Oshkosh Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Garden County · County seat · Population 809 (2020 census) · ZIP 69154 · Founded 1885 · Peak population 1,124 (1950)

About Oshkosh

Oshkosh is a city of 809 people (2020), the seat of Garden County, at about 3,396 feet just north of the North Platte River. US 26 and NE 92 run through town together, and NE 27 ends here, 27 miles north of I-80 at Chappell. Oshkosh has the county courthouse, Regional West Garden County with its hospital, clinic and nursing home, Garden County Schools, a public library and pool, banks, a grocery, lodging and an RV park. Its Creative District 77 has some 19 murals, metal sculptures and three dozen barn quilts. West 2nd Street leads 28 miles north to Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and Ash Hollow State Historical Park is about 14 miles east-southeast. Oshkosh is on Mountain Time.

History

In March 1885 Henry G. Gumaer and John Robinson trailed 400 cattle west from St. Paul, Nebraska, for the Oshkosh Land and Cattle Company, five partners including Henry and his brother Alfred W. Gumaer; the town they platted was named for Oshkosh, Wisconsin, near the Gumaers’ old home. By 1889 a two-story building on Main Street held a store, the post office and a hotel. The Union Pacific branch arrived in 1908, and when Garden County was voted out of Deuel County in 1909, Oshkosh became the seat; it incorporated in 1910. The courthouse was built in 1921–22 and the steel water tower in 1920; both are now on the National Register. On April 26, 1938, a tornado near town destroyed a school and two farms and killed three children, and on December 22, 1989, Oshkosh recorded −47°F, tying the state record. The city reached 1,124 people in 1950. In March 2026 the Morrill Fire came close enough that Omaha firefighters were sent to protect the town.

Highways and trails through Oshkosh

Route	One way	Other way
US 26 / NE 92Through town along the North Platte	East to Lewellen and Ogallala	West to Lisco, Broadwater and Bridgeport
NE 27Ends at Oshkosh	South to Chappell and I-80 (Exit 95)

Nearby towns

Lewellen	about 12 mi east-southeast	US 26
Lisco	about 16 mi west-northwest	US 26
Chappell	about 23 mi south-southwest	NE 27
Lodgepole	about 24 mi southwest	NE 27 and US 30
Big Springs	about 28 mi south-southeast	NE 27 and I-80
Lemoyne	about 29 mi east-southeast	US 26 and NE 92
Broadwater	about 29 mi west-northwest	US 26
Brule	about 32 mi southeast	NE 27 and I-80
Arthur	about 36 mi east-northeast	NE 92 and NE 61
Sidney	about 37 mi west-southwest	NE 27 and I-80
Ogallala	about 38 mi east-southeast	US 26
Keystone	about 42 mi east-southeast	NE 92
Bridgeport	about 43 mi west-northwest	US 26
Ellsworth	about 45 mi north	county road
Hyannis	about 51 mi northeast	NE 92 and NE 61

Things to see

the 1921–22 Garden County Courthouse, 611 Main St., on the National Register · the Oshkosh Water Tower (1920), 103 East Ave. E, on the National Register · the Historical Society of Garden County museum, W. 1st St. and Ave. E, summers · murals, sculptures and barn quilts of Creative District 77 · Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, 28 miles north

Schools and health care

Schools: Garden County Schools: Garden County Jr./Sr. High School, 200 W. 4th St., and Garden County Elementary, 800 W. 2nd St. (Eagles)

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

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.