Dawson Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Dawson Area Cameras

Village · Richardson County · Population 148 (2020 census) · ZIP 68337 · Founded 1872 · Peak population 394 (1940)

About Dawson

Dawson is a village of 148 in western Richardson County on US 75, which runs through town as Ridge Street; the Big Nemaha River passes just south. US 73 ends at US 75 less than a mile north of the village and NE 4 a little farther on, so Dawson is the crossroads for Humboldt, Verdon and Falls City.

History

Joshua Dawson & Son came in the summer of 1867 to build a saw and grist mill on the Big Nemaha, and a post office called Dawson's Mill opened in 1868. When the Atchison & Nebraska Railroad came through, W. F. Draper platted the town as Noraville in 1871–72, but the name Dawson stuck. The mill burned in 1889, was rebuilt and burned again, and closed when a new river channel was dug. The Catholic church begun in 1879 was destroyed by lightning in 1898 and rebuilt in brick. The population peaked at 394 in 1940. Dawson-Verdon schools served the village until 2004.

North of town, Jacob G. Heim arrived on July 3, 1874, the first of fourteen Pennsylvania German families who made up the Pennsylvania Colony; their historical society keeps a museum and holds a picnic each August. South of town, Stephen B. Miles ran a mail and stage business from the 1850s and later a cattle ranch; Miles Ranch, with a hand-hewn walnut bank barn of about 1861 and an 1867–68 house, was listed on the National Register in 2012.

Highways and trails through Dawson

Route	One way	Other way
US 75 (Ridge St.)North–south through the village	North past the US 73 and NE 4 junctions toward Auburn	South across the Big Nemaha, past NE 8, into Kansas

Nearby towns

Verdon	about 6 mi east	US 75 and US 73
Humboldt	about 7 mi west-northwest	US 75 and NE 4
Salem	about 7 mi southeast	County roads
Nim City	about 6 mi south-southwest	County roads
Stella	about 8 mi north-northeast	US 75 and NE 62
Shubert	about 11 mi northeast	US 75 and NE 62
Falls City	about 13 mi east-southeast	US 75 and US 73
Table Rock	about 14 mi west-northwest	US 75 and NE 4
Auburn	about 18 mi north	US 75

Things to see

The Pennsylvania Colony museum, 71173 639 Blvd., just off US 75 north of town: the restored Heim homestead, two museum buildings, a chapel and native prairie (open on request, 402-855-2544) · St. Mary Catholic Church, 312 4th St. · John G. Smith Memorial Library, 517 Ridge St. · Miles Ranch, 63795 638 Ave., about 3 mi south (National Register; a private home, seen from the road) · the Alfred and Magdalena Schmid Farmstead, a Swiss immigrant farm about 7.5 mi south-southwest (National Register; private) · South Fork WMA, 277 acres, about 5 mi southwest · the park at 7th and Ridge Sts.

Schools and health care

Schools: Humboldt Table Rock Steinauer Public Schools (HTRS): HTRS Elementary School (PK–6) and HTRS High School (7–12), both at 810 Central Ave., Humboldt

Health care: No clinic in Dawson; Community Medical Center, 3307 Barada St., Falls City, 402-245-2428 (25-bed critical access hospital, with its Family Medicine Clinic at the same address)

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Edwards, History of Richardson County (1917); History Nebraska; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nemaha NRD; Nebraska Department of Transportation; city, village, school, library, museum and parish websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.