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Town Overview
Martell is an unincorporated community of 125 in southwestern Lancaster County, on local roads about 12 miles south-southwest of Lincoln. It covers about 0.19 square miles at an elevation of roughly 1,352 feet, and although it is not a village it keeps its own post office and ZIP code, 68404.
The name comes from Charles Martel, the eighth-century Frankish ruler. It was originally spelled Martel with one L; the United States Board on Geographic Names standardised it to Martell in 1896.
A farmers' co-operative facility operates in the community, which is much of what keeps a crossroads this size on the map.
Adjacent Counties & Nearby Towns
Lancaster County is Nebraska's second most populous county, with 322,608 residents in 2020 across 846 square miles, and its seat is Lincoln, the state capital. It borders Saunders County to the north, Cass County to the northeast, Otoe County and Johnson County to the southeast, Gage County to the south, Saline County to the southwest, and Seward County and Butler County to the northwest.
Nearest towns. Sprague is barely a mile southeast — the two sit almost on top of one another. Roca is about 6 miles east-northeast, Hickman about 7 miles east, Hallam about 7 miles south-southwest and Denton about 8 miles north-northwest. Downtown Lincoln is about 12 miles north-northeast. Distances given here are straight-line measurements.
Points of Interest & Events
Martell is a working crossroads, not a destination, and the honest description is a co-op, a post office and the farms around them. What it has is position: it sits in the pocket of open country between the Salt Valley lakes and the Lincoln metro.
Bluestem Lake, a 325-acre reservoir in a 742-acre recreation area created by the Bluestem Conservation Dam in 1963, is just past Sprague a mile southeast.
Events. No recurring public event held at Martell could be independently verified, so none is claimed here.
Education & Health
Schools. There is no school at Martell. This corner of the county lies between Norris School District 160 to the east and Crete Public Schools to the west; because boundaries here do not follow community lines, families should confirm their district with the county superintendent.
Health care. There is no hospital at Martell. Lincoln, about 12 miles north-northeast, has the region's full range of hospital care.
Highway Access
Martell is reached by local roads only — it sits southwest of Lincoln away from the numbered-highway system. U.S. Route 77 runs north–south a few miles east, and Nebraska Highway 33 has its eastern terminus on US-77 near Roca.
The nearest interstate is Interstate 80 on the north side of Lincoln.
Martell is an unincorporated community of 125 in southwestern Lancaster County, about 12 miles south-southwest of Lincoln, with its own post office and ZIP code despite never having incorporated. It is named for the eighth-century Frankish ruler Charles Martel; the spelling was standardised from Martel to Martell by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names in 1896. A farmers' co-operative operates in the community.
Navigate & Explore Martell
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Road Conditions: Nebraska 511 — 511.nebraska.gov
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