Comstock Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Custer County · Population 68 (2020 census) · ZIP 68828 · Founded 1899 · Peak population 450 (1920)

About Comstock

Comstock is a village of 68 people (2020) on the east bank of the Middle Loup River in northeastern Custer County, at about 2,244 feet, reached from US 183 by Spur S-21C. Its motto is “Little Town. Big Heart.” It has the Comstock Township Library, a village office and a senior center; the Dowse Sod House is about 3 miles south and the diversion dam on the Middle Loup just south of town. Comstock is on Central Time.

History

Comstock started in the fall of 1899 as a water stop on the Burlington’s new line from Aurora to Sargent, making it the youngest town in Custer County. It was named for W. H. Comstock, who opened the first grocery, and incorporated on March 14, 1906. The village counted 450 people in 1920 and again in 1930. Wescott, founded in 1886 by Walter S. Wescott, lay about 2 miles southwest; the Wescott, Gibbons & Bragg store at Comstock, once on the National Register, burned in 2007, and its stock is now at the Custer County Museum. From 2000 to 2008 the Comstock music festivals at Second Wind Ranch north of town drew crowds of more than 50,000.

Highways and trails through Comstock

Route	One way	Other way
Spur S-21CInto the village	West to US 183	Ends in Comstock

Nearby towns

Wescott	about 2 mi southwest	County roads
Sargent	about 8 mi northwest	US 183
Arcadia	about 11 mi southeast	County roads and NE 70
Weissert	about 12 mi west-southwest	County roads
Westerville	about 12 mi southwest	US 183
Taylor	about 16 mi north-northwest	US 183
Burwell	about 16 mi north-northeast	County roads
Ord	about 17 mi east	County roads and NE 70
Ansley	about 20 mi south-southwest	US 183
Broken Bow	about 23 mi west-southwest	US 183 and NE 70

Things to see

the Dowse Sod House, 80560 Oak Grove Rd.: built in 1900 by William R. Dowse with his father-in-law John Murphy, lived in until 1959 and a museum since 1982 (National Register); call (308) 215-0365 or (308) 750-8142 · the Centennial Community Garden · the Arcadia Diversion Dam WMA on the Middle Loup south of town · the Comstock Township Library, 119 W. Main St.

Schools and health care

Schools: No school in the village; Sargent Public Schools, (308) 527-4119, is nearest

Health care: Nearest hospitals: Valley County Health System in Ord, about 17 mi, and Melham Memorial Medical Center in Broken Bow, about 23 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; NEGenWeb Custer County (place names); Custer County Tourism; Custer County Historical Society; History Nebraska (markers); National Register listings; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska DHHS hospital and clinic rosters; Nebraska 211; SchoolDigger; Nebraska Secretary of State; City of Broken Bow; Village of Callaway; VisitNebraska; NEBRASKAland; Geological Society of America abstracts; KRVN, KNOP, KOLN 10/11 and Custer County Chief reports. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.