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Village · Antelope County · Population 58 (2020 census) · ZIP 68773 · Founded 1879 · Peak population 217 (1930)
About Royal
Royal is a village of 58 people (2020) in northern Antelope County, at about 1,880 feet on US 20, about 6 miles east of Orchard and 8 miles west of Brunswick. Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park, where whole rhinos, horses and camels lie where volcanic ash buried them 12 million years ago, is about 7 miles north-northwest. Grove Lake Wildlife Management Area and the state trout rearing station are just north of the village on the East Branch of Verdigre Creek. Royal has the Royal Bar & Grill and a volunteer fire department; its post office closed in 2013, but the ZIP code remains. Students attend Summerland Public Schools. Royal is on Central Time.
History
Settlers came in 1879, and a Royal post office opened in July 1880 with C. H. Bligh as postmaster. Julius Hering built a mill about 4.5 miles north of the present village in 1880, and a settlement there was called Savage, for a Sioux City doctor who promised a schoolhouse and never built it. In 1890 the Burlington built the Pacific Short Line about 4.5 miles to the south, and the village moved to the tracks; at the urging of the Rev. S. A. Baer it took the name Royal, for Royal Thayer, who had helped get the post office. At its height Royal had an elevator, a lumberyard, two banks, a hotel and a theater, and it counted 217 people in 1930. The school graduated its last class in 1964. Singer and pianist Jeri Southern was born in Royal. A small zoo here, opened in 1987, closed in 2005.
Highways and trails through Royal
| Route | One way | Other way |
|---|---|---|
| US 20Past the village, at about milepost 338 | West to Orchard | East to NE 14 and Brunswick |
Nearby towns
| Orchard | about 6 mi west | US 20 |
| Brunswick | about 8 mi east | US 20 |
| Clearwater | about 12 mi south-southwest | County roads |
| Ewing | about 12 mi west-southwest | US 20 and US 275 |
| Creighton | about 15 mi northeast | US 20 and NE 13 |
| Neligh | about 15 mi south-southeast | US 20 and NE 14 |
| Verdigre | about 19 mi north-northeast | US 20 and NE 14 |
| Oakdale | about 20 mi south-southeast | US 20 and NE 14 |
| O'Neill | about 28 mi west-northwest | US 20 |
Things to see
Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park, about 7 miles north-northwest: more than 200 complete skeletons in the Hubbard Rhino Barn; May to mid-October · Grove Lake Wildlife Management Area: about 1,985 acres, a 50-acre lake and stocked trout in the East Branch of Verdigre Creek · the Grove Trout Rearing Station · Grove Lake Bait Shop and RV Park, 2.5 miles north: bait, licenses and 12 RV sites · the National Register Verdigris Creek Bridge, 1.9 miles northeast · the Royal Community BBQ and Tractor Ride in mid-July
Events in Royal
- Royal Community BBQ & Tractor Ride
Royal Community BBQ and Tractor Ride is an annual community event held in Royal, Nebraska, featuring a barbecue and tractor ride for Antelope County residents.
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Schools and health care
Schools: Summerland Public Schools, 51293 857th Rd., Ewing, (402) 626-7534
Health care: Nearest clinic: AMH Family Practice Clinic, Orchard, about 6 mi; nearest hospital: Antelope Memorial Hospital, 102 W 9th St., Neligh, about 15 mi
Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); 1890–91 Nebraska State Gazetteer; Antelope County Historical Society (town histories); Antelope County (offices); History Nebraska (Neligh Mill, White Buffalo Girl, markers); National Register listings; Nebraska Game and Parks; University of Nebraska State Museum (Ashfall); Neligh-Oakdale, Elgin, Elkhorn Valley and Summerland schools; Antelope Memorial Hospital; Elgin Review; Summerland Advocate-Messenger; Norfolk Daily News; KNOP; VisitNebraska. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.