Osceola Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Polk County · County seat · Population 875 (2020 census) · ZIP 68651 · Founded 1871 · Peak population 1,209 (1920)

About Osceola

Osceola is a city of 875 people (2020) and the seat of Polk County, at 1,647 feet on US 81 and NE 92 near the middle of the county; NE 39 begins just west of town and runs north across the Platte River to Silver Creek. It has the county’s hospital, Annie Jeffrey Memorial County Health Center, the 1921–22 Polk County Courthouse, the Polk County Historical Museum, a city park and pool, and Ryan Hill Country Club. Osceola is on Central Time.

History

The families of Rev. James Query and Vinson Perry Davis settled here in October 1868. When the county was organized in August 1870 its seat was placed about 3 miles southeast of today’s town; on October 10, 1871, voters chose the present site by 14 votes, and William F. Kimmel and John H. Mickey laid out the town that month. Davis named it for Osceola, Iowa, his former home, which was named for the Seminole leader Osceola. The post office opened July 21, 1871, and the first courthouse was finished on March 20, 1872; it burned on January 1, 1881, with many county records. Nebraska Wesleyan was chartered here in 1879 and moved to Fullerton in 1881. The Omaha & Republican Valley Railroad (Union Pacific) arrived on June 23, 1879, and Osceola incorporated as a village on August 26, 1881, with about 200 people. A fire in 1895, during the drought of 1893–95, destroyed all but two of the town’s buildings. The present courthouse was built in 1921–22, and the population peaked at 1,209 in 1920. Three Nebraska governors had Osceola ties — Albinus Nance, John H. Mickey and Ashton Shallenberger — and Stanley K. Hathaway, governor of Wyoming 1967–75 and U.S. Interior Secretary in 1975, was born here in 1924, as was actor John Archer (born Ralph Bowman, 1915), radio’s voice of The Shadow.

Highways and trails through Osceola

Route	One way	Other way
US 81 / NE 92Together east–west through the city	West: US 81 turns south to Stromsburg and York; NE 92 continues into Merrick County	East to Shelby; US 81 then turns north to Columbus
NE 39Begins at NE 92 just west of town	North across the Platte River to Silver Creek	South end at NE 92

Nearby towns

Stromsburg	about 5 mi south-southwest	US 81
Swedehome	about 6 mi west	County roads
Shelby	about 7 mi east	US 81 / NE 92
Durant	about 8 mi southwest	County roads
Silver Creek	about 11 mi north-northwest	NE 39
Benedict	about 12 mi south-southwest	US 81
Polk	about 14 mi west-southwest	US 81 and NE 66
Clarks	about 15 mi west	NE 92
Columbus	about 20 mi north-northeast	US 81
York	about 22 mi south	US 81

Things to see

the Polk County Courthouse, 400 Hawkeye St. (1921–22, National Register) · the Polk County Historical Museum, 415 Beebe St., with the Gov. John H. Mickey House (National Register) · the Osceola City Pool, 621 N. State St. (summer) · Ryan Hill Country Club, 13025 N Road · the Osceola disc golf course · the Polk County Fair at the fairgrounds in July

Events in Osceola

Polk County Fair
Polk County Fair, a county fair in Osceola, Nebraska.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Osceola Public Schools: Jeffrey Elementary (PK–5), 341 S. Kimmel St., (402) 747-2091; Osceola Middle/High School (6–12), 565 S. Kimmel St., (402) 747-3121

Health care: Annie Jeffrey Memorial County Health Center (critical access hospital), 531 Beebe St., (402) 747-2031, with Prairie Creek Family Medicine, (402) 747-8851; Good Samaritan Society – Osceola (nursing home), 600 Center Dr.; Ridgeview Heights (assisted living), 631 Ridge St.

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Who’s Who in Nebraska (1940), Polk County; NEGenWeb Polk County; History Nebraska markers; National Register; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska Game and Parks; Polk County; City of Osceola; Stromsburg Public Library; Shelby Community Library; Nebraska DHHS; Nebraska Life; Census Bureau centers of population. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.