Madrid, Nebraska — high plains village in Perkins County
Madrid Area Cameras
About Madrid
Madrid is a village in Perkins County, in south-western Nebraska. It covers about 1.13 square miles and keeps Mountain time. The population was 242 at the 2020 census, compared with 231 in 2010 and 265 in 2000. Grant lies about nine miles west and Elsie about seven miles east. The village name is pronounced MAD-rid, with the stress on the first syllable, not like the Spanish capital.
History
Madrid was platted in 1887, when the railroad was extended to that point, and the post office opened the same year. The 1925 survey Nebraska Place Names records that the first settler, John McKenzie, located a bank on the site and called the place Trail City. The Lincoln Land Company later platted and promoted the townsite and renamed it Madrid, after Madrid in Spain.
Setting
Madrid stands on the high plains at roughly 3,300 feet above sea level. Ogallala is about 21 miles north-west and Paxton about 21 miles north-east.
Visitor & Travel Categories
Business & Economic Categories
Madrid was platted in 1887 when Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad service reached the area, and was named after Madrid, the capital of Spain, though it's locally pronounced "MAD-rid" rather than the Spanish way — the same pattern seen in similarly-named towns like New Madrid, Missouri. Madrid was one of the contenders, along with Grant and the now-vanished town of Lisbon, in the original Perkins County seat rivalry. Today the village is home to the long-running Madrid General Store, a Mennonite-family-owned old-fashioned general store selling bulk foods, local cheeses, produce, and weekly fresh-baked goods.
Madrid, platted in 1887 and named for the Spanish capital, is home to the long-running, family-owned Madrid General Store.
Navigate & Explore Madrid
Get directions: search "Madrid Nebraska" in Waze or Google Maps
Road Conditions: Nebraska 511 — 511.nebraska.gov
Perkins County Cameras: View Perkins County cameras