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Town Overview
Denton is a village of 189 on 0.12 square miles about 9 miles southwest of Lincoln — one of the closest of the county's small villages to the capital, and one of the steadiest: 189 residents in 2000, 190 in 2010, 189 in 2020.
It was established in 1871 when the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad built through, and named for Daniel M. Denton, who owned the original town site. The village incorporated in 1913.
In 1930, in the lean years after the 1929 crash, a fire destroyed many of Denton's buildings — a setback the village never fully built back from, which is part of why it has stayed small while sitting so close to a growing city.
Adjacent Counties & Nearby Towns
Lancaster County is Nebraska's second most populous county, with 322,608 residents in 2020 across 846 square miles, and its seat is Lincoln, the state capital. It borders Saunders County to the north, Cass County to the northeast, Otoe County and Johnson County to the southeast, Gage County to the south, Saline County to the southwest, and Seward County and Butler County to the northwest.
Nearest towns. Martell is about 8 miles south-southeast, Sprague about 10 miles south-southeast, Roca about 11 miles east-southeast and Malcolm about 12 miles north. Crete, in Saline County, is about 12 miles southwest and is where Denton's schoolchildren go. Downtown Lincoln is about 9 miles northeast. Distances given here are straight-line measurements.
Points of Interest & Events
Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary — The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter's international seminary is located at Denton, an unexpected institution for a village of under 200 and by some distance the best-known thing here.
Close to the city, and still country. At 9 miles out, Denton is nearer to Lincoln than any other village on this list except Cheney, yet it has stayed under 200 people for a quarter of a century — the southwest corner of the county has kept its farmland where the north and east have filled in.
Events. No recurring town-wide celebration could be independently verified for Denton at the time of writing, so none is claimed here.
Education & Health
Schools. Lancaster County records that village residents are in Crete Public School District 2, with two school buses serving the village; the schools are in Crete, about 12 miles southwest. Residents outside the village limits should confirm their district with the county superintendent, since boundaries here do not follow village lines.
Health care. There is no hospital in Denton. Lincoln, about 9 miles northeast, has the region's full range of hospital care — among the shortest hospital runs of any village in the county.
Highway Access
Denton sits on the county road network southwest of Lincoln, off the numbered-highway system but only about 9 miles from the edge of the city. West Denton Road is the main link into Lincoln; U.S. Route 6 and Nebraska Highway 33 both run within a few miles to the south on their way toward Crete.
The nearest interstate is Interstate 80, which passes north of Lincoln. The Burlington & Missouri River line that founded the village in 1871 still runs through the area.
Denton is a village of 189 about 9 miles southwest of Lincoln, established in 1871 when the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad built through and named for town-site owner Daniel M. Denton. It incorporated in 1913 and lost many of its buildings to a fire in 1930. It is home to Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, and its schoolchildren attend Crete Public School District 2.
Navigate & Explore Denton
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Road Conditions: Nebraska 511 — 511.nebraska.gov
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