Sumner Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Dawson County · Population 252 (2020 census) · ZIP 68878 · Founded 1890 · Peak population 345 (1920)

About Sumner

Sumner is a village of 252 people (2020) in the Wood River valley of northeastern Dawson County, at 2,369 feet, about 17 miles northeast of Lexington. It is home to Sumner-Eddyville-Miller Schools, which serve Sumner, Eddyville and Miller. Sumner is on Central Time.

History

The name, after Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, was chosen in 1888, and the townsite was laid out in 1890 when the Kearney & Black Hills railway, a Union Pacific line, was built up the Wood River valley. The Kearney Hub called it an “instant town”: on July 1, 1890, there was not a house on the site, and by October it had stockyards, a depot nearly finished and the first issue of the Sumner Dispatch. Sumner reached its peak of 345 people in 1920.

Highways and trails through Sumner

Route	One way	Other way
NE 40Through the village, up the Wood River valley	East to Miller and toward Kearney	Northwest to Eddyville, Oconto and Callaway

Nearby towns

Miller	about 6 mi east-southeast	NE 40
Eddyville	about 7 mi northwest	NE 40
Overton	about 14 mi south	County roads
Amherst	about 15 mi east-southeast	NE 40
Lexington	about 17 mi southwest	County roads
Cozad	about 26 mi west-southwest	County roads
Kearney	about 28 mi southeast	NE 40 and NE 10
Callaway	about 32 mi northwest	NE 40

Schools and health care

Schools: Sumner-Eddyville-Miller Schools (Mustangs), 205 E. 5th Ave., (308) 752-2925: Elementary School at Sumner (PK–6) and Junior-Senior High School at Sumner (7–12)

Health care: Nearest hospital: Lexington Regional Health Center, about 17 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Dawson County (dawsoncountyne.gov); History Nebraska (markers, "Dawson County's True Namesake," "How a Lexington meatpacking plant changed Nebraska," "The Instant Town"); Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); NEGenWeb Dawson County; National Register; National Park Service (Pony Express NHT); HMdb; Nebraska Game and Parks; KRVN; Rural Radio Network; 1011 Now; Gothenburg Leader; school districts; NE211. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.