Humboldt Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Richardson County · Population 800 (2020 census) · ZIP 68376 · Founded 1868 · Peak population 1,435 (1930)

About Humboldt

Humboldt is a city of 800 in northwestern Richardson County, on NE 4 and NE 105 about 20 miles west-northwest of Falls City. Its public square, with a 1912 bandstand and the 1942 WPA auditorium, is the heart of a National Register historic district, and the square and fairgrounds host the Richardson County Fair each September. The Humboldt Table Rock Steinauer schools and the Colonial Acres nursing home are here.

History

O. J. Tinker came in 1857 and claimed most of the town site; a post office opened about 1867, and the Nims brothers built a stone store on the Long Branch that year. O. J. and E. P. Tinker laid out the town in the spring of 1868 and named it for Humboldt, Tennessee, where Edward Tinker's Civil War regiment had been quartered (some sources say for the German scientist Alexander von Humboldt). The Atchison & Nebraska Railroad arrived in 1871, Tinker deeded two acres for the public square that year, and by 1873 Humboldt was the line's main shipping point. It was incorporated on December 3, 1873.

O. A. Cooper built the electric plant, waterworks, brick plant and creamery, and brick-making was long a leading industry. The streets around the square were paved with brick in 1920, the Fall Festival began on the square in 1921, and the county fair has been held in Humboldt since 1924. The population peaked at 1,435 in 1930. The WPA auditorium was dedicated on December 9, 1942. The commercial district, 28 buildings from 1877 to 1947 around the square, was listed on the National Register in 2005.

Highways and trails through Humboldt

Route	One way	Other way
NE 4East–west through the city; runs with NE 105 for about 3.5 mi west of town	East to US 75 north of Dawson	West past Kirkman's Cove to Table Rock
NE 105Enters from the south on Nemaha St.	North with NE 4, then alone, to Johnson in Nemaha County	South to NE 8

Nearby towns

Dawson	about 7 mi east-southeast	NE 4 and US 75
Table Rock	about 8 mi west	NE 4
Nim City	about 9 mi south-southeast	County roads
Stella	about 10 mi east-northeast	NE 4, US 75 and NE 62
Pawnee City	about 12 mi west-southwest	NE 105 and NE 8
Verdon	about 12 mi east	NE 4, US 75 and US 73
Salem	about 13 mi east-southeast	County roads
Auburn	about 16 mi north-northeast	NE 4 and US 75
Falls City	about 20 mi east-southeast	NE 4, US 75 and US 73

Things to see

The Humboldt Commercial Historic District around the square (National Register), with the 1912 bandstand, the 1942 WPA auditorium and a state historical marker at 4th St. and East Square · the Quad County Museum, 314 E. Square (second Sunday of the month, 1–4, 402-862-5421) · Bruun Memorial Library, 730 3rd St., in an 1883 building · the John Holman House, 947 Nemaha St., a towered brick house of about 1893 (National Register; private) · Humboldt Lake Park in south Humboldt, with fishing ponds, the pool, courts and about a dozen electric RV sites · Kirkman's Cove, 2.5 mi west on NE 4 and 0.5 mi north: a 160-acre lake with a beach, boat ramp, trails and 16 electric campsites (Nemaha NRD permit) · Kirkman's Lakeview Golf Course, 71550 631st Ave. (9 holes) · the Richardson County Fair in mid-September, on the square, at the Ag Building, 1034 4th St., and in the Powell Livestock Pavilion · Four-Mile Creek WMA, about 8 mi south, and Kinter's Ford WMA on the Big Nemaha · the Czech (Bohemian) National Cemetery, about 4 mi southwest

Events in Humboldt

Richardson County Fair
Richardson County Fair, a county fair in Falls City, Nebraska.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Humboldt Table Rock Steinauer Public Schools (HTRS): HTRS Elementary School (PK–6) and HTRS High School (7–12), both at 810 Central Ave., Humboldt

Health care: Colonial Acres, 1043 10th St., 402-862-3123 (city-owned skilled nursing home); nearest hospital: Community Medical Center, 3307 Barada St., Falls City, 402-245-2428 (25-bed critical access hospital, with its Family Medicine Clinic at the same address)

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Edwards, History of Richardson County (1917); History Nebraska; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nemaha NRD; Nebraska Department of Transportation; city, village, school, library, museum and parish websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.