Tekamah Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Burt County · County seat · Population 1,714 (2020 census) · ZIP 68061 · Founded 1854 · Peak population 1,925 (1940)

About Tekamah

Tekamah is the county seat of Burt County, a city of 1,714 on US 75 (13th Street), where NE 32 ends. It has the 1917 Burt County Courthouse, the Burt County Museum, the Lied Tekamah Public Library in the 1916 Carnegie building, Tekamah-Herman schools, the Cottonwood Clinic, the Tekamah Motel and Northridge Country Club. Summit Lake and Pelican Point state recreation areas are nearby.

History

A party led by B. R. Folsom for the Nebraska Stock Company claimed the townsite, four miles square, on October 7, 1854, and the first permanent settlers arrived the next spring. A legislative act of March 14, 1855, incorporated Tekamah and made it the seat of Burt County, one of Nebraska's eight original counties; it has been the seat ever since. Accounts of the name differ: an Omaha word for "big cottonwood," or a respelling of Tehama, California. Lewis and Clark had passed along the river here in 1804.

The town's "wildcat" Bank of Tekamah failed after the Panic of 1857. The Omaha & North-Western railroad arrived from Omaha in the fall of 1876, and Tekamah was the end of the line until it was extended to Oakland in 1879; the tracks were abandoned in 1975 and 1980. The present courthouse, designed by Rose & Peterson of Kansas City, was built in 1916–17 and has a mosaic of the state seal in its floor. Rodeo champion and film cowboy Hoot Gibson was born in Tekamah. The population peaked at 1,925 in 1940.

Highways and trails through Tekamah

Route	One way	Other way
US 7513th Street, north–south through town	North to Decatur (about 16 mi) and Macy	South to Herman (about 8 mi) and Blair (about 18 mi)
NE 32L Street; eastern end at US 75	Ends at US 75	West to Craig (about 8 mi), Oakland (about 14 mi) and West Point

Nearby towns

Arizona	about 6 mi east-northeast	County roads
Craig	about 8 mi west	NE 32
Herman	about 8 mi south	US 75
Oakland	about 14 mi west	NE 32
Decatur	about 16 mi north	US 75
Blair	about 18 mi south	US 75

Things to see

Burt County Courthouse, 111 N. 13th St. (National Register) · Burt County Museum, 319 N. 13th St., in the 1904 E. C. Houston House with a one-room school on the grounds (Tue, Thu, Sat 1–5 p.m.; donation) · Edward W. and Rose Folsom Bryant House, 104 S. 16th St. (National Register) · Tekamah Carnegie Library, 204 S. 13th St. (National Register) · Tekamah Auditorium, 1315 K St. (National Register) · Burt County State Bank, 246 S. 13th St. (National Register) · Tekamah historical marker, 13th and K streets · Silver Hills Vineyards & Winery

Schools and health care

Schools: Tekamah-Herman Community Schools: Elementary School at Tekamah (pre-K–6) and High School at Tekamah (7–12), 112 N. 13th St.

Health care: Cottonwood Clinic of Memorial Community Hospital & Health System, 3519 Hwy 32 (weekdays); nearest hospital Memorial Community Hospital, Blair (about 18 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.