Nebraska City, Nebraska
About Nebraska City
Nebraska City is the county seat of Otoe County, Nebraska. It sits on the western bank of the Missouri River and is known as "The Home of Arbor Day." It is also called Historic Nebraska City. About 7,512 people lived here in 2025.
Nebraska City at a glance
- Founded
- 1855 Wikidata
- Population
- 7,512 Census Population Estimates, 2025
- County
- Otoe County U.S. Census Bureau
- State
- Nebraska U.S. Census Bureau
- Land area
- 5 sq mi Census Gazetteer, 2026
- Nearest city
- Bellevue, NE · 37 miles by road OpenStreetMap routing
- ZIP code
- 68410 Wikidata
- Area code
- 402 Wikidata
- Nicknames
- “The Home of Arbor Day”, “Historic Nebraska City” Wikipedia
- Known for
- Home of Arbor Day; Oldest incorporated city in Nebraska Wikipedia
How Nebraska City became Nebraska City
- 1804Lewis and Clark reported early exploration along the Missouri River and met the Oto-Missouria, Omaha and Pawnee.
- 1846The US Army built Old Fort Kearny at Nebraska City, then later left it for a new site in central Nebraska.
- 1852 or 1853John Boulware and his father built a ferry house, the first residence in Nebraska City.
- 1855Nebraska City was approved by special act of the Territorial Legislature, the first city approved that way.
- 1857On December 31, three town sites and Prairie City joined to incorporate as present-day Nebraska City.
- 1858Alexander Majors of Russell, Majors and Waddell chose Nebraska City as the departure point for shipping military supplies west.
- 1850s–1860sMissouri River steamboats brought goods and people heading west.
- October 1930The Waubonsie Bridge opened, giving Nebraska City the permanent road bridge over the Missouri it had long wanted.
Nebraska City today
Nebraska City welcomes visitors with parks, museums and yearly festivals. Arbor Day in April and the AppleJack Festival in September are the big ones.
- Arbor LodgeThe 52-room mansion of J. Sterling Morton's family, and a symbol of the town's Arbor Day identity.
- Arbor Day FarmA 260-acre home of Arbor Day attractions and orchards. It hosts much of the AppleJack Festival.
- AppleJack FestivalHeld the third weekend of September, with a parade, car show, carnival rides, quilt show and craft shows.
- Old Freighters MuseumRun by the Nebraska City Historical Society and recently renovated, it tells the story of the freighting era.
- Steinhart ParkThe town's main community park, with the aquatic center. It hosts the AppleJack fun run.
- TreestockA yearly event held in July.
Coming up
Shop local: Nebraska City’s locally owned favorites →
Did you know?
Allen and Barbara Mayhew built the Mayhew Cabin from cottonwood logs after arriving in 1854.
Mayhew Cabin is the only site in Nebraska recognized by the National Park Service as an Underground Railroad station.
Joy Morton, oldest son of J. Sterling and Caroline Morton, completed the 52-room Arbor Lodge mansion in 1903.
Arbor Lodge began as a two-room house in 1855 and was remodeled many times.
The Kregel Windmill factory, built in 1902, is called the last intact historical windmill factory in the United States.
The Otoe County Courthouse on Central Avenue was built in 1864–65 and is called the oldest public building in Nebraska.
The Nebraska City–Fort Kearny Cutoff got its nickname from an 1862 steam wagon experiment that never got beyond the outskirts of town.
By 1888 the Burlington Railroad bridge was the only bridge across the Missouri at Nebraska City.
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Sources and photo credits
- Wikidata wikidata.org
- Census Population Estimates www2.census.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau geocoding.geo.census.gov
- Census Gazetteer www2.census.gov
- OpenStreetMap routing router.project-osrm.org
- Nebraska City, Nebraska (Wikipedia) en.wikipedia.org
- Nebraska City mynehistory.com
- Nebraska City’s Pontoon Bridge - Nebraska State Historical Society history.nebraska.gov
- OpenStreetMap: OpenStreetMap: Arbor Lodge (207275759) openstreetmap.org
- OpenStreetMap: OpenStreetMap: Arbor Day Farm (207410755) openstreetmap.org
- OpenStreetMap: OpenStreetMap: Old Freighters Museum (366492323) openstreetmap.org
- OpenStreetMap: OpenStreetMap: Steinhart Park (207525412) openstreetmap.org
- nebraskacity.com: Events nebraskacity.com
- mayhewcabin.org: Mayhew Cabin mayhewcabin.org
- history.nebraska.gov: Marker Monday Arbor Lodge history.nebraska.gov
- Becoming Arbor Lodge - Nebraska State Historical Society history.nebraska.gov
- The Kregel Windmill Factory mynehistory.com
- Otoe County Courthouse Historical Marker (HMdb) hmdb.org
- Nebraska City Historical Marker – HMdb hmdb.org
Every photo’s author, licence and source: Photo credits.