Burr Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Otoe County · Population 52 (2020 census) · ZIP 68324 · Founded 1887 · Peak population 133 (1920)

About Burr

Burr is a village of 52 in southwestern Otoe County, at the end of the S-66E spur (R Rd.) west of NE 50, about 11 miles southwest of Syracuse. It has two churches, Hope Lutheran and Burr United Methodist.

History

A Burr Oak post office opened on July 15, 1869, named for a grove of bur oaks; the name was shortened to Burr to avoid confusion with Burr Oak, Kansas. In 1887 the town was platted on Winfield and Sarah Holden's land, and the first train arrived in September 1888. Barney Goerke built the first store that year. The American German Bank, organized in 1892, became The American Bank in April 1919, amid anti-German feeling after World War I.

Burr counted 133 people in 1920, its peak. A brick school was built in 1935, and the last high school class graduated in 1959. The railroad was later abandoned, and the state finished the "Burr Spur" road in 1975. Dean Steinkuhler, the Nebraska lineman who won the 1983 Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award and was the second pick in the 1984 NFL draft, is from Burr.

Highways and trails through Burr

Route	One way	Other way
S-66E (R Rd.)Spur east to NE 50 (1975)	East to NE 50 (about 6 mi)	Ends in Burr

Nearby towns

Douglas	about 6 mi northwest	County roads
Sterling	about 7 mi southwest	County roads
Unadilla	about 10 mi north	County roads
Syracuse	about 11 mi northeast	S-66E and NE 50
Cook	about 7 mi east-southeast	County roads
Palmyra	about 13 mi north-northwest	County roads
Tecumseh	about 13 mi south-southeast	NE 50
Talmage	about 14 mi east	County roads

Things to see

Hope Lutheran Church (founded 1891; brick church 1950) · Burr United Methodist Church, whose roots are in the 1860s Rockford stone church · Douglas, about 6 mi northwest

Schools and health care

Schools: Johnson County Central Public Schools (buildings in Tecumseh and Cook)

Health care: No clinic in Burr; Syracuse Area Health is about 11 mi north-northeast

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Johnson, History of Nebraska (1880); History Nebraska; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska DHHS hospital roster; village, school, library and museum websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.