McCook Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Red Willow County · County seat · Population 7,446 (2020 census) · ZIP 69001 · Founded 1882 · Peak population 8,404 (1980)

About McCook

McCook is the seat of Red Willow County, a city of 7,446 on the north side of the Republican River where US 6 and US 34 meet US 83. It is the trade, medical and college center of southwest Nebraska, with Community Hospital, McCook Community College, McCook Public Schools, the regional airport and an Amtrak stop on the California Zephyr.

History

A small settlement called Fairview, with a post office from July 2, 1879, stood on the Colvin family's land here. In the spring of 1882 the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad chose the site as the end of a division on its Omaha–Denver line, and its Lincoln Land Company platted a new town, selling the first lots on May 25, 1882; by July nearly 100 buildings were up. The town and post office were named McCook, for Union Gen. Alexander McDowell McCook, on June 14, 1882, and the village was organized in November 1883. McCook quickly outgrew Indianola, the county seat; its backers petitioned in 1890, won an 1892 vote 1,339 to 876 but short of the three-fifths needed, and after four years in the courts the Nebraska Supreme Court decided for McCook in April 1896.

George W. Norris bought the house at 706 Main Street, now Norris Avenue, in 1899 and lived there through four decades in Congress; Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Harvey P. Sutton House down the street in 1905–07. McCook Junior College opened in 1926 in the new YMCA building, and the present courthouse was dedicated in 1927. During World War II the McCook Army Air Base, about 8 miles northwest, trained B-17, B-24 and B-29 crews from 1943 to 1945. Phil Niekro pitched for the 1959 McCook Braves. The city reached its largest population, 8,404, in 1980. Ben Nelson, governor and U.S. senator, was born here in 1941, and Montana justice Frank B. Morrison Jr. in 1937; John R. McCarl, the first U.S. comptroller general, grew up here and is buried in Memorial Park Cemetery.

Highways and trails through McCook

Route	One way	Other way
US 6 / US 34East–west through the city, sharing about 1½ mi with US 83	East to Indianola (about 11 mi), Bartley and Cambridge	West to Perry and Culbertson
US 83North–south through the city; south on 6th Street	North past Hugh Butler Lake to North Platte	South past NE 89 to Oberlin, Kansas

Nearby towns

Perry	about 5 mi west	US 6/34
Culbertson	about 11 mi west	US 6/34
Indianola	about 11 mi east	US 6/34
Marion	about 15 mi south-southeast	US 83 and NE 89
Danbury	about 16 mi southeast	US 83 and NE 89
Bartley	about 17 mi east	US 6/34
Maywood	about 31 mi north	US 83
Lebanon	about 21 mi east-southeast	US 83 and NE 89

Things to see

The Senator George Norris State Historic Site, 706 Norris Ave., a National Historic Landmark, Thursday–Saturday 1–5 p.m., free · the Harvey P. Sutton House, 602 Norris Ave., the only Frank Lloyd Wright house known in Nebraska (private; view from the sidewalk) · the Museum of the High Plains, 421 Norris Ave., with the 1900s Carnegie library and exhibits on the railroad, the air base and the Indianola POW camp · the Keystone Hotel (1922) and the YMCA building (1925) on Norris Ave. · the 1927 Red Willow County Courthouse, 502 Norris Ave. · the George W. Norris state marker in City Park and the Ben Nelson and Frank Morrison home markers on Norris Ave. · the 1926 Burlington depot, now the Amtrak station, 101 Norris Ave. · the McCook Army Air Base marker on US 83 and the Norden bombsight vault · the McCook Aquatic Park, Heritage Hills Golf Course (18 holes) and the Karrer Park campground · Red Willow Reservoir SRA on Hugh Butler Lake, in Frontier County about 11 mi north on US 83 · the Buffalo Commons Storytelling & Music Festival in June, the county fair in July and Heritage Days in September

Events in McCook

McCook Heritage Days
McCook Heritage Days is held in Norris Park and along Norris Avenue in McCook.
Red Willow County Fair
Red Willow County Fair is a Held at the Red Willow County Fairgrounds. 2026 fair ran July 22 to 26.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: McCook Public Schools: McCook Elementary (PK–3), Central Elementary (4–5), McCook Junior High (6–8) and McCook Senior High (9–12); St. Patrick School (Catholic, K–8), 401 E. F St.; McCook Community College (Mid-Plains), 1205 E. 3rd St.

Health care: Community Hospital, 1301 East H St., McCook, (308) 344-2650, a 25-bed critical access hospital

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Johnson's History of Nebraska (1880); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890); Who's Who in Nebraska, Red Willow County (1940); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names; Southwest Nebraska Genealogical Society and NEGenWeb Red Willow County; McCook Gazette; History Nebraska and its historical markers; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska Department of Revenue; school, hospital, library and city websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.