Wellfleet Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Lincoln County · Population 72 (2020 census) · ZIP 69170 · Founded 1887 · Peak population 178 (1930)

About Wellfleet

Wellfleet is a village of 72 people (2020) in southern Lincoln County, at about 2,835 feet on US 83, about 26 miles south of North Platte and 40 miles north of McCook; NE 23 joins US 83 near town. It has a post office and, just outside town, Wellfleet Lake, formed by a dam finished in 1932. Cedar Valley WMA, 880 acres, lies about a mile east. The nearest school district is Maywood Public Schools, about 9 miles southeast. The Wellfleet Fall Festival each September brings a parade, a free barbecue, a ranch rodeo and horse races on Main Street. Wellfleet is on Central Time.

History

The Burlington built through southern Lincoln County in 1886, and an improvement company platted Wellfleet in 1887, naming it for Wellfleet, Massachusetts; the post office opened that year and the depot followed in 1888. A dam on Medicine Creek was begun in the boom years but never finished. The village had about 400 people at its height, a bank from 1908, and 178 residents in the 1930 census. The Wellfleet Lake dam was completed in 1932, the McCook–North Platte highway was paved through town in 1955, and the fall festival has been held since 1947. Wellfleet marked its centennial in September 1987.

Highways and trails through Wellfleet

Route	One way	Other way
US 83Past town, with NE 23	North to North Platte	South to Maywood and McCook

Nearby towns

Maywood	about 9 mi southeast	US 83
Wallace	about 23 mi west-northwest	NE 23
Maxwell	about 25 mi north-northeast	US 83 and I-80
North Platte	about 26 mi north	US 83
Brady	about 27 mi northeast	US 83 and I-80
Hershey	about 31 mi north-northwest	US 83 and I-80
Gothenburg	about 32 mi east-northeast	US 83 and I-80
Sutherland	about 35 mi northwest	US 83 and I-80

Things to see

Wellfleet Lake, just outside town · Cedar Valley WMA, about a mile east · the Fall Festival in September

Schools and health care

Schools: No school in town; Maywood Public Schools, Maywood, about 9 mi

Health care: Nearest hospital: Great Plains Health, 601 W. Leota St., North Platte, (308) 568-8000, about 26 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.