Ragan Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Ragan Area Cameras

Village · Harlan County · Population 22 (2020 census) · ZIP 68969 · Founded 1886 · Peak population 222 (1920)

About Ragan

Ragan is a village of 22, the smallest in Harlan County, on NE 4 in the northeastern part of the county near the Phelps County line, about 4 miles east of US 183 and 15 miles north-northeast of Alma.

History

Ragan was platted in 1886 on a Union Pacific–affiliated branch (the St. Joseph & Grand Island and Kansas City & Omaha lines) built toward Alma, and was named for an attorney for the railroad company. By 1890 it was a town of about 150 on the Union Pacific's Alma branch, 18 miles from Alma, with a new $1,800 schoolhouse that also served for church services; John Hawksby, an Irish-born settler, was postmaster and secretary of the Freewater Congregational Church four miles east. Swedish settlers farmed around the town, and Dr. Dan R. Rogers practiced here for 46 years.

The village reached its largest population, 222, in 1920. The Ragan school became a consolidated district in 1924 and later closed, and its pupils now go to Wilcox. The railroad is gone, and the census counted 22 people in 2020.

Highways and trails through Ragan

Route	One way	Other way
NE 4East–west through the village	East to Hildreth and Campbell	West to US 183 (about 4 mi) and US 6/34 near Atlanta

Nearby towns

Huntley	about 7 mi south	NE 4, US 183 and S-42A
Wilcox	about 7 mi east-northeast	NE 4 and county roads
Holdrege	about 10 mi north-northwest	NE 4 and US 183
Atlanta	about 10 mi west-northwest	NE 4
Funk	about 11 mi north-northeast	County roads
Hildreth	about 13 mi east	NE 4
Alma	about 15 mi south-southwest	NE 4 and US 183

Things to see

The Turkey Creek Bridge, 2 mi west and 1 mi south: an 1899 pin-connected Pratt truss by the Canton Bridge Co., one of the few intact truss leg bedsteads in Nebraska (National Register) · the Pioneer Crossing historical marker on NE 4, about 3 mi west · the South Sacramento WMA (167 acres), about 3 mi east, and the Southeast Sacramento WMA (185 acres), about 4 mi east-northeast · Ragan Methodist Church · Antelope, Freewater and Immanuel Lutheran cemeteries

Schools and health care

Schools: Wilcox-Hildreth Public Schools: elementary and junior/senior high at 404 E. Sapp St., Wilcox

Health care: No clinic in Ragan; nearest hospitals: Phelps Memorial Health Center, Holdrege, about 10 mi, or Harlan County Health System, 717 N. Brown St., Alma, (308) 928-2151, a 19-bed critical access hospital, about 15 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.