Oakland Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Burt County · Population 1,369 (2020 census) · ZIP 68045 · Founded 1862 · Peak population 1,456 (1950)

About Oakland

Oakland is a city of 1,369 in the Logan Creek valley of western Burt County, where US 77 (Charde Avenue) meets NE 32. It calls itself "the Swedish capital of Nebraska" and has the Swedish Heritage Center, the Burt County Fairgrounds, Oakland-Craig schools, the Franciscan Healthcare clinic, the Oakland Public Library, Oakland City Park and the Oakland Golf Club.

History

Aaron Arlington's family settled here in the late 1850s, and in 1862 John Oak bought their claim; the town took his name. Swedish homesteaders began arriving in the Logan Valley in the mid-1860s, and by 1881 the town of about 700 was "largely composed of Scandinavians." The railroad was extended from Tekamah in 1879 and abandoned in 1975. The Oakland Independent was founded in 1880.

The Burt County Fair has been held in Oakland since 1913. Val Peterson, governor of Nebraska from 1947 to 1953, was born in the Swedish Lutheran parsonage here in 1903, and U.S. Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona was also born in Oakland. Governor Kay Orr named Oakland the Swedish capital of Nebraska in 1987, and the Swedish Heritage Center opened in the former Swedish Mission church in 1989. The town's hospital ended inpatient and emergency care on July 1, 2021; Franciscan Healthcare of West Point took over the clinic in 2023.

Highways and trails through Oakland

Route	One way	Other way
US 77Charde Avenue, north–south through town	North to Lyons (about 7.5 mi) and Walthill	South to Uehling and Fremont (about 24 mi)
NE 32East–west, meets US 77 in town	East to Craig (about 6 mi) and Tekamah (about 14 mi)	West to West Point (about 13 mi)

Nearby towns

Craig	about 6 mi east	NE 32
Lyons	about 7.5 mi north	US 77
Uehling	about 9 mi south	US 77
West Point	about 13 mi west	NE 32
Tekamah	about 14 mi east	NE 32
Bancroft	about 16 mi north	US 77 and NE 51

Things to see

Swedish Heritage Center, 301 N. Charde Ave. (May–October by appointment; donation), with the Governor Val Peterson historical marker · Oakland City Auditorium, 401 N. Oakland Ave. (National Register) · the park gazebo with logs from John Oak's cabin · Victor Colson Homestead marker and rock cabin on US 77 north of town · Logan Creek Site historical marker on US 77 south of town · Dala horses around town

Events in Oakland

Burt County Fair
Burt County Fair, the county fair held each July at the fairgrounds in Oakland, Nebraska.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Oakland-Craig Public Schools: Oakland-Craig Elementary (pre-K–6), 400 N. Brewster Ave., and Oakland-Craig Junior-Senior High (7–12), 309 N. Davis Ave.

Health care: Franciscan Healthcare Oakland Clinic, 211 N. Engdahl Ave.; nearest hospitals Franciscan Healthcare, West Point (about 13 mi), and Methodist Fremont Health (about 24 mi)

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Burt County; History Nebraska; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska Department of Transportation route mileposts. Distances marked "about" are estimates.