Ericson Nebraska

Village · Wheeler County · Population 89 (2020 census) · ZIP 68637 · Founded 1886 · Peak population 279 (1940)

About Ericson

Ericson is a village of 89 people (2020) on the Cedar River in southwestern Wheeler County, at about 2,028 feet. NE 70 and NE 91 run together through town, joining US 281 about 7 miles east; Bartlett, the county seat, is about 10 miles northeast. Lake Ericson, just southeast of town, has a campground, beach and boat ramp. Ericson is in Wheeler Central Schools, based in Bartlett; the nearest hospital is in Ord, about 18 miles southwest. Ericson is on Central Time.

History

The Burlington built a branch about 20 miles northwest from Greeley in the spring of 1886 and platted Ericson at its end, on land bought from Peter Erickson; the town is named for the Erickson family, Christensen Erickson and his sons Eric and Peter. The first depot agent, A. Dahl, also bought grain, sold coal and took over Erickson's store, and Peter Erickson ran the post office and a general store in 1890. Ericson grew after 1900 with elevators, stores and a newspaper. In 1916 a concrete dam on the Cedar River about 2 miles east made a lake and generated electricity for Ericson, Bartlett and other towns; Ericson tried and failed to take the county seat in 1909 and again in 1918. The population peaked at 279 in 1940. On June 13, 2010, the dam's emergency spillway washed out, draining the lake and taking out county bridges downstream; the lake has since been refilled and is run by the Ericson Lake Corporation. Ericson State Bank failed in February 2020 and reopened days later as a branch of Farmers and Merchants Bank.

Things to see

Lake Ericson, 49147 Pothast Rd.: beach, boat ramp, a no-wake lake, and 21 electric and 15 tent sites · the Hungry Horse Saloon, 520 Central Ave.: prime rib on weekends · tank floats on the upper Cedar River · Pibel Lake Recreation Area, about 8 miles east-southeast