Johnstown Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Village · Brown County · Population 47 (2020 census) · ZIP 69214 · Founded 1883 · Peak population 290 (1920)

About Johnstown

Johnstown is a village of 47 people (2020) on US 20 and the Cowboy Trail in western Brown County, at about 2,599 feet, 10 miles west of Ainsworth. It has a post office (ZIP 69214) and a United Methodist church, and the Brown County Fairgrounds are here. A county road runs about 16 miles north to The Nature Conservancy's Niobrara Valley Preserve and the Niobrara at Norden Bridge; Long Lake State Recreation Area is about 20 miles south in the Sandhills lakes. Johnstown is on Central Time.

History

Elias and Jeremiah Frame filed claims near here on April 7, 1880, the first land filings in what is now Brown County. The Evergreen post office, set up in 1881 about 2½ miles north, moved to the railroad section house when the station opened. The townsite was platted in 1883 when the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad reached it, and it was named for John Berry, on whose homestead the station was built. W. H. Marriner opened the first store in the depot in 1882. By 1890 Johnstown had about 150 people, a two-story school, Methodist and United Brethren churches, the Bank of Johnstown, a water-powered grist mill and the Clifton Hotel, and it shipped more poultry, game and eggs than any other town in the county. The village was incorporated on January 9, 1913, and peaked at 290 people in 1920. The Brown County Fair has been held here since about 1935.

Highways and trails through Johnstown

Route	One way	Other way
US 20Through the village, beside the Cowboy Trail	East to Ainsworth	West to Wood Lake and Valentine

Nearby towns

Ainsworth	about 10 mi east	US 20
Wood Lake	about 10 mi west-northwest	US 20
Long Pine	about 18 mi east	US 20
Norden	about 20 mi north	County roads
Springview	about 23 mi northeast	US 20 and NE 7
Valentine	about 33 mi northwest	US 20

Things to see

the Brown County Fair and Rodeo at the fairgrounds, Labor Day weekend: livestock show, rodeo, music and dances · the Niobrara Valley Preserve, about 16 miles north: about 56,000 acres along the Niobrara with bison herds and public hiking trails, (402) 722-4440 · Plum Creek Valley WMA, 1½ miles west and 1½ miles south: 1,320 acres with about 2 miles of Plum Creek and a trout pond · Long Lake State Recreation Area, about 20 miles south: a 155-acre Sandhills lake area with primitive camping · the Cowboy Trail east to Ainsworth or west to Wood Lake

Events in Johnstown

Brown County Fair and Rodeo
The Brown County Fair and Rodeo is held annually over Labor Day weekend (early September) at the Brown County Fairgrounds in Johnstown, about 8 miles west of Ainsworth.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Students attend Ainsworth Community Schools, 520 E. 2nd St., Ainsworth, (402) 387-2333

Health care: Nearest hospital: Brown County Hospital in Ainsworth, about 10 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; NEGenWeb Brown County (county history, 1890 gazetteer); Nebraska Who's Who (1940); History Nebraska (marker 557, Hidden Paradise); National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Department of Transportation (Aug. 10, 2026 renumbering, Long Pine bridge); Nebraska Game and Parks (Keller Park, Long Pine and Long Lake SRAs, WMAs, Cowboy Trail); The Nature Conservancy; Brown County; City of Ainsworth; Ainsworth Community Schools; Brown County Hospital; KOLN/10-11; Nebraska Life; Nebraska Public Media; KRVN. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.