Bartlett Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Village · Wheeler County · County seat · Population 109 (2020 census) · ZIP 68622 · Founded 1885 · Peak population 176 (1940)

About Bartlett

Bartlett is a village of 109 (2020) and the seat of Wheeler County, at about 2,182 feet on US 281 in the Beaver Valley country where the Sandhills give way to farm ground. NE 70 runs with US 281 through town for about 14 miles before turning east toward Elgin north of town. Bartlett has the county courthouse, Wheeler Central Schools (the county's school district, which also serves Ericson), a post office, a bank, a cafe and the fairgrounds, but no clinic; the nearest hospitals are in Ord, Neligh, Albion and O'Neill, about 27 to 40 miles away. Bartlett is on Central Time.

History

Bartlett was laid out about 1885 on Ezra Bartlett Mitchell's homestead, with nine blocks and the center block saved for a courthouse, and named for his middle name. Cedar City on the Cedar River had been the temporary county seat since 1881, and Cumminsville to the north had grown fast on hopes of a railroad up the Beaver Valley; after several elections that fell short of the three-fifths then required, Bartlett won the seat in 1885–86 (sources differ) with 193 votes to Cumminsville's 90. No railroad ever reached Bartlett. The 1888 frame courthouse burned on August 29, 1917; its replacement of 1918, designed by Sidney H. Foster of Gordon, is the only known Nebraska courthouse with Mission Revival elements and is on the National Register. The county built a new courthouse into the hillside beside it in 1980–82. The population peaked at 176 in 1940. Sculptor Herb Mignery grew up on a ranch just east of town, and since 2002 his bronzes have filled the courthouse lawn.

Highways and trails through Bartlett

Route	One way	Other way
US 281North–south through town; NE 70 shares it for about 14 miles	North to O'Neill	South past Pibel Lake toward Spalding and Grand Island
NE 70With US 281 through town	East to Elgin (north of town)	West with NE 91 through Ericson to Burwell

Nearby towns

Cumminsville	about 7 mi north	US 281
Ericson	about 10 mi southwest	US 281 and NE 70/91
Spalding	about 17 mi southeast	US 281 and NE 91
Greeley	about 23 mi south	US 281
Petersburg	about 24 mi east	County roads and NE 14
Chambers	about 24 mi north-northwest	US 281
Elgin	about 25 mi east-northeast	US 281 and NE 70
Ord	about 27 mi southwest	NE 70 and NE 11
Burwell	about 31 mi west-southwest	NE 70/91
Albion	about 31 mi east-southeast	NE 91
O'Neill	about 40 mi north	US 281

Things to see

the Mignery Sculpture Garden on the courthouse lawn: about 50 Western bronzes by Bartlett native Herb Mignery, begun in 2002 with “Silent Leather” · the 1918 former courthouse, now the Wheeler County Historical Society Museum (National Register), Main St. between 2nd and 3rd Sts. · the Wheeler County Courthouse of 1980–82, built into the hillside at 301 3rd St. · Bibs and Boots Cafe at US 281 and Randolph St.: pies and pan-fried chicken since 1999, with a Mignery cartoon on the menu · Pibel Lake Recreation Area, about 9 miles south: a 24-acre lake, primitive camping and the national champion eastern cottonwood · the Wheeler County Fair and rodeo in late July and early August

Events in Bartlett

Wheeler County Fairgrounds
The Wheeler County Fair and Rodeo is held annually at the fairgrounds on Rodeo Lane in Bartlett, Nebraska.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Wheeler Central Schools (District 45), 600 Randolph West, (308) 654-3273: Wheeler Central Elementary (PK–6) and Wheeler Central High (7–12)

Health care: No clinic in the county; nearest hospitals: Valley County Health System, Ord, about 27 mi; Boone County Health Center, Albion, about 31 mi; Antelope Memorial Hospital, Neligh, about 32 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); Who's Who in Nebraska (1940) and the 1890–91 Nebraska State Gazetteer (NEGenWeb Wheeler County); Wheeler County (history, offices); National Register nomination (Wheeler County Courthouse); History Nebraska (Pibel Lake marker); Lower Loup NRD; Nebraska Forest Service; National Weather Service and ASDSO (Ericson Dam, 2010); Nebraska DMV; Nebraska Department of Banking; Elgin Review; 1011 Now; KLKN; VisitNebraska. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.