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Decatur, Nebraska
Decatur is a village in Burt County, in eastern Nebraska, on the banks of the Missouri River. As of the 2020 census, the village had a population of 410 residents.
History
The area was long occupied by the Omaha Native Americans and was explored by Lewis and Clark in 1804. Fur trader Peter Sarpy later established a trading post at the mouth of Wood Creek, around which the town developed. The first European settler, a man named Woods, arrived in 1837, and Stephen Decatur arrived in 1841, giving the village its name. It was incorporated in 1856 as “The Decatur Townsite & Ferry Company” and renamed Decatur Village in 1858, with land patents formally granted by the legislature on May 1, 1862.
Location & Geography
Decatur sits at approximately 42.006°N, 96.250°W, at an elevation of 1,066 feet, and covers about 1.02 square miles. The village lies directly on the upper Missouri River, and a bridge at Decatur crosses the river into Iowa.
Community
Decatur’s population has declined over the past two decades — 618 in 2000, 481 in 2010, and 410 in 2020 — while the village retains its historic identity as one of the oldest European-settled communities in the region, tied closely to its Missouri River location.
Decatur, Nebraska (68020)
Village in Burt County on the Missouri River, developed around a trading post established by Peter Sarpy and named for Stephen Decatur, who arrived in 1841. Incorporated 1856, renamed Decatur Village in 1858. Population 410 (2020 census).
ZIP: 68020 | Pop: 410 | Elevation: 1,066 ft | Area: 1.02 sq mi
Sits directly on the Missouri River, with a bridge crossing into Iowa — one of the oldest European-settled sites in the region, explored by Lewis and Clark in 1804.