyannis

I

Imperial
Inavale
Indianola
Inglewood
Inman
Ithaca

J

Jackson
Jansen
Johnson
Johnstown
Julian
Juniata

K

Kearney
Kenesaw
Kennard
Keystone
Kilgore
Kimball

L

La Vista
Lakeside
Lamar
Laurel
Lawrence
Lebanon
Leigh
Lemoyne
Leshara
Lewellen
Lewiston
Lexington
Liberty
Lincoln
Lindsay
Linwood
Lisco
Litchfield
Lodgepole
Long Pine
Loomis
Loretto
Lorton
Louisville
Loup City
Lushton
Lyman
Lynch
Lyons

M

Macy
Madison
Madrid
Magnet
Malcolm
Malmo
Manley
Marquette
Marsland
Martinsburg
Maskell
Mason City
Max
Maxwell
Maywood
McCook
Mccool Junction
McGrew
McLean
Mead
Meadow Grove
Melbeta
Memphis
Merna
Merriman
Milburn
Milford
Miller
Milligan
Mills
Minatare
Minden
Mitchell
Monowi
Monroe
Moorefield
Morrill
Morse Bluff
Mullen
Murdock
Murray

N

Naper
Naponee
Nebraska City
Nehawka
Neligh
Nelson
Nemaha
Nenzel
Newcastle
Newman Grove
Newport
Nickerson
Niobrara
Nora
Norden
Norfolk
Norman
North Bend
North Loup
North Platte

O

Oak
Oakdale
Oakland
Obert
Oconto
Octavia
Odell
Odessa
Ogallala
Ohiowa
Omaha
O’neill
Ong
Orchard
Ord
Orleans
Osceola
Oshkosh
Osmond
Otoe
Overton
Oxford

P

Page
Palisade
Palmer
Palmyra
Panama
Papillion
Parks
Pawnee City
Paxton
Pender
Peru
Petersburg
Phillips
Pickrell
Pierce
Pilger
Plainview
Platte Center
Plattsmouth
Pleasant Dale
Pleasanton
Plymouth
Polk
Ponca
Poole
Potter
Prague
Preston
Primrose
Prosser
Purdum

R

Raeville
Ragan
Ralston
Randolph
Ravenna
Raymond
Red Cloud
Republican City
Reynolds
Richland
Rising City
Riverdale
Riverton
Roca
Rockville
Rogers
Rosalie
Roscoe
Rose
Roseland
Royal
Rulo
Rushville
Ruskin

S

Salem
Santee
Sargent
Saronville
Schuyler
Scotia
Scottsbluff
Scribner
Seneca
Seward
Shelby
Shelton
Shickley
Sholes
Shubert
Sidney
Silver Creek
Smithfield
Snyder
South Bend
South Sioux City
Spalding
Sparks
Spencer
Sprague
Springfield
Springview
St. Edward
St. Helena
St. Libory
St. Mary
St. Paul
Stamford
Stanton
Staplehurst
Stapleton
Steele City
Steinauer
Stella
Sterling
Stockham
Stockville
Strang
Stratton
Stromsburg
Stuart
Sumner
Sunol
Superior
Surprise
Sutherland
Sutton
Swanton
Syracuse

T

Table Rock
Talmage
Tamora
Tarnov
Taylor
Tecumseh
Tekamah
Terrytown
Thayer
Thedford
Thurston
Tilden
Tobias
Trenton
Trumbull
Tryon

U

Uehling
Ulysses
Unadilla
Union
Upland
Utica

V

Valentine
Valley
Valparaiso
Venango
Verdel
Verdigre
Verdon
Virginia

W

Waco
Wahoo
Wakefield
Wallace
Walthill
Washington
Waterbury
Waterloo
Wauneta
Wausa
Waverly
Wayne
Weeping Water
Weissert
Wellfleet
West Point
Western
Westerville
Weston
Whiteclay
Whitman
Whitney
Wilber
Wilcox
Willow Island
Wilsonville
Winnebago
Winnetoon
Winside
Winslow
Wisner
Wolbach
Wood Lake
Wood River
Wymore
Wynot

Y

York
Yutan