Newport Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Village · Rock County · Population 68 (2020 census) · ZIP 68759 · Founded 1883 · Peak population 430 (1920)

About Newport

Newport is a village of 68 people (2020) on US 20 and the Cowboy Trail in eastern Rock County, at about 2,234 feet, 11 miles east of Bassett and 10 miles west of Stuart. NE 137 runs north from Newport to the Niobrara River and on through Jamison to South Dakota. The village has few services; plan fuel and food in Bassett or Stuart. The nearest hospital is Rock County Hospital in Bassett. Newport is on Central Time.

History

Newport took its name from the Newport bridge on the Niobrara, which freighters and mule trains crossed; when the railroad came through, its engineer named the station for the nearest point to that bridge. The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad (later the Chicago & North Western) located the town in 1883, and the post office opened on January 22, 1884. Newport was one of five places that sought the county seat in 1888. It sat at the head of a hay valley about 22 miles long and became one of the largest hay-shipping points in the world, sending out some 25,000 tons a year. In March 1904 a prairie fire ten miles wide swept up from the south toward the railroad; a special train brought 75 men who saved the town. The population peaked at 430 in 1920. The railroad was abandoned in 1992 and is now the Cowboy Trail. Golfer Opal Hill, winner of the Women's Western Open in 1935 and 1936, was from Newport.

Highways and trails through Newport

Route	One way	Other way
US 20East–west through the village	West to Bassett	East to Stuart and Atkinson
NE 137North from Newport	North across the Niobrara to Jamison and South Dakota

Nearby towns

Stuart	about 9 mi east	US 20
Bassett	about 11 mi west	US 20
Mariaville	about 12 mi north	NE 137 and county roads
Carns	about 12 mi northwest	County roads
Atkinson	about 18 mi east-southeast	US 20
Sybrant	about 20 mi south	County roads
Springview	about 27 mi northwest	US 20 and US 183
Jamison	about 27 mi north	NE 137
Naper	about 28 mi north-northeast	NE 137 and NE 12

Things to see

Spring Valley Park, about 0.8 mile southwest on US 20 (0.1 mile east of 457th Ave.): Vic and Maude Thompson's roadside park of about 1938, called Nebraska's first roadside rest area, and History Nebraska marker 106 · the Cowboy Trail through the village (Spring Valley Park is near trail mile 119.9) · the NE 137 landing north of town, the last landing on the Niobrara National Scenic River (damaged in 2019; check its status before you go) · the former post offices of Mariaville, about 12 miles north near the Niobrara, and Sybrant, about 20 miles south

Schools and health care

Schools: Students attend Rock County Public Schools in Bassett

Health care: Nearest hospital: Rock County Hospital in Bassett, about 11 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; NEGenWeb Rock County (1940 county history, Who's Who in Nebraska 1940, post offices and country stores, churches, place names); USGenWeb Archives (Rock County pioneer memoir, cemeteries); History Nebraska and its markers; National Register nominations; Nebraska Department of Transportation (2026 renumbering, Carns Bridge); National Park Service (Niobrara National Scenic River); Nebraska Game and Parks; Rock County; Rock County Hospital; Rock County Public Schools; Nebraska 211; Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts; USDA Market News; KOLN 10/11; KRVN; News Channel Nebraska; Norfolk Daily News. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.