Du Bois Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Pawnee County · Population 122 (2020 census) · ZIP 68345 · Founded 1886 · Peak population 350 (1930)

About Du Bois

Du Bois (say "doo-BOYZ") is a village of 122 in the southeastern corner of Pawnee County, on NE 50 about 3 miles north of the Kansas line and 8 miles southeast of Pawnee City; NE 8 joins NE 50 here. Iron Horse Trail Lake and two wildlife areas are within a few miles.

History

The county's first settlers located near Cincinnati, a town on the South Fork of the Nemaha about 2 miles south-southeast, platted as early as 1857, which had the county's first water-powered grist mill. Du Bois was platted in 1886 when the Chicago, Kansas & Nebraska Railway, a Rock Island line, built through, and it was named for Charles J. DuBois, the railroad's chief engineer. By 1890 it had about 250 people, a grain elevator, a school and the Du Bois Times. The population peaked at 350 in 1930.

Czech settlers in the area formed Lodge Jan Kollár No. 101 of the Western Bohemian Fraternal Association (ZČBJ), and its members built their hall north of town in 1920–21. The hall, in a Czech-American Baroque Revival style with a stage and balcony, was listed on the National Register in 1990.

Highways and trails through Du Bois

Route	One way	Other way
NE 50North–south through the village	North with NE 8 to Pawnee City, then to Tecumseh	South to the Kansas line, continuing as K-63 toward Seneca
NE 8Joins NE 50 at Du Bois	North and west with NE 50 to Pawnee City	East to Falls City

Nearby towns

Pawnee City	about 8 mi northwest	NE 50 and NE 8
Table Rock	about 10 mi north-northwest	NE 50
Humboldt	about 11 mi north-northeast	NE 8 and NE 105
Nim City	about 9 mi east	NE 8 and county roads
Steinauer	about 15 mi northwest	NE 50 and S-67B
Burchard	about 18 mi west-northwest	NE 8 and NE 99
Cincinnati	about 2.3 mi south-southeast	NE 50 and county roads
Falls City	about 24 mi east	NE 8

Things to see

The Czech Hall (Řád Jan Kollár čis. 101 ZČBJ), 62568 706th Rd., 1.5 mi north on NE 50 and 0.75 mi west (1921; National Register; open during events) · Iron Horse Trail Lake, 0.5 mi north and 2 mi west: the Nemaha NRD's first recreation area (1985), with camping, a boat ramp, swimming and trails (NRD permit) · Prairie Knoll WMA and Lores Branch WMA, just northwest · Cincinnati Cemetery, about 2 mi south-southeast, with a pioneer monument · DuBois United Methodist Church, 303 Madison St.

Health care

No clinic in Du Bois; Pawnee County Memorial Hospital and Pawnee County Rural Health Clinic, 600 I St., Pawnee City, 402-852-2231

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names; History Nebraska markers; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nemaha NRD; Nebraska Department of Transportation; county, school, museum and parish websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.