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Brady is a village in eastern Lincoln County, set in the Platte River valley on the historic Lincoln Highway. The village was established in 1889 and takes its name from a trapper named Brady who was killed on what has since been known as Brady Island, in the Platte River just south of town.
The community counted 383 residents at the 2020 census, down from 428 in 2010. The village describes its own position simply: two miles north of Interstate 80 and divided by U.S. Highway 30, which places Brady squarely on the cross-state travel corridor between North Platte and Gothenburg.
Adjacent Counties & Nearby Towns
Brady sits in Lincoln County, which borders McPherson County to the northwest, Logan County to the northeast, Custer County and Dawson County to the east, Frontier County to the southeast, Hayes County to the southwest, and Perkins County and Keith County to the west.
In Lincoln County: Maxwell lies about 9 miles west-northwest; North Platte, the county seat and the largest city in west-central Nebraska, about 22 miles west-northwest; Wellfleet about 27 miles southwest; Hershey about 34 miles west-northwest; Sutherland about 41 miles west-northwest; and Wallace about 44 miles west-southwest.
Beyond the county line: Gothenburg in Dawson County is about 13 miles east-southeast along U.S. Highway 30 and Interstate 80. Distances given here are straight-line rather than driving distances.
Points of Interest & Events
Brady Days. The village’s annual community celebration is held in early August. Its centrepiece is a free-will-donation ice cream social, with homemade ice cream, cookies and brownies provided by the local United Methodist Church. The village clerk has described it as the weekend that “really brings everyone together, and you get to see a lot of people that you only see once a year.”
Brady Island. The island in the Platte River south of the village is the source of the town’s name, after a trapper named Brady who was killed there before the community was established.
The Lincoln Highway. U.S. Highway 30 through Brady is part of the Lincoln Highway National Scenic and Historic Byway, the original coast-to-coast automobile route. The village community center serves as the gathering place for local events.
Education & Health
Brady Public Schools, 112 East Popleton Avenue, (308) 584-3317, serves the village and the surrounding countryside as home of the Eagles.
Health care. Brady has no hospital of its own. The nearest full-service facility is Great Plains Health in North Platte, about 22 miles west-northwest, which operates the region’s emergency department. Gothenburg Health in Gothenburg, about 13 miles east-southeast, is closer for routine care.
Highway Access
U.S. Highway 30 runs east and west directly through Brady, dividing the village; it carries the Lincoln Highway designation along this stretch and parallels the Union Pacific main line through the Platte valley.
Interstate 80 passes two miles south of town, putting Brady within a couple of minutes of the interstate for travellers heading between Omaha and the Colorado and Wyoming lines. Westbound it is about 22 miles to North Platte; eastbound about 13 miles to Gothenburg.
Brady is a village of 383 in eastern Lincoln County, established in 1889 and named for a trapper killed on nearby Brady Island. It sits on U.S. Highway 30 — the historic Lincoln Highway — two miles north of Interstate 80, and marks its year with Brady Days each August.
Navigate & Explore Brady
Get directions to Brady: Waze → · Google Maps → · Apple Maps →
Road Conditions: Nebraska 511 — 511.nebraska.gov
Cameras: View Lincoln County Cameras →
Travel Corridor: US-30 Corridor →