Ithaca Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Saunders County · Population 160 (2020 census) · ZIP 68033 · Founded 1866

About Ithaca

Ithaca is a village of 160 on Wahoo Creek in Saunders County, about 6 miles southeast of Wahoo off NE 66. The Old Ithaca Grain Elevator is on the National Register, and the University of Nebraska's ENREEC research center uses an Ithaca address.

History

William Dech, the first settler, arrived in April 1866, and Fred Talcott named the place for his home town of Ithaca, New York. A post office opened in 1870 with Elijah Dech as postmaster, J. F. Roll built a mill on Wahoo Creek in 1871, and August Mielenz opened the first store in 1873. The wooden grain elevator, built about 1890, was bought from the railroad by the Smith family in 1972 and was listed on the National Register in 2001.

Ithaca had 171 people at its first census in 1910 and 160 in 2020. Brig. Gen. Harold D. Hansen of the Marine Corps came from here.

Highways and trails through Ithaca

Route	One way	Other way
NE 66Passes the village	East to Memphis and Ashland	West toward Valparaiso

Nearby towns

Swedeburg	about 4.7 mi west-southwest	County roads
Mead	about 5 mi north-northeast	County roads
Wahoo	about 6 mi northwest	County roads
Memphis	about 7 mi southeast	NE 66
Ceresco	about 9 mi southwest	County roads
Yutan	about 9 mi northeast	County roads
Ashland	about 12 mi southeast	NE 66

Things to see

Old Ithaca Grain Elevator (c. 1890; National Register) · Zion Lutheran Church · ENREEC, 1071 County Road G

Health care

Nearest hospital Saunders Medical Center, Wahoo (about 6 mi)

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Phillips, Past and Present of Saunders County (1915); Saunders County, Nebraska History (1983, NEGenWeb); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Lower Platte North NRD; Nebraska Department of Transportation. Distances marked "about" are estimates.