Steele City Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Jefferson County · Population 47 (2020 census) · ZIP 68440 · Founded 1873 · Peak population 380 (1890)

About Steele City

Steele City is a village of 47 in southeastern Jefferson County, on a short spur south of NE 8 about 11 miles southeast of Fairbury and 4 miles north of the Kansas line. Its Main Street is the Steele City Historic District, and the village is the junction where the Keystone pipeline from Alberta divides.

History

The town grew out of the river settlements of Jenkins Mill and Freeport, begun in 1867, which flooded often; D. C. Jenkins built a mill that year, the county's first school district was organized at Jenkins Mill, and the county's first newspaper, the Little Blue, was printed nearby. When the St. Joseph & Western Railroad reached the east side of the Little Blue in 1873, Abner Baker and Robert Crinklow platted Steele City, named for D. M. Steele, the railroad's president. The population peaked at 380 in 1890.

The brick District No. 1 School was built in 1913–14 after the old school burned; the high school closed after 1958 and the elementary school in 1992. Since 2010 Steele City has been the hub of the Keystone pipeline, where the line from Hardisty, Alberta, divides east to Wood River, Illinois, and south to Cushing, Oklahoma; the pipeline is now operated by South Bow.

Highways and trails through Steele City

Route	One way	Other way
NE 8Just north of the village, reached by Spur S-48A	Northwest to Fairbury	East past the NE 103 junction to Odell

Nearby towns

Endicott	about 4.9 mi northwest	NE 8 and county roads
Diller	about 7 mi northeast	NE 8 and NE 103
Fairbury	about 11 mi northwest	NE 8
Jansen	about 11 mi north-northwest	County roads
Odell	about 12 mi east	NE 8

Things to see

The Steele City Historic District (National Register): stone and frame buildings of the 1880s and 1900s, including a livery stable, a blacksmith shop, a bank and a restored stone church, open by appointment through the Jefferson County Historical Society, 402-729-5131 · the District No. 1 School, N. 2nd and Curtis Sts. (1913–14; National Register) · Steele City Cemetery · Living History Weekends in summer and a flea market and antique farm machinery show on the third weekend of September

Health care

No clinic in Steele City; nearest hospital: Jefferson Community Health & Life, 2200 H St., Fairbury (the county hospital, with a 24-hour emergency room; called Fairbury Hospital until 2017)

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890–91); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names; History Nebraska and its historical markers; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Little Blue and Lower Big Blue NRDs; Nebraska Department of Transportation; NEGenWeb Jefferson County; Visit Oregon Trail (Jefferson County tourism); city, village, school, museum and hospital websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.