Keystone Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Keystone Area Cameras

Unincorporated community · Keith County · Population 73 (2020 census) · ZIP 69144 · Founded 1906

About Keystone

Keystone is an unincorporated community of 73 (2020) in the North Platte valley about 9 miles northeast of Ogallala (about 13 by road), below Kingsley Dam and Lake Ogallala. It has no state highway: Keystone Lake Road leads west to NE 61 and the dam, and the Keystone–Roscoe road runs south to US 30 at Roscoe.

History

A post office opened in April 1891 in Mary A. Fenwick's sod house at the Fenwick ranch. The Payne Investment Co. platted the town on July 14, 1906, on land from Omaha cattleman William A. Paxton, and lots were auctioned on July 20 with a barbecue and dance; the town took the name of Paxton's Keystone ranch and cattle brand. The Union Pacific's North Platte Valley branch arrived in 1906–07, and Keystone soon had a bank (1908), a hotel (1910), stockyards, an elevator, three general stores and a creamery, with about 175 people at its height. Its high school graduated its last class in 1945.

In 1907–08 carpenter Ed Casey of Red Oak, Iowa, built the Little Church, attributed to Omaha architect Thomas R. Kimball, so that Catholics and Protestants could share one building; it was dedicated on August 16, 1908, with reversible pew backs, and is on the National Register. Building Kingsley Dam in 1936–41 moved the railroad north to the edge of the Sandhills about 1939, leaving Keystone off the line.

Nearby towns

Roscoe	about 6 mi south	Keystone–Roscoe road
Ogallala	about 9 mi southwest	County roads and NE 61
Lemoyne	about 13 mi west-northwest	NE 61 and NE 92
Paxton	about 14 mi east-southeast	County roads and US 30
Arthur	about 25 mi north-northwest	NE 61

Things to see

The Little Church, McGinley St. (1908; National Register; free, tours by appointment at 308-726-2006 or 308-726-2281) · Lake Ogallala State Recreation Area, about 4 mi west, with 82 electric and 100 basic campsites, rainbow trout and winter eagle viewing · Kingsley Dam, about 4½ mi west · Cottonwood Grove RV park on the Keystone–Roscoe road

Schools and health care

Schools: Nearest schools: Ogallala Public Schools, 801 E. O St., Ogallala, (308) 284-4060: Prairie View School (PK–5), Ogallala Middle School (6–8) and Ogallala High School (9–12), about 9 mi

Health care: Nearest hospital: Ogallala Community Hospital (Banner Health), 2601 N. Spruce St., Ogallala, (308) 284-4011, an 18-bed critical access hospital, about 9 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Lilian L. Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890–91); Keith County and City of Ogallala history pages; NEGenWeb Keith County (Keystone history); Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; History Nebraska and its markers; National Register nominations (Keystone Community Church, Brandhoefer Mansion, California Hill, Roscoe State Aid Bridge and others); Robert H. Mahnken, "Ogallala—Nebraska's Cowboy Capital" (Nebraska History, 1947); Andy Adams, The Log of a Cowboy (1903); Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska DHHS rosters; 2026 Keith County travel guide; news reports (KOLN, KSNB). Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.