Litchfield Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Sherman County · Population 220 (2020 census) · ZIP 68852 · Founded 1886 · Peak population 428 (1920)

About Litchfield

Litchfield is a village of 220 people (2020) in the Muddy Creek valley of southwestern Sherman County, at about 2,162 feet. NE 2 runs past the village, southeast to Hazard and Ravenna and northwest to Mason City and Ansley; Loup City is about 13 miles northeast. Litchfield has its own PK–12 school, a branch of Town & Country Bank, grain and farm businesses, a village office and a fire district. Litchfield is on Central Time.

History

A post office called Cedarville served the area from 1884. When the Grand Island & Wyoming Central, a Burlington line, built through in 1886 (the first train arrived on July 4), Enoch Gowin, agent of the Lincoln Land Company, platted the town site, and the place was renamed Litchfield, probably for Litchfield, Connecticut. By 1890 it had roller mills, an elevator, two banks, Methodist and Presbyterian churches and the Litchfield Monitor. The village reached 428 people in 1920.

Highways and trails through Litchfield

Route	One way	Other way
NE 2Past the village	Northwest to Mason City, Ansley and Broken Bow	Southeast to Hazard and Ravenna

Nearby towns

Hazard	about 6 mi southeast	NE 2
Mason City	about 9 mi west-northwest	NE 2
Loup City	about 13 mi northeast	County roads
Pleasanton	about 13 mi south-southeast	NE 2 and NE 10
Ansley	about 15 mi northwest	NE 2
Ravenna	about 15 mi southeast	NE 2
Rockville	about 17 mi east	NE 2 and NE 68
Arcadia	about 19 mi north	County roads
Broken Bow	about 30 mi northwest	NE 2
Kearney	about 32 mi south	NE 2 and NE 10

Things to see

the Litchfield Old Settlers Picnic each July · Hazard, about 6 miles southeast · Sherman Reservoir, about 13 miles northeast

Schools and health care

Schools: Litchfield Public Schools, 500 N. Main St., (308) 446-2244: Litchfield Elementary (PK–6) and Litchfield High School (7–12)

Health care: Nearest clinic: VCHS Medical Clinic – Loup City, 130 N. 6th St., (308) 745-0324, about 13 mi; hospitals in Kearney and Ord

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Nebraska Who's Who (1940) county history; 1890–91 Nebraska State Gazetteer; NEGenWeb Sherman County (place names, after Fitzpatrick and Perkey); Sherman County and City of Loup City; History Nebraska (markers); National Register listings; U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; Nebraska Game and Parks; NEBRASKAland; Valley County Health System; SchoolDigger; Nebraska Secretary of State; KOLN 10/11; Fox Nebraska; Rural Radio Network. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.