Bassett Nebraska

City · Rock County · County seat · Population 538 (2020 census) · ZIP 68714 · Founded 1884 · Peak population 1,066 (1950)

About Bassett

Bassett is a city of 538 (2020) and the seat of Rock County, at about 2,339 feet in the eastern Sandhills, where US 20 meets US 183. Since August 10, 2026, US 183 runs north from Bassett across the Niobrara to Springview on the road that used to be NE 7, as well as south to Rose and Taylor; US 20 and US 183 no longer share the road west to Long Pine. The Cowboy Trail crosses town on the old railroad grade at trail mile 124. Bassett has the county courthouse, Rock County Public Schools, the 15-bed Rock County Hospital with its clinic and pharmacy, a library, a golf course, a campground at the fairgrounds and the weekly Rock County Leader. The Bassett Livestock Auction holds feeder-cattle sales on Wednesdays. Bassett is on Central Time.

History

Bassett was named for J. W. Bassett, a rancher who brought one of the first cattle herds into the area in 1871. The L. Cannonburg family from Wisconsin settled the land that includes the townsite in the spring of 1882; Cannonburg was the first postmaster, and the first school term was held in a room of his house in 1883. The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad (later the Chicago & North Western) built through about 1883, and the town was platted in 1884. When voters split Rock County from Brown County on November 6, 1888, Bassett led a five-way race for the county seat; the first county board made it the temporary seat in January 1889, and a special election on January 29, 1889, made it permanent.

The first courthouse burned in 1897. The present courthouse, an Art Deco building by E. B. Watson, was built in 1939–40 with Works Projects Administration help and is on the National Register. In 1949 Maude Lackaff bought the old Hotel Bassett and, with local investors, rebuilt it as the Bassett Lodge and Range Cafe to serve cattle buyers at the livestock auction; it is also on the National Register and still serves meals at its original lunch counter. The population peaked at 1,066 in 1950. The railroad was abandoned in 1992 and became the Cowboy Trail.

Things to see

the 1939–40 Art Deco Rock County Courthouse, 400 State St. (National Register) · the Bassett Lodge & Range Cafe, 205 Clark St. (National Register): the 1950 lodge and café built for cattle buyers, original lunch counter still in use · the Rock County Historical Society Museum on West US 20: the depot, the Valley Grove one-room school, an 1889 church, a windmill and farm building, and a log cabin · the Cowboy Trail, mile 124, with Long Pine 8.8 trail miles west and Newport 11.3 miles east · the Fred Thomas WMA, about 11½ miles north on US 183 at the Niobrara bridge: a lookout over the river and primitive camping, and the river access at the bridge · the Nick Lyman WMA (formerly Twin Lakes), 703 acres about 18 miles south · the Sandhills Ranch Expo in mid-June and the Rock County Fair in late July

Navigate & Explore Bassett

Get directions to Bassett: Waze → · Google Maps → · Apple Maps →

Nearby businesses: Find businesses within 20 miles of Bassett →

Road conditions: Nebraska 511 — 511.nebraska.gov

Cameras: View Rock County cameras →

Travel corridors: US 20 Corridor → · US 183 Corridor →

Rock County → · Nebraska Town Directory →