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Orleans, Nebraska
Orleans sits in Harlan County along the route of the former Burlington & Missouri River Railroad. Settlement began in August 1870 when forty men arrived from eastern Nebraska to stake homestead claims; the townsite itself was platted by D. N. Smith, a locator for the railroad. The community's post office was originally named "Melrose" before being renamed Orleans in March 1878 — sources disagree on whether the new name honored a town in Massachusetts or one in France. Orleans filed formal incorporation papers in August 1879, and the rail line reached town on Leap Year Day, February 29, 1880.
Orleans is the birthplace of U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Donald Roe Ross (1922–2013), appointed to the Eighth Circuit by President Nixon, and was home to Eliza Suggs (1876–1908), author of the 1906 memoir Shadow and Sunshine and a temperance lecturer born to formerly enslaved parents, who died in Orleans in 1908. As of the 2020 Census, Orleans' population is 341.
Orleans, Nebraska (68966)
Harlan County town settled in 1870, platted by a Burlington & Missouri River Railroad locator. Renamed from "Melrose" to Orleans in 1878 (origin disputed between Massachusetts and France). Birthplace of federal judge Donald Roe Ross; home to author and temperance lecturer Eliza Suggs. Population 341 (2020).
ZIP: 68966 | Pop: 341 (2020)
Navigate & Explore Orleans
Get directions: search "Orleans Nebraska" in Waze or Google Maps
Road Conditions: Nebraska 511 — 511.nebraska.gov
Harlan County Cameras: View Harlan County cameras