Morse Bluff Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Morse Bluff Area Cameras

Village · Saunders County · Population 117 (2020 census) · ZIP 68648 · Founded 1887 · Peak population 215 (1920)

About Morse Bluff

Morse Bluff is a village of 117 on NE 79 in northwestern Saunders County, just south of the Platte River bridge to North Bend. It has St. George Catholic Church, the Rad Plzen Z.C.B.J. hall and the Bottom Road Bar and Grill.

History

The village was platted on June 27, 1887, on the Chicago & North Western's David City branch, and the post office opened in January 1888. It was first called Morse for Chester Leroy Morse, who owned the townsite; "Bluff" was added in the early 1900s to avoid confusion with another Morse on the line. The Bank of Morse Bluff opened in 1891. Floods in 1959–60 cut the road and railroad to North Bend, and mail went by rowboat and sled; the last train ran on June 15, 1962.

Czech settlers built the Rad Plzen lodge hall of the Western Bohemian Fraternal Association, listed on the National Register in 1986. St. George parish formed in 1945 and built its church in 1955; Sacred Heart at Cedar Hill is its mission. The population peaked at 215 in 1920.

Highways and trails through Morse Bluff

Route	One way	Other way
NE 79Through the village; Platte River bridge	North across the Platte to North Bend (about 2 mi) and US 30	South to Prague (about 9 mi)

Nearby towns

North Bend	about 2.4 mi north-northwest	NE 79
Cedar Hill	about 3 mi southwest	County roads
Rescue	about 8 mi southwest	County roads
Cedar Bluffs	about 8 mi east-southeast	County roads
Prague	about 9 mi south-southwest	NE 79
Fremont	about 14 mi east	US 30
Wahoo	about 17 mi south-southeast	NE 79 and NE 109

Things to see

Rad Plzen čís. 9 Z.C.B.J. hall (National Register) · St. George Catholic Church, 260 Short St. · Sacred Heart Church at Cedar Hill (1880), about 3 mi southwest · Czech National Cemetery

Health care

Nearest hospital Methodist Fremont Health (about 14 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.