Fort Calhoun Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Washington County · Population 1,108 (2020 census) · ZIP 68023 · Founded 1855

About Fort Calhoun

Fort Calhoun is a city of 1,108 on US 75, about 9 miles south of Blair and 20 miles north of downtown Omaha. It is home to Fort Atkinson State Historical Park, the Washington County Museum, Fort Calhoun schools, the Fort Calhoun Clinic and the public library. Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge is about 3 miles east.

History

In August 1804 Lewis and Clark held their first council with Otoe and Missouria leaders on the bluffs here, which they called Council Bluff. The Army arrived in 1819, wintered at Engineer Cantonment nearby, and built Fort Atkinson in 1819–20, the first U.S. Army post west of the Missouri; more than 1,000 soldiers and civilians lived there before it was abandoned in 1827. The town was platted in March 1855 and named for John C. Calhoun. It was the county seat from 1855 to 1858 and again from 1866 to 1869, and held the county's first district court in 1855.

Game and Parks bought the fort site in 1963 and spent about 20 years rebuilding the fort. The Washington County Museum here is the oldest county museum in Nebraska. Marshal Albert Suverkrubbe was shot on duty in 1932; a marker recalls him. The Omaha Public Power District's Fort Calhoun nuclear station north of town ran until 2016, and its decommissioning was nearing completion in 2026. The 2020 census count of 1,108 was the town's highest.

Highways and trails through Fort Calhoun

Route	One way	Other way
US 7514th Street, north–south through town	North past De Soto to Blair (about 9 mi)	South past Nashville (about 4 mi) to Omaha (about 17 mi)

Nearby towns

De Soto	about 4 mi north	US 75
Nashville	about 4 mi south	US 75
Blair	about 9 mi north	US 75
Washington	about 13 mi west	County roads
Kennard	about 13 mi northwest	County roads and US 30
Omaha	about 17 mi south	US 75

Things to see

Fort Atkinson State Historical Park, 201 S. 7th St.: reconstructed fort and Harold W. Andersen Visitor Center (May–early October, Wednesday–Sunday 10 a.m.–4 p.m.), living-history weekends the first weekend of each month May–October, candlelight tour in November · Washington County Museum, 102 N. 14th St. · Frahm House, 220 S. 15th St. (National Register) · Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge, 3720 Rivers Way: free, about 8 miles of trails

Schools and health care

Schools: Fort Calhoun Community Schools: elementary (pre-K–6), 1120 Monroe St.; junior-senior high (7–12), 5876 County Road P43

Health care: Fort Calhoun Clinic (Memorial Community Hospital & Health System), 4929 County Road P43; nearest hospital Memorial Community Hospital, Blair (about 9 mi)

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); History Nebraska; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Nebraska Department of Transportation route mileposts. Distances marked "about" are estimates.