Village · Antelope County · Population 152 (2020 census) · ZIP 68720 · Founded 1879 · Peak population 359 (1920)

About Brunswick

Brunswick is a village of 152 people (2020) in northeastern Antelope County, at about 1,864 feet just south of US 20 by spur S-2B (527th Ave.). NE 14 meets US 20 about 3 miles west, and NE 13 joins US 20 about 4 miles east on its way to Plainview. The BNSF line from Sioux City to O'Neill runs through town, and the J. E. Meuret Grain Co. elevator, founded here in 1934, ships by rail. Brunswick has churches and a village board, but no school, clinic or library; Neligh is about 15 miles south-southwest. Brunswick is on Central Time.

History

The Galloway family from Illinois homesteaded here in 1879, building one large house where four quarter sections met, and in 1881 postmaster Charles Galloway called the place "Little Chicago." In 1888 the nearby Clear Springs post office took over the mail. When the Pacific Short Line came through in 1890, Henry Nagel asked that the town be renamed Brunswick, to honor the German settlers; Fitzpatrick's place-name book adds that Nagel had grown a giant sugar beet, and Brunswick, Germany, was a beet center. The town was first laid out in the shape of a cross. A bank opened in 1902, and Brunswick incorporated in 1903. A fire in March 1912 destroyed much of the business district, and merchants rebuilt. The population peaked at 359 in 1920. The school merged with Plainview's in 1965. When Burlington Northern planned to abandon the line, local people stepped in, and Brunswick became the first town in northeast Nebraska to load unit trains.

Things to see

the J. E. Meuret Grain Co. elevator · Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park, about 11 miles west-northwest · Grove Lake Wildlife Management Area, about 8 miles west