Nebraska
9 Most Historic Small Towns to Visit in Nebraska
Steeped with history, small towns in Nebraska take special care in preserving landmarks and attractions. Brownville, where almost the entire town is on the National Register of Historic Places, museums tell stories about navigation on the Missouri River or historic theaters. Wander around Plattsmouth at your leisure with its Victorian buildings or walk back in time in Fort Calhoun’s historic army post. These communities provide a fascinating trip into Nebraska’s history.
Brownville
Brownville is an adorable small town in Nebraska that was established in 1854 and is loaded with historic sites and stories. Points of interest within the community include the Captain Meriwether Lewis Dredge. Another is the Brownville Historical Society Museum, which has a charming view of local history in the area. The Governor Robert W. Furnas Arboretum & Whiskey Run Creek Nature Trail has over 200 species of trees and plants in its inventory, all dedicated to the town’s most famous residents. Other lures include Brownville Village Theatre, one of the oldest repertory theaters in the state, which still carries a nostalgic aura from when it was originally built.
Red Cloud
Red Cloud is a quaint small town in Nebraska that is the perfect historical escape. The Willa Cather Foundation maintains the Willa Cather State Historic Site, which includes tours of the author’s childhood home. The 1885 Red Cloud Opera House today hosts an enormous range of performances and exhibitions that uplift the cultural scene inside the town. The Starke Round Barn is one of the largest round barns in the country and further speaks to the town’s agricultural heritage. Other points of interest that should be visited include Grace Episcopal Church, where Cather attended services, and the historic buildings and monuments in Red Cloud City Park.
Nebraska City
Because Nebraska City was the home of Arbor Day, there is a lot of history related to conservation and pioneer life there. Arbor Lodge State Historical Park is a mansion belonging to the founder of Arbor Day, J. Sterling Morton. Visitors are welcome to explore and learn a little about Morton. The Lewis and Clark Center features exhibits on the explorers’ expedition to the area. The Kregel Windmill Factory Museum tells of the town’s industrial heritage. It’s a great place for history lovers to learn more about the area. Other historic sites include the Morton-James Public Library, a historic library for book lovers to enjoy.
Plattsmouth
Plattsmouth is a charming river town with Native American and pioneer history running through its veins. It is situated at the confluence of the Platte and Missouri Rivers. The Plattsmouth Main Street Historic District is home to the 1892 Cass County Courthouse. Another notable spot is the home of the Plattsmouth Public Library, situated in a 1916 Carnegie building. Hikers, meanwhile, can take to the trails of the Schilling Wildlife Management Area, which offer scenic overlooks providing elevations of the Missouri River. The town also hosts Twin Rivers Water Park, which offers time spent in relaxation and leisure with family.
Fort Calhoun
Fort Calhoun is a historic town in Nebraska worth exploring. Just upriver in Fort Calhoun is Fort Atkinson, the first U.S. Army post west of the Missouri River, from the year 1819. Hike and bird-watch in the restored wetland environment of the Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge just outside of town. More history can be explored at the Washington County Historical Museum, located in a historic church. Fort Calhoun Cemetery goes back to the 1800s and further reflects a longer town history. Among the town’s other historic sites are the Frahm House and adjacent Hitchcock Nature Center, with hiking trails and vistas.
Chadron
Located just south of the Pine Ridge area, Chadron is an underrated small town in Nebraska, but it offers a bounty of history related to the Old West and Native American Culture. The Museum of the Fur Trade is dedicated to the history of the fur trade and its impacts on the region. Also nearby is Fort Robinson State Park. It is the site of Crazy Horse’s surrender in 1877 and hosts a German P.O.W. camp created during World War II. Housed in a historic school building, the Dawes County Historical Museum provides an overview of local history for visitors to absorb.
Minden
Called Nebraska’s “Christmas City,” Minden boasts a historic downtown and the sprawling Harold Warp Pioneer Village. In this complex, some 50,000 artifacts are preserved in 28 buildings, giving visitors a view of American life since the 1830s. The historic Minden Opera House—dating back to 1891—was restored. The House now offers a variety of performances and other events for nearly half of every year. Situated in a historic home, the Kearney County Historical Society Museum has an air of local history. Another attraction includes the historic 1905 Kearney County Courthouse.
Gering
Gering is a cozy town in Nebraska and its history is also tied into that of the Oregon Trail — hence the Oregan Trail Park. From the top, there are great views over the surrounding countryside, while the visitor center gives insight into the story of westward migration. There is also the Legacy of the Plains Museum in Gering, which depicts how pioneers and the agricultural industry shaped the area. Located nearby is the Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area, which has great hiking opportunities and breathtaking views. Other attractions include the Northfield Arboretum, the Riverside Discovery Center, and the Scott Memorial.
Beatrice
Beatrice is an inviting small town that history lovers will love. One of the first homesteads claimed under the Homestead Act of 1862 was located in Beatrice, now part of the Homestead National Historical Park. Among the features of the park are a visitor center, a restored tallgrass prairie, and the Freeman School. The Gage County Historical Society Museum offers collections on local history for visitors to learn more. Additional points of interest are the Chautauqua Park, the Beatrice Public Library, a 1903 historic Carnegie library, and the historic Paddock-Kensington Hotel, which is set to be redeveloped soon.
