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Cumro is an unincorporated community in Custer County, Nebraska, whose post office operated from 1885 to 1943 — a run of 58 years. The community was named by its founder, William Edmunds, after Cumro, Wales, reflecting the Welsh heritage among some of the area's early settlers. Beyond its founding and naming, documented history of Cumro is limited: no population figures have ever been recorded, as it was never a Census-tracked place, and available sources offer little detail on its commercial or social life during its decades of activity. Cumro survives today primarily as a place name in Custer County's rural landscape, southwest of the county seat of Broken Bow.
Cumro's post office operated from 1885 to 1943, and the community was named by founder William Edmunds after Cumro, Wales. No population was ever recorded, and little further history survives — it remains chiefly a place name in rural Custer County today.
Adjacent Counties & Nearby Towns
Custer County is the largest county in Nebraska by area, covering 2,576 square miles of the central part of the state, with Broken Bow as its county seat. It borders Valley County and Loup County to the northeast, Sherman County and Buffalo County to the southeast, Dawson County to the south, Lincoln County to the southwest, Logan County to the west, and Blaine County to the northwest.
Nearby towns. Cumro lies in Loup Township in the south-east of the county. Burr Oak is about 4 miles west-north-west and Buckeye about 7 miles north-west — the three form a cluster of small rural localities in this corner. Eddyville, in Dawson County, is roughly 9 miles south-west, and Sumner about 11 miles south. Mason City lies some 13 miles north-east, Ansley about 14 miles north-north-east, and Oconto about 14 miles west. Broken Bow is roughly 22 miles north-north-west.
Points of Interest & Events
Cumro is an unincorporated community with no census population. What it has is a name with a clear story and a marker.
The name is Welsh. Fitzpatrick’s Nebraska Place Names of 1925 records that Cumro was named by William Edmunds after Cumro in Wales — one of a scattering of Welsh names carried into central Nebraska by settlers in the 1880s.
The post office ran from 1885 to 1943 — fifty-eight years, which is a longer run than most places this size managed, and puts Cumro among the earlier settlements in this part of the county.
A Cumro historical marker is recorded as a named feature in the area. We have not been able to read its text from a published source; if you have photographed it, we would be glad to add what it says.
Annual events. None is recorded.
Education & Health
Schools. There is no school here. The nearest districts are Broken Bow Public Schools, about 22 miles north-north-west, and Ansley Public Schools, about 14 miles north-north-east and Litchfield Public Schools to the east. Which district a given address falls into is not something we have been able to confirm from a published source, and we would rather say so than guess.
Health care. The nearest hospital is Jennie M. Melham Memorial Medical Center, 145 Memorial Drive, Broken Bow, (308) 872-4100, about 22 miles north-north-west — a 23-bed critical access hospital with a 24-hour emergency room. Callaway District Hospital, 211 East Kimball Street, Callaway, (308) 836-2228, is the other hospital in the county, about 25 miles north-west.
Highway Access
No numbered state highway runs through Cumro, and no source we have found names one. The community is reached by county roads off the surrounding routes.
Nebraska Highway 21 runs west of Cumro, north from Lexington through Oconto to Broken Bow. Nebraska Highway 2 lies to the north-east through Ansley and Mason City. Nebraska Highway 40 runs south of the area toward Eddyville and Sumner.
Reaching the Interstate. South-west toward Eddyville and on to Lexington puts you on I-80 in roughly 30 miles — Cumro is nearer the interstate than most of Custer County.