Hebron Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Hebron Area Cameras

City · Thayer County · County seat · Population 1,458 (2020 census) · ZIP 68370 · Founded 1869 · Peak population 2,000 (1950)

About Hebron

Hebron is the seat of Thayer County, a city of 1,458 on the Little Blue River where US 81 meets US 136. It has Thayer County Health Services, Thayer Central Community Schools, the county courthouse and one of the world's largest covered porch swings.

History

Edric J. Huse and Amos Duffield claimed land here in 1868, and in 1869 a settlers' colony arrived; the post office opened that July, E. M. Correll surveyed the town in August, and the first building went up in October 1870. A militia company built Fort Butler, a stockade on Spring Creek about a mile south, in 1869. Correll founded the Hebron Journal in 1871. Hebron became the county seat when Thayer County was organized in 1871–72, and the Burlington arrived in January 1884, followed by the Rock Island.

Correll made Hebron the center of Nebraska's woman suffrage movement: Susan B. Anthony spoke here in October 1877, Elizabeth Cady Stanton in April 1879, and the Thayer County Woman Suffrage Association, the first in the state, organized on April 15, 1879. The first game of six-man football was played here at night on September 26, 1934, a 19–19 tie. On May 9, 1953, a tornado killed five people and destroyed about 40 businesses and 50 homes; the courthouse tower had to be taken down. The population peaked at 2,000 in 1950. Pollster Elmo Roper, Oscar-winning arranger Ken Darby and actor Greg Lee were born here.

Highways and trails through Hebron

Route	One way	Other way
US 81North–south along the east side of the city	North past Belvidere and Bruning to Geneva and York	South to Chester and Kansas
US 136Meets US 81 just south of the city	East past Gilead to Fairbury	West to Deshler and Superior

Nearby towns

Belvidere	about 6 mi north-northeast	US 81
Deshler	about 7 mi west-southwest	US 136
Gilead	about 9 mi east	US 136
Carleton	about 11 mi north-northwest	US 81 and NE 4
Chester	about 11 mi south	US 81
Bruning	about 12 mi north	US 81
Alexandria	about 12 mi east-northeast	US 136 and NE 53
Fairbury	about 22 mi east	US 136
Geneva	about 25 mi north	US 81

Things to see

The World's Largest Covered Porch Swing in Roosevelt Park, 5th St. and Jefferson Ave.: a 32-foot seat on a Reinke irrigation frame, built in 1985 and roofed about 2015 · the Thayer County Courthouse, 225 N. 4th St. (1901–03), of Indiana limestone · the Hebron post office, 145 N. 5th St. (1937; National Register), with the 1939 mural Stampeding Buffalo Stopping Train by Eldora Lorenzini · the Legacy of Courage Park beside the Hebron Secrest Library, 146 N. 4th St. · the Majestic Theatre, 110 S. 5th St., run by volunteers · Riverside Park, on the Little Blue, with about 20 electric campsites, and the city pool nearby · Hebron Country Club (9 holes) · Little Blue WMA, about 3 mi east-southeast · the Fourth of July celebration

Schools and health care

Schools: Thayer Central Community Schools: Thayer Central Elementary (PK–6), 1020 Eads Ave., and Thayer Central High School (7–12), 930 Eads Ave., in Hebron

Health care: Thayer County Health Services, 120 Park Ave., Hebron, a 17-bed critical access hospital, 402-768-4672, with its Hebron Medical Clinic at the same address

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Who's Who in Nebraska, Thayer County (1940); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1917); History Nebraska and its historical markers; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Little Blue NRD; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Heritage Highway 136; village, school, museum and hospital websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.