Anoka Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Village · Boyd County · Population 10 (2020 census) · ZIP 68722 · Founded 1902 · Peak population 145 (1910)

About Anoka

Anoka is an incorporated village of 10 on Ponca Creek in northern Boyd County, about 3 miles north-northeast of Butte by county road. No state highway reaches it, and there are no traveler services; Butte is nearest. Anoka shares Butte's ZIP code.

History

The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad (later the Chicago & North Western) built up Ponca Creek from Spencer in the summer of 1902, bypassing the rival town of Baker, and Anoka was laid out beside the tracks. It was named for Anoka, Minnesota; the name is said to mean "on both sides," here of Ponca Creek. The village was organized in 1903. By 1905 it had about 30 businesses, the Anoka Herald newspaper and a baseball team.

In 1907 Forbes and Wilberger opened a hot mineral plunge bath, 14 by 26 feet and about 90 degrees, fed by an artesian well. Anoka's population peaked at 145 in 1910 and fell after the railroad era.

Read the full History of Anoka →

Nearby towns

Butte	about 3 mi south	County road
Baker (former town)	about 7 mi east	County roads
Fairfax, South Dakota	about 8 mi north	County road to NE 11, then SD 43
Spencer	about 12 mi southeast	Through Butte, then NE 12

Things to see

Anoka Lutheran Cemetery and Old Settlers Cemetery · the Baker townsite, about 7 mi east

Schools and health care

Schools: Boyd County Public Schools; nearest campus Boyd County Butte Elementary (about 3 mi)

Health care: Nearest clinic Avera Medical Group Butte (about 3 mi, Mondays); nearest hospital Niobrara Valley Hospital, Lynch (about 28 mi)

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; NEGenWeb Boyd County histories; History Nebraska; Nebraska Department of Transportation route mileposts. Distances marked "about" are estimates.

Anoka

Anoka is a village in Boyd County Nebraska

Anoka was laid out in 1902. The village was named after Anoka, Minnesota

The Anoka Plunge Bath

The Anoka Plunge Bath. RG3153-1-10

The “Hot Mineral Plunge Bath” at Anoka, Boyd County, fed by an artesian well, was constructed in 1907, just four years after the town was laid out in 1903 when the railroad built through the area. The town was named “Anoka,” after Anoka, Minnesota. By 1905 it had thirty operating businesses, and by 1908, two newspapers (both published by druggists) and a baseball team.

The Anoka Herald on October 21, 1907, described the town’s most recent enterprise: a new plunge bath: “Depth of water, 5 feet, sloping to 8 feet, the bath tub [actually a small, concrete swimming pool] is 14×26 feet. The water is mineral and has a temperature of 90 degrees,” said to be unaffected by cold weather. Proprietors Forbes & Wilberger advertised family tickets until March 1, 1908, for $1.50, with single baths for just 25 cents. The plunge bath was still operating in October 1910 when several members of an excursion train boosting Lincoln took advantage of a stop in Anoka to relax in its soothing waters.

Warm artesian well water was also used for a bathhouse in the Boyd County town of Lynch and furnished power for electricity and a mill. The Lynch bathing facility was said to have a water temperature of about 88 degrees, just short of the 90 degrees advertised by its Anoka competitor. – Patricia C. Gaster, Assistant Editor / Publications

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1910	145	—
1920	129	−11.0%
1930	107	−17.1%
1940	117	9.3%
1950	60	−48.7%
1960	32	−46.7%
1970	25	−21.9%
1980	24	−4.0%
1990	10	−58.3%
2000	10	0.0%
2010	6	−40.0%
2020	10	66.7%