Mason City Nebraska 68855

Mason City is a village in Custer County, Nebraska, platted and incorporated in 1886, with its first train arriving that July. Its name is disputed between two theories: one traces it to Mason County, Virginia, while the other — described as the “generally accepted” account — honors Judge Oliver Perry Mason of the Nebraska Supreme Court. The village sits along Nebraska Highway 2 on the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway. Mason City's annual Homecoming celebration, begun in 1919, drew an estimated 20,000 visitors at its peak in the 1930s and even became a stop on the political campaign trail. In its 1986 centennial year, the community was named a winner in the Nebraska Community Improvement Program among towns under 300 population. Mason City's population has declined from a 1920s peak of 487 to 151 as of the 2020 census, down from 171 in 2010.

Mason City, platted in 1886, is most likely named for Nebraska Supreme Court Judge Oliver Perry Mason. Its Homecoming celebration, started in 1919, once drew about 20,000 visitors and became a campaign stop. The village's 2020 population was 151, down from a 1920s peak of 487.

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. Mason City sits on Nebraska Highway 2 near the south-eastern corner of Custer County, close to the Sherman County line. Ansley is about 6 miles north-west along the byway, and Litchfield, just over the county line, about 9 miles east-south-east. Westerville lies roughly 13 miles north-north-west, Cumro about 13 miles south-west, Berwyn about 14 miles north-west and Buckeye about 14 miles west. Broken Bow, the county seat, is some 21 miles north-west up Highway 2.

Mason City looks south-east as much as it looks to Broken Bow: its school district is centred at Litchfield in Sherman County, and Ravenna and Grand Island lie that way down the byway.

Points of Interest & Events

The Mason City School, 750 Main Street — listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 2 March 2006. The school no longer operates; the building is the village’s principal landmark.

Iron sculptures by Richard Martin — the artist’s metalwork stands around the village, including a wind sculpture beside Highway 2. Passing traffic on the Sandhills Journey byway tends to notice these before anything else.

Sunshine Township Library, 417 Main Street — open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 2.00 to 4.30 p.m.

Memorial Park, and the centennial marker on Main Street placed when the village kept its hundredth year in 1986. The Mason City Cemetery is at 640 Clinton Street, and the village also has a rodeo arena and a community building.

Annual events. Mason City Homecoming is held on the third weekend of July. It is an old tradition — it began in 1919 as a three-day gathering in early August, and has been kept up, in one form or another, for more than a century.

Education & Health

Schools. There is no operating school in Mason City. The village is served by Litchfield Public Schools, whose district covers 192 square miles taking in Hazard, Litchfield, Mason City, the southern part of Sherman County and the eastern edge of Custer County. All grades, pre-kindergarten through twelfth, are housed at Litchfield, about 9 miles east-south-east. Athletics run as a cooperative with Ansley Public Schools under the name Ansley/Litchfield Spartans.

Historically the village had its own district — School District No. 169, organised in 1887 — and the 1886 platting of the town was followed within a year by a school.

Health care. There is no clinic in Mason City. The county hospital is Jennie M. Melham Memorial Medical Center, 145 Memorial Drive, Broken Bow, (308) 872-4100, roughly 21 miles north-west along Highway 2. Ravenna and Kearney, south-east down the byway, are the other usual directions for care.

Highway Access

Nebraska Highway 2 runs straight through Mason City and is the village’s only numbered route. This stretch is part of the Sandhills Journey National Scenic Byway, 272 miles from Grand Island to Alliance.

North-west, N-2 reaches Ansley in about 6 miles — the junction with US-183 and with N-92, which splits away east there toward Loup City. Beyond Ansley the byway continues through Berwyn to Broken Bow, then Merna and Anselmo into the Sandhills.

South-east, N-2 passes Litchfield and Hazard, meets N-10 at Hazard, then runs on to Ravenna (junction N-68), Cairo (junction N-11) and Grand Island — roughly 60 miles from Mason City.

Reaching the Interstate. The quickest run to I-80 is south through Litchfield and Ravenna toward Kearney, about 45 miles. Grand Island, at the eastern end of the byway, is the nearest city of size.