Wilsonville Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Furnas County · Population 75 (2020 census) · ZIP 69046 · Founded 1872 · Peak population 489 (1930)

About Wilsonville

Wilsonville is a village of 75 on Beaver Creek in southwestern Furnas County, on NE 89 where NE 47 begins and heads north to Cambridge.

History

In May 1872 Carlos A. Wilson, James A. Gibson, J. R. Johnson and John Soaper went up the Beaver and began a settlement called Wild Turkey. A post office opened on April 18, 1873, with Jennie Plumb as postmistress; that August L. M. Wilson built a store, the office moved there, and on December 16, 1873, it was renamed Wilsonville for the brothers L. M. and Carlos Wilson, stockmen and merchants. In 1878 a report of Indians near town turned out to be 2,000 Texas cattle.

The Burlington's branch up the Beaver from Orleans reached Wilsonville in 1887; the track is still there, but trains stopped about 2015. The village had a high school and reached its largest population, 489, in 1930. Alvin Lee Marts, born here on August 4, 1923, survived the sinking of USS Yorktown at Midway and died of wounds after the Battle of Tassafaronga in 1942; he received the Navy Cross, and the destroyer escort USS Marts was named for him in 1943.

Highways and trails through Wilsonville

Route	One way	Other way
NE 89East–west through the village	East to Hendley and Beaver City	West into Red Willow County toward Danbury
NE 47Begins at NE 89	North 12½ mi over the Republican River to Cambridge	South end at NE 89

Nearby towns

Hendley	about 7 mi east	NE 89
Cambridge	about 12 mi north-northwest	NE 47
Holbrook	about 14 mi north-northeast	NE 47 and US 6/34
Bartley	about 14 mi northwest	NE 47 and US 6/34
Beaver City	about 15 mi east	NE 89
Arapahoe	about 17 mi northeast	NE 89 and US 283

Things to see

Wilsonville Cemetery and J. O. Stone Cemetery · the Wilsonville Public Library · United Baptist-Christian Church · Lynden Cemetery, about 6 mi east toward Hendley

Schools and health care

Schools: Wilsonville is in Southwest Public Schools (district 73-0179), based in Bartley and Indianola

Health care: No clinic in Wilsonville; nearest hospital: Tri Valley Health System (Cambridge Memorial Hospital), 1305 US 6 & 34, Cambridge, (308) 697-3329, about 12 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890); Who's Who in Nebraska, Furnas County (1940); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); Southwest Nebraska Genealogical Society and NEGenWeb Furnas County; Furnas County website and 2025 Comprehensive Plan; History Nebraska and its historical markers; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska Department of Revenue; Nebraska Library Commission; school, hospital and city websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.