Halsey Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Halsey Area Cameras

Village · Thomas County · Population 68 (2020 census) · ZIP 69142 · Founded 1887

About Halsey

Halsey is a village of 68 people (2020) on NE 2 in the Middle Loup valley, mostly in Thomas County with a small part in Blaine County, at about 2,700 feet. It is the gateway to the Bessey Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest, whose office, nursery and main campground are about a mile west on Spur 86B. Halsey has a post office, the Redwood Inn motel and an elementary school of Sandhills Public Schools; the high school is in Dunning, about 10 miles east. Halsey is on Central Time.

History

Burlington surveyors laid out the route through the Sandhills in 1885, and the rails reached this point on the Blaine–Thomas county line in 1887. The town was named for Halsey E. Yates, son of a Burlington official. Early Halsey had a depot, a post office, a sod school that doubled as a church, a general store, a blacksmith, a saloon and the Shady Nook hotel. In 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt set aside the Dismal River Forest Reserve southwest of town, the experiment of University of Nebraska botanist Charles E. Bessey to grow a forest on the Plains; planting began in 1903, and every tree was set out by hand. After a fire destroyed the depot in 1904, the town was resurveyed and rebuilt mostly in Thomas County. In October 2022 the Bovee Fire burned on both sides of NE 2 west of town, forced Halsey’s evacuation and destroyed the Nebraska State 4-H Camp, which had opened in the forest in 1963. A History Nebraska marker stands at the community center on NE 2.

Highways and trails through Halsey

Route	One way	Other way
NE 2Through town, the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway	East to Dunning and Broken Bow	West to Natick, Thedford and Seneca

Nearby towns

Natick	about 10 mi west-northwest	NE 2
Dunning	about 10 mi east-southeast	NE 2
Thedford	about 17 mi west-northwest	NE 2
Brewster	about 21 mi east	NE 2 and NE 91
Norway	about 24 mi west-northwest	NE 2
Seneca	about 31 mi west-northwest	NE 2
Stapleton	about 32 mi south-southwest	NE 2 and US 83
Brownlee	about 32 mi northwest	NE 2 and US 83
Mullen	about 41 mi west-northwest	NE 2
Broken Bow	about 47 mi southeast	NE 2

Things to see

the Bessey Recreation Complex, campground, fish pond and trails, about a mile west · the Bessey Nursery (1902), on the National Register · the Village of Halsey marker at the community center

Schools and health care

Schools: Elementary School at Halsey (Sandhills Public Schools), 408 Hwy 2, (308) 533-2204; high school in Dunning

Health care: Nearest hospital: Broken Bow, about 47 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Thomas County (thomascountyne.gov); NEGenWeb Thomas County; Nebraska Who's Who (1940) county sketch; 1890 Nebraska State Gazetteer; 1912 Rand McNally; Courthouses.co; National Register (Bessey Nursery; Thomas County Courthouse, 1990–2007); History Nebraska markers; USDA Forest Service and Recreation.gov (Bessey Ranger District); University of Nebraska–Lincoln; Nebraska Public Media; Nebraska Examiner; Farm Progress; Wildfire Today; Nebraska 4-H; VisitNebraska; Thedford and Sandhills public schools; SchoolDigger. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.