About Potter
Potter is a village in Cheyenne County, in western Nebraska. The 2020 census counted 342 residents, up slightly from 337 in 2010. The village covers about 0.46 square miles. It sits in the Mountain time zone and is visible from Exit 38 on Interstate 80. Sidney, the county seat, is roughly 18 miles east, and Kimball roughly 18 miles west.
History
The Union Pacific Railroad built the first station house here in 1870. For several years it was the only building, serving as depot, post office and school. By 1885 about 75 people lived at Potter and the town was platted. Farmers and ranchers arrived through the 1880s, and drought in the early 1890s drove many away. A second wave followed the Kinkaid Act. The name honours General Potter, who was connected with the Union Pacific; accounts describe him as a director or a shareholder. Sources also give different years for the village's incorporation.
The depot
A second depot went up in 1885 and stayed in use until 1971. It was later moved to Buffalo Bend, then donated back to the village in 1989. It now houses the Potter Depot Museum on Front Street.
Hail and Potter Days
A hailstone weighing about 1.5 pounds fell at Potter in July 1928. Published accounts disagree on the exact date and on how large it measured. Potter Days, first held in 1936, continues each Labor Day weekend with a parade, contests, exhibits and a dance.
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Potter is a Cheyenne County village established in 1870 as a Union Pacific section house and depot, growing into a small agricultural and ranching service center with a grocery, hardware store, hotel, and newspaper by 1889.
Potter earned a place in the record books on July 6, 1928, when it recorded what was then the largest hailstone ever measured in the United States — roughly 17 inches in diameter. The record stood for 75 years until it was matched (though not exceeded) by a 2003 hailstone in Aurora, Nebraska. The village's own name honors a "General Potter" associated with the railroad, though his exact identity has been lost to history.