Champion Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Unincorporated community · Chase County · Population 115 (2020 census) · ZIP 69023 · Founded 1886

About Champion

Champion is an unincorporated community of 115 (a census-designated place) in the Frenchman Creek valley in western Chase County, about 7 miles southwest of Imperial by spur highway S-15A. Its post office, ZIP 69023, also serves Lamar.

History

The town began as Hamilton; the Hamilton Herald first appeared on January 6, 1886. Hamilton offered land and $1,500 for the county seat but lost the June 24, 1886, election to Imperial. On May 26, 1887, the post office was renamed Champion for Champion S. Chase, Nebraska's first attorney general, for whom the county is also named. Lakeview Cemetery was organized in 1889. Lee Edward Travis, a founder of American speech pathology, was born on a Chase County farm in 1896 and grew up near Champion.

Thomas Scott received land and water rights in return for building a mill at a natural falls of about 3 feet on Frenchman Creek. Work began in the fall of 1886; the dam was finished in 1887 and the mill in 1888, and it ground flour and feed from 1889. It burned in December 1891 and was rebuilt and running in 1892. After 1945 it ground only feed, and the Hill family closed it in June 1968. Nebraska Game and Parks bought it in July 1969 for $7,000 and ran it as Champion Mill State Historical Park. The mill, headrace and dam were listed on the National Register as a historic district in 1988, and Chase County took over the park on July 1, 2013.

Highways and trails through Champion

Route	One way	Other way
S-15ASpur highway, 6.7 mi	Northeast to US 6 in Imperial	South end at Champion

Nearby towns

Imperial	about 6 mi east-northeast	S-15A
Chase	about 8 mi north-northwest	County roads
Enders	about 11 mi east	S-15A and US 6
Lamar	about 14 mi west-northwest	County roads
Wauneta	about 20 mi east	S-15A and US 6

Things to see

Champion Mill, 2nd and Mill Sts., a three-story frame mill whose oldest parts date from 1892; open Saturday and Sunday 1–4 p.m. from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend, other times by appointment, with the Champion Water-Powered Mill historical marker on Mill St. · the 11-acre park around the mill pond (Champion Lake), with 6 electric campsites at $12 a night, free tent camping and shallow water for wading and for children learning to fish · the Chase County Historical Museum, Chase and Broadway Sts., partly in the old Champion High School, open Sundays 1:30–4:30 p.m. from Mother's Day to Labor Day, or by appointment · Lakeview Cemetery (1889)

Schools and health care

Schools: Nearest schools: Chase County Schools: Chase County Elementary (PK–4), Chase County Middle School (5–8) and Chase County High School (9–12), all at 520 E. 9th St., Imperial, (308) 882-4304, about 7 mi

Health care: Nearest hospital: Chase County Community Hospital, 600 W. 12th St., Imperial, (308) 882-7111, a 15-bed critical access hospital, about 7 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Lilian L. Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); Southwest Nebraska Genealogical Society; Chase County historical society pages (rootsweb) and Chase County tourism history; Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; History Nebraska (Chase County records and historical markers); Douglas County Historical Society; National Register of Historic Places (Chase County Courthouse and Wauneta Roller Mills nominations); Bureau of Reclamation; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska Department of Revenue; Nebraska Association of County Officials; Flatwater Free Press (2025); Village of Wauneta and City of Imperial; school, hospital and library websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.