Merna Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Custer County · Population 343 (2020 census) · ZIP 68856 · Founded 1880 · Peak population 553 (1920)

About Merna

Merna is a village of 343 people (2020) in the broad Merna valley of central Custer County, at about 2,661 feet. NE 92 comes in from Arnold and Stapleton on the west and joins NE 2 here, and together they run southeast to Broken Bow; NE 2 continues northwest to Anselmo. Merna is home to Anselmo-Merna Public Schools, the Brenizer Public Library, a meat locker, a grain co-op and a campground. Victoria Springs State Recreation Area is about 9 miles north. Merna is on Central Time.

History

S. N. Dunning was named postmaster on March 2, 1880. When “Woodstock,” for his Illinois hometown, was refused, he gave the name of his youngest daughter, Merna, then seven. The town moved three times: from the flats north of today’s site to a spot two miles west in March 1884, and back to the first site in March 1886 when the railroad came. Merna incorporated on March 5, 1890, reached 553 people in 1920 and held its centennial in 1987. About 10 miles west lies the mile-wide Bartak Depression, which a Kansas geologist suggested in 1991 might be a meteor crater; University of Nebraska geologists later found the old loess continuous beneath it and concluded it was shaped by wind, like other Sandhills depressions.

Highways and trails through Merna

Route	One way	Other way
NE 2Through the village	Southeast to Broken Bow	Northwest to Anselmo and Dunning
NE 92Joins NE 2 here	West to Arnold and Stapleton	Southeast with NE 2 to Broken Bow

Nearby towns

Broken Bow	about 8 mi southeast	NE 2
New Helena	about 9 mi north	County roads
Lillian	about 9 mi northeast	County roads
Anselmo	about 11 mi north-northwest	NE 2
Gates	about 13 mi north-northeast	County roads
Callaway	about 16 mi south-southwest	County roads
Berwyn	about 16 mi southeast	NE 2
Arnold	about 23 mi west	NE 92
Sargent	about 23 mi east-northeast	County roads and US 183
Dunning	about 29 mi northwest	NE 2
North Platte	about 58 mi west-southwest	NE 92 and US 83

Things to see

the Brenizer Public Library, 430 W. Center Ave., and the Benjamin and Mary Kellenbarger House, 451 W. Center Ave., both on the National Register · the Downey Windmill Display, 399 W. Old Hwy 2 · Merna Heritage Days and the Anselmo-Merna alumni weekend around the Fourth of July · Victoria Springs State Recreation Area, about 9 miles north

Schools and health care

Schools: Anselmo-Merna Public Schools, 750 N. Conway St., (308) 643-2224: Anselmo-Merna Elementary (PK–6) and High School (7–12)

Health care: Nearest hospital: Jennie M. Melham Memorial Medical Center, 145 Memorial Dr., Broken Bow, (308) 872-4100, about 8 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.