Orleans Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Orleans Area Cameras

Village · Harlan County · Population 341 (2020 census) · ZIP 68966 · Founded 1872 · Peak population 985 (1930)

About Orleans

Orleans is a village of 341 in western Harlan County, on the north side of the Republican River across from the mouth of Sappa Creek, about 5 miles west-northwest of Alma. US 136 and NE 89 run through town together for half a mile. It has the county fairgrounds and the Harlan County Museum.

History

A party of 40 men from eastern Nebraska camped near here on August 31, 1870, and drew lots for claims, and that fall F. A. Bieyon's group built a stockade near the later Melrose townsite, about 2 miles west. D. N. Smith, town-site locator for the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, bought Warren M. Fletcher's claim and laid out Orleans in the fall of 1872; the first house went up in January 1873, and the post office moved here from Melrose on June 17, 1873. The town was probably named for Orleans, Massachusetts. The Sentinel, the county's first newspaper, began here in April 1873. As Melrose faded after losing the county seat, its businesses moved to Orleans, and the village incorporated in 1880, the year the railroad's regular trains began. Orleans built a courthouse with private money in 1882, hoping to take the county seat from Alma, but lost in the courts.

A Methodist academy at Orleans, adopted by Nebraska Wesleyan, closed in the hard times of the 1890s; St. Mary's stone church was dedicated in 1898; and the village reached its largest population, 985, in 1930. On the night of May 31, 1935, the Republican River flood struck Orleans and killed 21 people. Orleans natives include Donald R. Ross (1922–2013), judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and crystallographer Robert E. Rundle (1915–1963); Eliza Suggs, author of Shadow and Sunshine (1906), died here in 1908.

Highways and trails through Orleans

Route	One way	Other way
US 136Through town, sharing half a mile with NE 89	East to Alma (about 5 mi)	Northwest to Oxford
NE 89Through town with US 136	West to Stamford and Beaver City	South and east to US 183 south of Alma

Nearby towns

Alma	about 5 mi east-southeast	US 136
Stamford	about 7 mi west	NE 89
Huntley	about 10 mi east-northeast	US 136, US 183 and S-42A
Oxford	about 12 mi northwest	US 136
Republican City	about 12 mi east	US 136
Ragan	about 15 mi northeast	US 136, US 183 and NE 4
Atlanta	about 16 mi north	County roads and US 6/34

Things to see

The Hotel Orleans, 101 E. Pine St. (built 1929–30; National Register; still a working hotel) · the Cordelia Bennett Preston Memorial Library, 510 S. Orleans Ave. (1917; National Register) · the Harlan County Museum, 420 S. Harlan Ave., Thursday–Saturday 1–4 p.m., May–September · St. Mary's Catholic Church, 109 W. Linn St., stone with a 100-ft steeple, dedicated in 1898 · the Harlan County Fairgrounds · the Orleans City RV Park, E. Walnut St. · the Prairie Dog Creek Bridge (1913 camelback pony truss; National Register), about 8½ mi south and 1 mi west · the site of Melrose, the county's first store and stockade, about 2 mi west · Applefest, the first Saturday of October

Events in Orleans

Harlan County Fair
The Harlan County Fair at the fairgrounds in Orleans, held in late July; 4-H livestock shows and the Junior Fair Livestock Auction.
Orleans Applefest
Orleans Applefest is held in Orleans, Nebraska, on the first Saturday of October.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Southern Valley Schools (district 33-0540): Southern Valley Elementary (PK–6) and Southern Valley Junior/Senior High (7–12), on NE 89 west of Orleans (Oxford mailing address), (308) 868-2222

Health care: No clinic in Orleans; nearest: Harlan County Health System, 717 N. Brown St., Alma, (308) 928-2151, a 19-bed critical access hospital, about 5 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Johnson's History of Nebraska (1880); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890); Who's Who in Nebraska, Harlan County (1940); Harlan County history (Rogers, 1967) and NEGenWeb Harlan County; Harlan County and City of Alma websites; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Recreation.gov; National Register of Historic Places; History Nebraska; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska Department of Revenue; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska Extension; school, hospital and library websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.