Nebraska’s history allows visitors a chance to see the state’s past through unique monuments and attractions. From Gering’s pioneer trails to the literary heritage of Willa Cather in Red Cloud, these towns can provide a journey through Nebraska’s history that is full of wonder. Visitors can stop at historic homes in Brownville or forts in Fort Calhoun to get a firsthand feel for stories that have shaped Nebraska into the state it is today.
Emma Bullerman is spending her summer riding around in fields with her dad, and she’s thrilled about it. It’s not just for fun, either — she’s interning for the Prairie Plains Resource Institute and working alongside her father to conserve Nebraska grasslands.
“Prairie Plains has literally been in my life since I was born. I guess you could say I’m a bit of a grasslands nepo baby,” Bullerman said. “My dad is the restoration director, so even as a kid I would be out helping him in the field.”
Today, Emma is taking a more active role in aiding her dad’s work to restore native prairies.
“A lot of my summer will be in the truck with him driving across Nebraska to collect the native grassland seeds that we put into our restoration sites,” she said. “Basically, I’m just learning the ropes of everything that goes into grassland restoration.”
As a teen, Bullerman thought she wanted to do anything but follow her dad’s footsteps. Eventually, a few stalled paths helped her rediscover her love for her hometown.
“In high school and coming into college, I really thought I wanted to leave Nebraska and do something totally different from my dad,” she said. “I tried a few other directions, but pretty quickly could tell that I wasn’t passionate about them. I took a semester off, and then my boss at Prairie Plains reached out about helping with social media.”
It didn’t take long for Bullerman to catch the bug for conservation work and switch her major to fisheries and wildlife, the same degree program her father graduated from in 1995. In fact, she is a fourth-generation Husker with strong ties to ag and food science. Her grandfather is Dr. Lloyd Bullerman, a former a professor of food science, microbiology and food safety at the university, and her aunt studied food science at NU as well.
Getting back to Prairie Plains in her early college years helped Bullerman realize that she, too, had a calling toward this field.
“Being out in the field with my dad one day, I had a moment where I was like, ‘Oh, this is what I’ve been looking for. This is what I want to do.’ Finding my way back has been really, really beautiful.”
Working with her dad, she’s is feeling better than ever about her direction, her hometown and her future in Nebraska.
“Doing this work and studying at UNL has given me a whole new perspective on the state,” she said. “I used to be someone who was like, ‘I want to get out of here after I graduate.’ Restoring prairies and traveling all over Nebraska has helped me see that it’s so beautiful here, I just didn’t take the time to see it before.”
The future of data centers in Nebraska took center stage at a North Omaha town hall Thursday evening.
The event was hosted by State Sens. Terrell McKinney and Ashlei Spivey, who alongside Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh sponsored a bill in the Nebraska Legislature that looked to help regulate data centers.
Parts of their bill were adopted and passed in LB1010, which requires reports on annual power usage, water usage and ownership.
“Having this passed in a package showed a lot of bipartisan work,” Spivey told a crowd of attendees at Nelson Mandela Elementary School.
The proposed regulations were shaped in part by Bold Nebraska, an advocacy group focused on eminent domain and clean energy. Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and founder of Bold Nebraska, said before the bill passed there were “zero laws on the books” to address a boom in data centers.
“If one is coming into the community, we wanted to make sure that there were some basic transparency things in place,” Kleeb said.
Political discussions around data centers heated up in recent months following reporting by the Flatwater Free Press that showed Google is considering a data center in Nebraska that could require more than three times the amount of power the entire city of Lincoln uses at peak demand in the summer.
The Nebraska Legislature recently passed another bill, LB1261, that allows private developers to build and own power plants to serve a large industrial customer, including data centers. That bill was proposed by the governor’s office and celebrated by Gov. Jim Pillen.
“Our state is once again taking a bold and strategic step – one that will create an environment that attracts business and multibillion dollar investment, while legally preserving Nebraska’s unique and consumer-friendly public power model,” Pillen said at the time.
At Thursday’s town hall, McKinney called LB1261 “the bogeyman bill.”
“It’s a bill that the governor pushed through the legislature to allow for data centers to create their own power,” McKinney said. “It’s a bill that I stood on the floor and said this is going to harm our communities.”
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Hundreds of people are without power in southeast Nebraska after a severe storm passed through Thursday morning.
The Lincoln Electric System outage map showed 115 customers without power across the city at 11:36 a.m.
Norris Public Power District’s outage map also shows 45 customers affected by the storm. As of 11:36 a.m., there were nine active outages.
According to the Nebraska Public Power District outage map, 657 customers were affected by the storm. Most of the affected customers were near Plattsmouth in southeast Nebraska. As of 11:37 a.m., 27 customers remain without power.
Submit your weather photos and videos below.
Click here to subscribe to our 10/11 NOW daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.
Copyright 2026 KOLN. All rights reserved.
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoMLB to screen Hollywood classic at drive-ins nationwide
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoDetroit at Le Mans: Cadillac favorite, Ford poised for 2027
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoHudson Pacific lands SF’s biggest office lease in nearly a decade
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoNFL Brazil tickets are available: Shop Cowboys vs. Ravens NFL Brazil tickets now
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoNorth Miami man accused of stabbing victim 7 times
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoEverything you need to know about Sail Boston 2026
-
Denver, CO2 hours ago
Broncos’ Jonathon Cooper arrested again on four charges, including harassment, violation of protection order
-
Seattle, WA2 hours agoRibbon-cutting marks completion of mixed-income condos in Seattle’s Phinney Ridge
