Roca Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Roca Area Cameras

Village · Lancaster County · Population 201 (2020 census) · ZIP 68430 · Founded 1876 · Peak population 220 (2010)

About Roca

Roca is a village of 201 people (2020) at 1,247 feet about 10½ miles south of downtown Lincoln, just east of US 77. It is in Norris School District 160. Capitol View Winery is nearby. Roca is on Central Time.

History

Delos and Frances Mills opened the first limestone quarry here in 1861, and Keys & Bullock opened another in 1875; quarrying went on for more than a century. When the Atchison & Nebraska Railroad built through to Lincoln, Haskel Warner suggested the name Roca, Spanish for rock, and Elmore Keys and John Meyer gave land for the town, which was platted and incorporated in 1876. The 1890 gazetteer gave about 300 people. The William H. Charlton House and the Schrader Archeological Site near Roca are on the National Register.

Nearby towns

Hickman	about 3 mi southeast	County roads
Sprague	about 5 mi west-southwest	County roads
Martell	about 5 mi west-southwest	County roads
Cheney	about 6 mi northeast	County roads
Bennet	about 8 mi east	County roads
Firth	about 9 mi south-southeast	County roads
Lincoln	about 10 mi north	US 77

Things to see

Capitol View Winery & Vineyards, 2361 Wittstruck Rd. · the William H. Charlton House (National Register), 17705 S. 12th St.

Schools and health care

Schools: Norris School District 160 (Norris Elementary, Intermediate, Middle and High School on one campus about 2 miles north and 1½ miles west of Firth; it serves Roca, Hickman, Firth, Cortland, Panama, Princeton, Holland, Cheney and Rokeby)

Health care: Hospitals: Bryan Medical Center (East and West), CHI Health St. Elizabeth and Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, Lincoln, about 10 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890); NEGenWeb Lancaster County; History Nebraska; National Register; Nebraska Game and Parks; Lower Platte South NRD; City of Lincoln; Lincoln Airport; Nebraska State Capitol; Flatwater Free Press; school districts; city and village sites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.