Schuyler Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Colfax County · County seat · Population 6,547 (2020 census) · ZIP 68661 · Founded 1869

About Schuyler

Schuyler is the county seat of Colfax County and its largest town, a city of 6,547 on US 30 and NE 15 about 2 miles north of the Platte River. It has CHI Health Schuyler hospital, Schuyler Community Schools, the public library, the Schuyler/Colfax County Museum and the Oak Ballroom in the city park. Cargill's beef plant west of town is the county's largest employer.

History

A townsite called Buchanan was laid out on Shell Creek in 1856 but never grew. The Union Pacific opened Shell Creek Station here in 1866, and railroad officials platted the town on April 6, 1869; that July the post office was renamed for Schuyler Colfax, vice president under Grant, who also gave the new county its name. Schuyler incorporated as a town in 1869–70 and became a city in 1873. In the summer of 1870 the Union Pacific made it the railhead for Texas cattle drives: 40,000 to 50,000 head were shipped and the town grew from under 100 people to more than 600, making Schuyler Nebraska's first cow town. Homesteaders' fences and herd laws pushed the trade west the next year.

A wagon bridge over the Platte was finished in 1872, and the present courthouse was built in 1921–22. The WPA built the Oak Ballroom in 1935–37 from native oak and stone salvaged from a burned local mill; it opened in May 1937 with the Lawrence Welk Orchestra. Spencer Foods built the beef plant west of town in 1968–69; under Cargill it employs about 2,150 people, and its workforce made Schuyler 72.5 percent Hispanic or Latino at the 2020 census, when the city reached its highest count. In March 2019 a breach in the Shell Creek levee brought a flash flood emergency to Schuyler and Rogers. Michigan governor Kim Sigler was born here.

Highways and trails through Schuyler

Route	One way	Other way
US 30Lincoln Highway, east–west along the Union Pacific	East to Rogers (about 8 mi), North Bend and Fremont (about 30 mi)	West to Richland (about 8 mi) and Columbus (about 16 mi)
NE 15North–south through town; interchange with US 30	North to NE 91 between Clarkson and Howells (about 17 mi)	South across the Platte to David City (about 14 mi)

Nearby towns

Rogers	about 8 mi east	US 30
Richland	about 8 mi west	US 30
Linwood	about 7 mi southeast	NE 15 and county roads
David City	about 14 mi south	NE 15
North Bend	about 15 mi east	US 30
Columbus	about 16 mi west	US 30
Clarkson	about 19 mi north	NE 15 and NE 91
Howells	about 19 mi north	NE 15 and NE 91

Things to see

Colfax County Courthouse, 411 E. 11th St. (1921–22; National Register) · Oak Ballroom, 175 Higgins Dr., in the city park (1937; National Register) · the post office, 119 E. 11th St., with its 1940 mural “Wild Horses by Moonlight” (National Register) · the Schuyler Downtown Historic District, with Lincoln Highway-era garages · Schuyler/Colfax County Museum, 309 E. 11th St. (Tuesday mornings and Sunday afternoons, April–December) · Merchant Park, a historic ballfield on Higgins Dr. · St. Benedict Center and Christ the King Priory, 4 mi north on NE 15 · Schuyler Campground and the city lake, south on NE 15 · Schuyler Golf Club, 9 holes

Schools and health care

Schools: Schuyler Community Schools: Schuyler Elementary, 2404 Denver St.; Schuyler Middle School, 200 W. 10th St.; Schuyler Central High School, 401 Adam St.; North Ward Prekindergarten and Head Start

Health care: CHI Health Schuyler, 104 W. 17th St. (critical access hospital with a 24-hour emergency department); CHI Health Clinic Schuyler, 1721 Colfax St.

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); NEGenWeb Colfax County; History Nebraska; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Lower Elkhorn NRD; CHI Health. Distances marked "about" are estimates.