The Linoma Lighthouse is a 100-foot roadside lighthouse built in 1939 as the centerpiece of the once-famous Linoma Beach resort, a swimming and dance destination on the Platte River roughly halfway between Omaha and Lincoln. The lighthouse's glass-and-masonry base originally housed a filling station, and a spiral staircase leads up through the structure to observation decks on the second and tenth stories.
Linoma Beach opened in 1924 on a former sand-and-gravel quarry site, drawing visitors by rail and highway to its beach, picnic grounds, dance pavilion, and restaurant. When World War II ended, the lighthouse's beacon flashed the Morse code letter "V" for victory. The resort declined after the war as gasoline rationing and changing travel habits cut into visitor traffic, and the property fell into disrepair over the following decades.
The Linoma Beach Lighthouse and Recreation Area was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. In 2010, local investors purchased the property out of foreclosure and began restoring it; the lakefront reopened in 2011 as a private, members-only RV and camping community, with proceeds from an annual lot auction supporting the lighthouse's continued restoration.
Location: The lighthouse and lake sit on the Platte River about 4 miles northeast of Ashland, Nebraska, in Sarpy County. The property's office address is 1442 Silver Street, Ashland, NE 68003.
Visiting: The lighthouse and grounds are part of a private, members-only campground and are not open to the general public, though the tower is visible from U.S. Highway 6.