Lewellen Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Garden County · Population 175 (2020 census) · ZIP 69147 · Founded 1906 · Peak population 532 (1940)

About Lewellen

Lewellen is a village of 175 people (2020) in eastern Garden County, at about 3,307 feet on US 26 in the North Platte valley. NE 92 leaves US 26 here and follows the north shore of Lake McConaughy about 24 miles to Lemoyne, and Clear Creek WMA lies at the lake’s west end. Ash Hollow State Historical Park, with Windlass Hill and its Oregon Trail ruts, is about 3 miles south-southeast. Lewellen has a bank, a motel, an RV campground at the Oregon Trail Trading Post, a library and a post office; schools and the hospital are in Oshkosh, about 13 miles west. Lewellen is on Mountain Time.

History

Samuel P. Delatour started a ranch on Blue Creek in 1884, and Frank Lewellen opened a store and post office in the late 1880s; the post office moved here from Keith County in 1891. The Union Pacific branch came up the valley about 1906, and the village was platted that year. It was in Deuel County until Garden County was organized in 1909–10, and by 1919 it had about 400 people, reaching 532 in 1940. Near here, on September 3, 1855, Gen. William S. Harney’s troops attacked Little Thunder’s Brulé Lakota camp on Blue Water Creek, killing 86 and capturing about 70 women and children; Red Cloud had been born on the same creek in 1821. The Lewellen State Aid Bridge, seven 100-foot steel spans across the North Platte, was built in 1926–27. The Bank of Lewellen became Legends West Bank in 2023. In March 2026 the Morrill Fire forced Lewellen’s evacuation.

Highways and trails through Lewellen

Route	One way	Other way
US 26Through town	Southeast to Ash Hollow and Ogallala	West to Oshkosh and Lisco
NE 92Leaves US 26 here	East along Lake McConaughy to Lemoyne	West with US 26 to Oshkosh

Nearby towns

Oshkosh	about 12 mi west-northwest	US 26
Lemoyne	about 18 mi east-southeast	NE 92
Big Springs	about 19 mi south	county roads
Brule	about 21 mi southeast	US 26 and I-80
Chappell	about 24 mi southwest	US 26 and NE 27
Ogallala	about 26 mi east-southeast	US 26
Lisco	about 27 mi west-northwest	US 26
Arthur	about 29 mi northeast	NE 92 and NE 61
Keystone	about 30 mi east-southeast	NE 92
Broadwater	about 41 mi west-northwest	US 26
Sidney	about 45 mi west-southwest	US 26, NE 27 and I-80

Things to see

Ash Hollow State Historical Park: Windlass Hill, Ash Hollow Cave and the 1903 rock schoolhouse, about 3 miles south-southeast · the Lewellen State Aid Bridge (1927), on the National Register · the Blue Water Creek battlefield of 1855, west of town · Clear Creek WMA at the west end of Lake McConaughy · the Rackett Grange Hall, on the National Register

Events in Lewellen

Garden County Fair
The Garden County Fair is held annually in Lewellen, Nebraska along the North Platte River.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: No school in town; Garden County Schools, Oshkosh, about 13 mi

Health care: Nearest hospital: Regional West Garden County (hospital, clinic and nursing home), 1100 W. 2nd St., Oshkosh, about 13 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Garden County (gardencounty.ne.gov); City of Oshkosh; NEGenWeb Garden County; Shumway, History of Western Nebraska (1921); Nebraska Who's Who (1940) county sketch; 1890 Nebraska State Gazetteer; National Register nominations; History Nebraska; Encyclopedia of the Great Plains; USFWS (Crescent Lake NWR); Nebraska Game and Parks; NPS; NDOT; UNL Extension; NE211; Nebraska Arts Council; Nebraska Department of Banking. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.