Madrid Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Madrid Area Cameras

Village · Perkins County · Population 242 (2020 census) · ZIP 69150 · Founded 1887 · Peak population 449 (1930)

About Madrid

Madrid is a village of 242 (2020) on NE 23 and the NKC railroad in central Perkins County, about 10 miles east of Grant and 7 miles west of Elsie, at about 3,280 feet.

History

The Texas cattle trail to Ogallala passed about 2 miles east of here. According to the 1925 Nebraska Place-Names, the first settler, John McKenzie, started a bank and called the place Trail City; when the Burlington built through in 1887, the Lincoln Land Company platted the townsite and renamed it Madrid, for the Spanish capital. Madrid competed with Grant and Lisbon for the county seat and lost to Grant in 1888.

The 1890 gazetteer described Madrid as an incorporated village of about 350 on the Cheyenne branch of the B&M (the census counted 178). Czech settlers who had come from Kansas in 1886 farmed east of town. After the drought years the population fell to 35 in 1900; it grew back to a peak of 449 in 1930.

Highways and trails through Madrid

Route	One way	Other way
NE 23East–west through the village	East to Elsie (about 7 mi) and Wallace	West to Grant (about 10 mi)

Nearby towns

Elsie	about 7 mi east	NE 23
Grant	about 10 mi west	NE 23
Grainton	about 13 mi east	NE 23
Wallace	about 19 mi east	NE 23
Paxton	about 21 mi north-northeast	County roads
Ogallala	about 22 mi north-northwest	NE 23 and NE 61
Imperial	about 24 mi south-southwest	NE 23 and NE 61

Things to see

The Madrid General Store, 302 S. Perkins Ave., with bulk foods, baked goods and cheese (call ahead, 308-326-4630) · the Scoular elevator · Madrid Cemetery

Schools and health care

Schools: Nearest schools: Perkins County Schools: Perkins County Elementary (PK–6), 419 Logan Ave., and Perkins County Junior-Senior High School (7–12), 740 Sherman Ave., both in Grant, (308) 352-4735, about 10 mi

Health care: Nearest hospital: Perkins County Health Services, 900 Lincoln Ave., Grant, (308) 352-7245, a 20-bed critical access hospital, about 10 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Lilian L. Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890–91); Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; History Nebraska (Perkins County records; Perkins County Museum spotlight); National Register of Historic Places nominations (Perkins County Courthouse, Grant Commercial Historic District, Grant City Park, Venango Public School); Nebraska Association of County Officials; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska Department of Revenue; OmniTRAX; Grant Tribune-Sentinel; Nebraska DHHS rosters; Perkins County and school, hospital and library websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.