About Phillips
Phillips is a village in Hamilton County, Nebraska. The 2020 census recorded 320 residents, up from 287 in 2010; the 2000 count was 336. The village covers 0.29 square miles. It stands in north-west Hamilton County, a little over a mile south of the Platte River.
History
The Lincoln Land Company bought the townsite from P. M. Cross in 1874, but the town was not platted until early 1884, when the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad pushed its line west from Aurora. The village was named for Captain R. O. Phillips, a member of the town company who handled townsite work for the land company. Phillips incorporated in 1889.
The railroad town
Within three years of its founding, Phillips had become a shipping point for grain and livestock. By 1887 it had a bank, two lumberyards, three general stores and two elevators, along with other businesses. The nearby village of St Joe, about two miles south, was bypassed by the railroad, and it relocated to Phillips. In 1918 the railroad moved its tracks out of the centre of town to a line just to the south, to ease the handling of freight trains.
Visitor & Travel Categories
Business & Economic Categories
Phillips was platted in 1884 when the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad extended west from Aurora, and was incorporated in 1889. The town takes its name from Captain R. O. Phillips, who represented the Lincoln Land Company and oversaw the establishment of town sites along the rail line. Within a few years of its founding, Phillips had become a significant grain and livestock shipping point, and Phillips Memorial Hall was built in 1940 to honor World War I veterans.
A Hamilton County village named for railroad town-site agent Capt. R. O. Phillips, once a busy grain and livestock shipping point.