Milligan Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Fillmore County · Population 241 (2020 census) · ZIP 68406 · Founded 1887 · Peak population 418 (1920)

About Milligan

Milligan is a village of 241 people (2020) in eastern Fillmore County, at 1,604 feet about 11 miles east of Geneva, in country settled first by Czech immigrants. Its landmark is the 1929 Česko-národní síň (Czech National Hall), and the Milligan June Jubilee is held each June. Students attend Exeter-Milligan-Friend Public Schools. Lone Star Recreation Area is about 6 miles south. Milligan is on Central Time.

History

The Kansas City & Omaha Railroad (later the St. Joseph & Grand Island) built its McCool Junction–Fairbury branch through here in 1886. John Ragan filed the town plat on June 8, 1887, and the town was named for Frank Milligan, one of the railroad’s six directors; it incorporated on February 15, 1888. The Czech and Sokol lodges built the Česko-národní síň in 1929, and the village hall and jail date from 1915. Milligan’s own K–12 school joined Exeter in 2002, and Exeter-Milligan merged with Friend on July 1, 2025. The population peaked at 418 in 1920. Major-league outfielder Eddie “Glass Arm” Brown (1920–28) was born here in 1891.

Highways and trails through Milligan

Route	One way	Other way
NE 41East–west through the area	West toward Geneva	East into Saline County

Nearby towns

Tobias	about 7 mi south-southeast	County roads
Ohiowa	about 7 mi south-southwest	County roads
Exeter	about 10 mi north-northwest	County roads
Geneva	about 11 mi west	NE 41
Friend	about 12 mi north-northeast	County roads
Strang	about 12 mi west-southwest	County roads
Cordova	about 15 mi north	County roads

Things to see

the Česko-národní síň–Milligan Auditorium, Main and Birch Sts. (National Register, 1996) · the Milligan June Jubilee (June 12–14 in 2026)

Events in Milligan

Milligan June Jubilee
Milligan June Jubilee is held in Milligan, Nebraska, on the second weekend of June.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Exeter-Milligan-Friend Public Schools (formed July 1, 2025); no school building in Milligan

Health care: Hospital: Fillmore County Hospital, Geneva, about 11 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); History Nebraska Fillmore County historic buildings survey (2020) and markers; National Register; Nebraska Game and Parks; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; UNL climate records; Nebraska Secretary of State; Nebraska Department of Education; Fillmore County; City of Geneva; Nebraska 211; Visit Nebraska. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.