About Bruning
Bruning is a village in the northern part of Thayer County, in south-eastern Nebraska, a short distance east of U.S. Highway 81. The 2020 census counted 285 residents. The village covers 0.28 square miles, all of it land. The surrounding country is dryland and irrigated cropland raising corn, soybeans, milo and alfalfa. Bruning State Bank has its home office here. There is a village park, a fire hall and an opera house building downtown.
History
The town was established in 1887 as a stop on the railroad. It takes its name from Frank Bruning. The 1925 volume Nebraska Place Names says the town was named for Frank Bruning and his three brothers, early settlers in the vicinity. Population has held fairly steady: 300 in 2000, 279 in 2010, 285 in 2020.
The balloon flight
During the Second World War the U.S. Army Air Forces operated Bruning Army Airfield nearby. On 22 October 1960 Paul E. Yost, known as Ed Yost, lifted off from that field in the first free flight of a modern propane-fuelled hot air balloon. A state historical marker records that the flight lasted 25 minutes and covered three miles. Yost had chosen the old airfield for its open space and few obstructions.
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Bruning, founded in 1887 as a railroad town and named for German immigrant Frank Bruning, holds an outsized place in aviation history: it was the site of a WWII-era Army airfield and, in 1960, the launch point of Ed Yost's first free flight of a modern propane-fueled hot air balloon — an event widely credited with helping revive sport ballooning in the United States.
Despite its small size (285 residents in 2020), Bruning punches above its weight historically thanks to its aviation legacy, making it a notable stop in any account of Thayer County's 20th-century history.
Navigate & Explore Bruning
Get directions: search "Bruning Nebraska" in Waze or Google Maps
Road Conditions: Nebraska 511 — 511.nebraska.gov
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