Albion Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Boone County Cameras

Boone County camera - NE 14 at Petersburg — looking east

NE 14 at Petersburg — looking east — Nebraska DOT511 camera

City · Boone County · County seat · Population 1,699 (2020 census) · ZIP 68620 · Founded 1872 · Peak population 2,268 (1940)

About Albion

Albion is a city of 1,699 people (2020) and the seat of Boone County, at about 1,775 feet in the rolling farm country of east-central Nebraska. NE 14 and NE 91 meet in town, sharing a few blocks of 6th and State streets, and NE 39 ends at NE 14 just southeast of town on its way from St. Edward and Genoa. The Union Pacific branch from Columbus still ends here, carrying grain and ethanol trains. Albion has the county courthouse, Boone County Health Center (a 22-bed critical access hospital), Boone Central Schools and St. Michael's Catholic school, a public library in the Carnegie building, the county fairgrounds, a golf course and Fuller Park, with camping and an aquatic center. Albion is on Central Time.

History

Loran Clark platted Albion on his land in 1872 and became its first postmaster; the post office, first called Hammond, took the new name in 1873. Local tradition says the name was settled over a game of euchre, two players holding out for Albion and two for Manchester, and it was carried over from Albion, Michigan. In October 1872 Albion beat the rival town of Boone for county seat, 67 to 21; the Boone faction surveyed a second "Albion" of its own, and the legislature had to settle the matter in Albion's favor, with the seat fixed there in February 1873. Until the Union Pacific branch arrived in the early summer of 1880, the nearest railroad was at Columbus, 45 miles away. The first courthouse, a two-story brick building, went up in 1885–86; the present one-story courthouse at 222 S. 4th St. replaced it in 1975–76. Albion reached 2,268 people in 1940. Gov. William A. Poynter, Secretary of the Navy Francis P. Matthews, historian Viola Florence Barnes and pitcher Al Mahon called Albion home.

Highways and trails through Albion

Route	One way	Other way
NE 14North–south through town	North to Loretto, Petersburg and Elgin	South to Fullerton
NE 91East–west, sharing a few blocks with NE 14	West to Spalding and US 281	East to Newman Grove country and NE 45
NE 39Ends at NE 14 just southeast of town	Southeast to St. Edward and Genoa	Ends here

Nearby towns

Loretto	about 7 mi northwest	NE 14
St. Edward	about 11 mi southeast	NE 39
Cedar Rapids	about 12 mi southwest	NE 14 and NE 56
Newman Grove	about 12 mi east-northeast	NE 91
Petersburg	about 12 mi north-northwest	NE 14
Primrose	about 13 mi west-southwest	NE 91 and NE 52
Akron	about 13 mi west-northwest	NE 91 and county roads
Spalding	about 19 mi west	NE 91
Elgin	about 21 mi north-northwest	NE 14
Genoa	about 22 mi southeast	NE 39
Fullerton	about 22 mi south	NE 14
Neligh	about 31 mi north	NE 14
Columbus	about 37 mi east-southeast	NE 39 and US 30
Norfolk	about 38 mi northeast	NE 91 and US 275

Things to see

the Boone County Historical Society Museum, 935 W. Fairview St.: more than 50 displays, a 2024 agricultural building, a one-room school and Albion's popcorn wagon; weekends 1–4 p.m. in summer · the Albion Public Library in the Carnegie library building, 437 S. 3rd St. (National Register) · the post office building, 310 W. Church St. (National Register) · Highway 14 Brewing Company, 134 S. 4th St., brewing since 2018 · Fuller Park: campground with hookups and the Albion Family Aquatic Center · the Albion Country Club on NE 91 · the Boone County Fair in July

Events in Albion

Boone County Fair
The Boone County Fair is held annually in July at the Boone County Fairgrounds, 2324 Fairgrounds Road, Albion, NE 68620.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Boone Central Schools, 605 S. 6th St., (402) 395-2134: elementary (PK–4), middle (5–8) and high school (9–12); St. Michael's Catholic School, 520 W. Church St.

Health care: Boone County Health Center, 723 W Fairview St., Albion, (402) 395-3268: a 22-bed critical access hospital with a rural health clinic

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Boone County (history sketch, post office history, offices); Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); History Nebraska (markers); National Register listings and the St. Bonaventure Church Complex nomination (1982); Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska Department of Education and Department of Revenue; Village of Cedar Rapids; City of St. Edward; Boone County Health Center; Elgin Review; KOLN 10/11; VisitNebraska. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.