About Swan City
Swan City (also simply "Swan") was Saline County's first town and its original county seat, founded on Swan Creek in south-east Nebraska. It was abandoned by the 1890s and no longer exists as a settlement, so no current population, area, or elevation figures apply. The site lies in Saline County's rural interior, about two miles northwest of DeWitt, and is marked today by a Nebraska Historical Marker on Highway 103.
History
William Remington donated the townsite land in 1865, and Swan City was officially platted on October 8, 1866. The first meeting of the Saline County Commissioners was held nearby at Cline's Mill on February 17, 1866, and Swan City served as the county's first seat of government. The town grew to about 200 residents and supported a thriving business district, including a hotel; the O'Connor Circus wintered there more than once.
Decline and Legacy
Swan City's decline began in 1871, when the county seat moved to Pleasant Hill and the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad was built through the Blue River Valley about two and a half miles away. Most of the town's businesses relocated to nearby DeWitt or Wilber within two years to be closer to the tracks. The town's flour mill, its last operating business, burned in 1891, completing Swan City's transition to a ghost town. Nothing remains on the ground at the original townsite today.
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Swan City was Saline County's first town and original county seat. William Remington donated the townsite land in 1865, and the town was officially platted on October 8, 1866, on Swan Creek, from which it took its name. The first meeting of the Saline County Commissioners was held nearby at Cline's Mill on February 17, 1866.
The town grew to roughly 200 residents and supported a thriving business district that included a hotel; the O'Connor Circus wintered there more than once. Its decline began in 1871, when the county seat moved to Pleasant Hill and the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad was built through the Blue River Valley about two and a half miles away. Most of Swan City's businesses relocated to nearby DeWitt or Wilber within two years to be near the tracks. The town's flour mill, its last operating business, burned in 1891, and Swan City became a ghost town.
Nothing remains on the ground at the original townsite today. A Nebraska Historical Marker on Nebraska Highway 103, about two miles northwest of DeWitt, recounts Swan City's history.
Swan City (platted 1866, abandoned by the 1890s) was Saline County's first town and county seat, growing to about 200 residents and hosting a wintering circus before the railroad bypassed it in 1871. A Nebraska Historical Marker on Highway 103 near DeWitt marks the site today.
Navigate & Explore Swan City
Get directions to the Swan City historical marker: Waze → · Google Maps →
Road Conditions: Nebraska 511 → 511.nebraska.gov
Cameras: View Saline County Cameras →