Chadron 69337 (MM 60)

City · Dawes County · County seat · Population 5,206 (2020 census) · ZIP 69337 · Founded 1885 · Peak population 5,933 (1980)

About Chadron

Chadron is a city of 5,206 (2020), the seat of Dawes County and the largest town in northwest Nebraska, on Bordeaux Creek at about 3,380 feet where the Pine Ridge breaks down to the White River country. US 20, the Bridges to Buttes Byway, and US 385 cross here; they share about two miles on the west side of town, and US 385 runs north to the Black Hills and south through Chadron State Park. The city is home to Chadron State College, Chadron Community Hospital, the Nebraska National Forest supervisor's office and the Pine Ridge Ranger District, and the Nebraska Northwestern Railroad. Chadron is on Mountain Time.

History

Fannie O'Linn founded a town called O'Linn in 1884 about 6 miles northwest, near where Chadron Creek meets the White River (today's Dakota Junction). When the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad, later the Chicago & North Western, laid out its townsite on Bordeaux Creek in 1885, the settlers moved their buildings to it. The first passenger train arrived on August 3, 1885; Chadron became the county seat that year and was incorporated as a city by its end, and for about a year it was the end of the line and an outfitting point for the Black Hills. The name honors Louis Chartran (Chadron), a fur trader who ran a post on Chadron Creek about 1841. Among the founders was Charles Henry King, grandfather of President Gerald Ford.

On June 13, 1893, nine riders left the Blaine Hotel at 2nd and Bordeaux on the 1,000-mile Chadron–Chicago Cowboy Race; John Berry arrived first, but officials named Joe Gillespie the winner. After Wounded Knee, Gen. Nelson A. Miles made his headquarters in the Hotel Chadron (1890), now the Olde Main Street Inn. Chadron State Normal College opened in 1911, and Chadron State Park, the state's first, was created in 1921. James C. Dahlman, later mayor of Omaha, was mayor of Chadron and county sheriff. The population peaked at 5,933 in 1980. Lightning fires burned about 44,000 acres south of town in 2012, including most of Chadron State Park.

Highways and trails through Chadron

Route	One way	Other way
US 20The Bridges to Buttes Byway, through town	West to Whitney, Crawford and Fort Robinson	East to Hay Springs, Rushville and Gordon
US 385Shares US 20 on the west side of town	South through Chadron State Park to Alliance	North to Oelrichs and Hot Springs, South Dakota

Nearby towns

Bordeaux	about 10 mi east-southeast	US 20
Whitney	about 13 mi west-southwest	US 20
Hay Springs	about 19 mi east-southeast	US 20
Crawford	about 23 mi west-southwest	US 20
Rushville	about 28 mi east-southeast	US 20
Marsland	about 30 mi south-southwest	US 385 and NE 2/71
Hemingford	about 35 mi south	US 385
Alliance	about 50 mi south	US 385

Things to see

the Museum of the Fur Trade, 6321 US 20 about 3 mi east, with the reconstructed 1837 Bordeaux Trading Post (May 1 to Oct. 31, daily 8–5) · the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center and the Eleanor Barbour Cook Museum of Geology at Chadron State College · the Dawes County Historical Museum, 341 Country Club Rd. about 3 mi south (about May–September) · the downtown commercial historic district on 2nd and Main Sts., with the 1890 Hotel Chadron (Olde Main Street Inn) and the Chadron–Chicago Cowboy Race marker on E. 2nd St. · the 1935–36 Art Deco Dawes County Courthouse, 451 Main St., and the 1912 Carnegie Chadron Public Library, 507 Bordeaux St. (both National Register) · the indoor Chadron Area Aquatic & Wellness Center, 540 E. 10th St., Wilson Park and the dog park · Chadron State Park, 9 mi south on US 385, with cabins, camping and a pool · the Pine Ridge National Recreation Area and the Chadron Creek Ranch WMA south and west of town · Fur Trade Days, the second weekend of July (July 8–11, 2027)

Events in Chadron

Dawes County Fair
Dawes County Fair, a county fair in Chadron, Nebraska.
Fur Trade Days

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Chadron Public Schools, 602 E. 10th St., (308) 432-0700: Chadron Primary (PK–2), 732 Ann St.; Chadron Intermediate (3–4), 450 Norfolk Ave.; Chadron Middle School (5–8), 551 E. 6th St.; Chadron Senior High (9–12), 901 Cedar St. Chadron State College, 1000 Main St., about 2,100 students (fall 2024)

Health care: Chadron Community Hospital and Health Services, 825 Centennial Dr., (308) 432-5586, a 25-bed critical access hospital; Prairie Pines Lodge assisted living, 900 W. 7th St.

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Who's Who in Nebraska, Dawes County (1940); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890); Nebraska Blue Book (1926); History Nebraska and its markers; National Register nominations; Nebraska Game and Parks; U.S. Forest Service (Nebraska National Forest, Pine Ridge Ranger District); University of Nebraska State Museum; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska Emergency Management Agency; Dawes County; City of Chadron; City of Crawford; Chadron State College; Chadron Public Schools; Crawford Public Schools; Chadron Community Hospital; Discover Northwest Nebraska; Visit Nebraska; KNOP; KRVN. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.