Carns Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Carns Area Cameras

Former town and post office · Keya Paha County · post office 1879–1943

About Carns

Carns is the site of a former town and post office on the north bank of the Niobrara River in southeastern Keya Paha County, about 15 miles east-southeast of Springview and 11 miles north-northeast of Bassett. A county road crosses the river here on the Carns State Aid Bridge; nothing of the town is known to remain.

History

Capt. W. F. Tarbell ran a ferry here in the early days. The Carns post office opened in 1879 and closed in 1943; the origin of the name is uncertain, perhaps a pioneer settler or Lt. Gov. Edmund C. Carns, and Elm Grove is recorded as an earlier or alternate name. In 1890 Carns had about 10 people and Stack & Steel's general store. After ice destroyed a wooden bridge in 1910, a multi-span steel truss bridge was built in 1912–13 with state aid; it is on the National Register. The March 2019 flood washed out its south approach and closed it, and in March 2025 the state began an 850-foot concrete replacement, with completion expected in July 2026.

Nearby towns

Bassett	about 11 mi south-southwest	County roads
Newport	about 12 mi southeast	County roads
Burton	about 13 mi north-northwest	County roads
Mills	about 14 mi north	County roads
Springview	about 15 mi west-northwest	County roads and US 183