Johnson Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Johnson Area Cameras

Village · Nemaha County · Population 309 (2020 census) · ZIP 68378 · Founded 1869 · Peak population 352 (1900)

About Johnson

Johnson is a village of 309 in western Nemaha County, on the S-64B spur just east of NE 105 and 1 to 2 miles north of US 136, about 8 miles west of Auburn. All three Johnson-Brock schools are here, and each June the Father's Day Chicken BBQ brings back alumni and visitors.

History

In 1869 Julius A. Johnson laid out a town called Johnson and got a post office; Judd Wright kept the first store and was postmaster. When the Burlington's Republican Valley line was built from Beatrice and Tecumseh to Auburn in 1880–82, the Lincoln Land Company laid out a new site within forty rods of the old one, and the buildings were moved to it. A bank opened in 1892, along with the Johnson News, and the village incorporated in 1894. The population peaked at 352 in 1900.

About 2 miles to the west, the town of St. Frederick, surveyed in 1858, was destroyed by a tornado in July 1869 and never rebuilt; its cemetery remains. The railroad through Johnson was abandoned in sections from 1944 to 1985. The school, built in brick in 1896 and rebuilt in 1936, became the home of Johnson-Brock schools after Brock's closed in 2003. The Father's Day Chicken BBQ held its 62nd year in 2026.

Highways and trails through Johnson

Route	One way	Other way
S-64BSpur east from NE 105 into the village	West to NE 105	Ends in Johnson
NE 105 / US 136Just west and south of the village	NE 105 north to NE 67 near Brock; US 136 east to Auburn (about 8 mi)	US 136 west to Tecumseh; NE 105 south into Pawnee County

Nearby towns

Brock	about 5 mi north-northeast	NE 105 and NE 67
Auburn	about 8 mi east	US 136
Glenrock	about 6 mi east-northeast	County roads
Talmage	about 8 mi north	NE 105 and NE 67
Julian	about 10 mi northeast	County roads
Tecumseh	about 10 mi west-southwest	US 136
Cook	about 11 mi northwest	County roads

Things to see

Father's Day Chicken BBQ (62nd in June 2026), with an alumni banquet, street dance, softball and volleyball tournaments and a 5K · Johnson Community Center & Library on Main St. · St. Matthew Lutheran Church and Johnson United Methodist Church · St. Frederick Cemetery, all that remains of the town destroyed in 1869 · the St. John's Lutheran "Stone Church" complex (National Register), about 6 mi south-southeast · Coryell Park and mausoleum, between Johnson and Brock

Events in Johnson

Johnson Father’s Day Chicken BBQ
Johnson Father's Day Chicken BBQ is held in Johnson, Nebraska, on Father's Day weekend.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Johnson-Brock Public Schools: Elementary School at Johnson (PK–5), Johnson-Brock Junior High School (6–8) and High School at Johnson (9–12), all at 310 Main St., Johnson

Health care: No clinic in Johnson; Nemaha County Hospital, 2022 13th St., Auburn, 402-274-4366 (critical access hospital, 24-hour emergency room)

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Nemaha County Beauty-Bounty (1967); History Nebraska; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nemaha NRD; Nebraska Department of Transportation; city, village, school, library and museum websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.