Dalton Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Cheyenne County · Population 284 (2020 census) · ZIP 69131 · Founded 1900 · Peak population 503 (1960)

About Dalton

Dalton is a village of 284 (2020) on the tableland of northern Cheyenne County, at 4,259 feet on US 385 (the Gold Rush Byway) and the BNSF line between Sidney and Bridgeport. It is home to Leyton High School, which Dalton shares with Gurley, 6 miles south. Like the rest of the county, Dalton is on Mountain Time.

History

The Nebraska, Wyoming & Western, built for the Burlington and later run as part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, laid its line across the divide north of Sidney in 1899–1900, and Dalton began as a work station; daily trains ran by the fall of 1900. The post office opened on June 7, 1902, in Warren Woolsey's store. The origin of the name is uncertain; one early source suggests Dalton, Massachusetts. The town grew quickly from about 1907, incorporated in 1909 and had the Dalton Delegate newspaper from 1914 to 1951, a summer Chautauqua from 1916 to 1930 and a hospital from 1925 to 1969.

The population peaked at 503 in 1960. Passenger service ended in 1961, and the depot grounds became a park. In 1978 the Dalton and Gurley districts merged as Leyton Public Schools, with the high school in Dalton and the lower grades in Gurley.

Highways and trails through Dalton

Route	One way	Other way
US 385The Gold Rush Byway, through the village	North to Bridgeport	South to Gurley, Huntsman and Sidney

Nearby towns

Gurley	about 6 mi south	US 385
Huntsman	about 13 mi south	US 385
Weyerts	about 14 mi east-southeast	County roads
Bridgeport	about 19 mi north-northwest	US 385
Sidney	about 19 mi south	US 385

Things to see

the Dalton Prairie Schooner and Log Cabin Museum, 299 North Park St. at US 385 (summer weekend afternoons and by appointment, 308-377-9575) · North Park, beside the museum, and South Park, with a covered picnic area and flower garden · the Dalton Public Library, 306 Main St. · The Homestead Market, a general store in a 1912 building

Schools and health care

Schools: Leyton Public Schools, (308) 377-2301: Leyton High School (9–12), 504 Main St., Dalton; elementary and junior high (PK–8) in Gurley

Health care: Nearest hospitals: Morrill County Community Hospital in Bridgeport and Sidney Regional Medical Center, each about 19 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; A. T. Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Grant L. Shumway, History of Western Nebraska and Its People (1921); Lilian L. Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890); Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; NEGenWeb Cheyenne County; History Nebraska and its markers; National Register nominations; FortWiki; National Weather Service; Nebraska Department of Transportation; City of Sidney; Cheyenne County; Sidney Sun-Telegraph; KNEB; school, library and village sources; Visit Nebraska. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.