Wymore Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Wymore Area Cameras

City · Gage County · Population 1,377 (2020 census) · ZIP 68466 · Founded 1881 · Peak population 2,680 (1930)

About Wymore

Wymore is a city of 1,377 in southern Gage County on US 77, about 11 miles south of Beatrice and a mile south of Blue Springs. Known as the Welsh capital of the Great Plains, it has the Great Plains Welsh Heritage Center, brick-paved downtown streets and Southern Jr.-Sr. High School.

History

The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, which owned half of the land, and farmer Samuel Wymore, with partners W. H. Ashby and J. R. Hoag, laid out the town, recorded on May 21, 1881, and named it for Wymore, who had settled on the site in 1866. The post office opened that November. Wymore became the junction of the Beatrice branch and the Burlington's southern main line and a division point with a 16-stall roundhouse, and by 1882 it had about 1,700 people, the Livsey Opera House and two newspapers.

Welsh immigrants settled the area in numbers and built a Welsh-language church, school and cemetery; Bethel Cemetery south of town has many stones inscribed in Welsh. An electric streetcar ran in the early 1900s, and the population peaked at 2,680 in 1930. Gov. Adam McMullen (1925–29) lived in Wymore and is buried here, and natives include pitcher Jake Diekman and Denny Zager of Zager and Evans.

Highways and trails through Wymore

Route	One way	Other way
US 77Through the city	North past Blue Springs to Beatrice (about 11 mi)	South past NE 8 to Marysville, Kansas

Nearby towns

Blue Springs	about 1.1 mi north	US 77
Holmesville	about 5 mi north	County roads
Barneston	about 7 mi southeast	US 77 and NE 8
Odell	about 9 mi southwest	US 77 and NE 8
Rockford	about 10 mi north-northeast	County roads
Liberty	about 10 mi east-southeast	US 77, NE 8 and S-34A
Beatrice	about 11 mi north-northwest	US 77

Things to see

The Great Plains Welsh Heritage Center, 307 S. 7th St. (Sundays 2–5, Memorial Day to Labor Day, and by appointment), with a Welsh library, an 80-foot mural and a memory garden · the Lake Bridenthal House, 113 S. 9th St. (1900; National Register; private) · Arbor State Park, 220 W. M St., with 6 electric campsites, the pool, a skate park and a ballfield with a covered grandstand · the restored one-room Pleasantview school in McCandless Park · Wymore Public Library, 116 W. F St. · Bethel Cemetery, about 4 mi south on US 77 · the Big Indian Creek Bridge, 3 mi southwest (National Register) · Sam Wymore Days in June

Schools and health care

Schools: Southern School District 1: Southern Elementary School (PK–6), 315 W. 2nd St., Blue Springs, and Southern Jr.-Sr. High School (7–12), 115 S. 11th St., Wymore

Health care: Wymore Medical Clinic, 116 E. H St., Wymore, 402-645-3310 (Beatrice Community Hospital); nearest hospital: Beatrice Community Hospital and Health Center, 4800 Hospital Pkwy. (US 77 North), Beatrice, 402-228-3344 (critical access hospital with a 24-hour emergency department)

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Dobbs, History of Gage County (1918); National Park Service; History Nebraska; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Lower Big Blue NRD; Nebraska Department of Transportation; city, village, school, museum and hospital websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.