Maxwell Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Lincoln County · Population 257 (2020 census) · ZIP 69151 · Founded 1894 · Peak population 480 (1940)

About Maxwell

Maxwell is a village of 257 people (2020) in the Platte valley of Lincoln County, at about 2,713 feet on US 30, the Lincoln Highway, beside the Union Pacific. I-80 is about 2 miles south at Exit 190, and Spur 56A runs on to Fort McPherson National Cemetery, about 4 miles south. Maxwell has its own schools, a post office and Maxwell Heritage Days on the third weekend of August; Pawnee Slough and Box Elder Canyon WMAs are nearby. Maxwell is on Central Time.

History

South of the Platte here, a trading post opened at Cottonwood Springs in 1858, and in October 1863 the 7th Iowa Cavalry built Post Cottonwood, renamed Fort McPherson in 1866 for Gen. James B. McPherson; it guarded the Oregon Trail and the stage line until 1880. In 1873 its post cemetery became a national cemetery, and over the years the dead of 23 abandoned frontier-post cemeteries were reburied there, the last from Fort Robinson in 1947. Maxwell was a Union Pacific station by 1890, the town was platted in 1894, named for a railroad official, and incorporated in 1908. The village reached 480 people in 1940.

Highways and trails through Maxwell

Route	One way	Other way
US 30Through town, the Lincoln Highway	East to Brady and Gothenburg	West to North Platte
Spur 56ASouth from town	South to I-80 (Exit 190) and the national cemetery

Nearby towns

Brady	about 9 mi east-southeast	US 30
North Platte	about 13 mi west-northwest	US 30
Gothenburg	about 22 mi east-southeast	US 30
Wellfleet	about 25 mi south-southwest	I-80 and US 83
Hershey	about 26 mi west-northwest	US 30
Stapleton	about 28 mi north	I-80 and US 83
Maywood	about 29 mi south	local roads
Arnold	about 30 mi northeast	local roads
Sutherland	about 32 mi west	US 30

Things to see

Fort McPherson National Cemetery, about 4 miles south · the Fort McPherson historical marker on S. Jackson Rd. near US 30 · Pawnee Slough WMA and Box Elder Canyon WMA

Schools and health care

Schools: Maxwell Public Schools, 415 E. Hwy 30: high school (308) 582-4585

Health care: Nearest hospitals: Great Plains Health, 601 W. Leota St., North Platte, (308) 568-8000, about 14 mi; Gothenburg Health, about 22 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Lincoln County (co.lincoln.ne.us); History Nebraska and HMdb markers; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); 1890 Nebraska State Gazetteer; NEGenWeb Lincoln County; National Archives (North Platte Canteen); National Register; VA National Cemetery Administration; Nebraska Game and Parks; Golden Spike Tower; NEBRASKAland Days; AirNav; KNOP; North Platte Chamber; SchoolDigger. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.