Marsland, Nebraska

Marsland is a small unincorporated community in southwestern Dawes County, Nebraska, along the Niobrara River where Nebraska Highways 2 and 71 meet. Today it is largely considered a ghost town, with only a handful of residents and few remaining structures -- but it once had a population of 200 and a full complement of small-town businesses.

The community was founded as a railroad town on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy line, and its early growth was tied directly to a major piece of railroad engineering nearby: the Belmont Tunnel. Marsland sits about 18 miles south of Crawford and southwest of Chadron, the Dawes County seat.

History

Marsland was established on August 28, 1889, along the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and named for Thomas Marsland, the railroad's general freight manager. The nearby Belmont Tunnel, completed in 1890, drove the town's early economy, and Marsland quickly grew a newspaper, a grocery store, a blacksmith shop, and other small businesses. The community's post office took over service from the earlier Corbin post office around the time Marsland was founded.

Marsland's population peaked at about 200 residents in 1910. A local school was built in 1890 and replaced by a two-story brick building in 1915; that building was condemned in 1947 and partially demolished. In the decades that followed, fires destroyed parts of the business district and drought and economic hardship pushed families away. Marsland's own elementary school finally closed in 1992, consolidating with Hemingford's schools, and the town is today counted among Nebraska's ghost towns.

Location & Access

County: Dawes County
Region: Nebraska Panhandle
Setting: Niobrara River valley, at the junction of Nebraska Highways 2 and 71
Coordinates: approximately 42.444° N, 103.299° W
Elevation: 4,160 feet
Designation: Unincorporated community

Adjacent Counties

Dawes County borders Sheridan County (east), Box Butte County (south), Sioux County (west), and Oglala Lakota County and Fall River County, South Dakota (north).

Nearby Towns

Hemingford (about 14 miles southeast, in Box Butte County) · Crawford (about 18 miles north, Dawes County) · Chadron (Dawes County's seat, further north)

Points of Interest

• Belmont Tunnel: The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad tunnel completed in 1890 that spurred Marsland's early growth, part of the historic rail line through the Niobrara valley.
• Niobrara River valley: Marsland sits along the upper Niobrara, in the scenic breaks country of the Nebraska Panhandle.
• Historic townsite: What remains of Marsland's business district and 1915 schoolhouse foundation reflects its early-1900s peak as a rail town.

Events

Community events for Marsland are being added to the directory. Browse the Dawes County directory for current listings.

Education & Health

Schools: Marsland's own school closed in 1992; students in the area now attend Hemingford Public Schools.
Health: Nearest hospital and clinic services are in Chadron (Dawes County seat) and Alliance (Box Butte County).