Crookston Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Village · Cherry County · Population 71 (2020 census) · ZIP 69212 · Founded 1885 · Peak population 373 (1930)

About Crookston

Crookston is a village of 71 (2020) in Cherry County, at about 2,674 feet in the valley of Minnechaduza Creek, about 11 miles west-northwest of Valentine and reached by a county road just off US 20. It has a post office (ZIP 69212) and a Lutheran church. Crookston lies a few miles east of the Central–Mountain time line and keeps Central Time like Valentine.

History

Crookston began in 1885 as the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad, later the Chicago & North Western, was built up the Minnechaduza valley, and the Pioneer Town-Site Company platted it in 1894. It was named for W. T. Crook, the railroad's yardmaster at Valentine. The post office opened in 1886. Government warehouses here held supplies for the Rosebud Reservation that were hauled north by wagon, and the town called itself the "Gateway to the Great Rosebud Reservation." Dairying was the main business, with cream shipped east by rail; by 1914 Crookston had two banks, two hardware stores, a hotel, a drugstore and a movie house. The Depression closed both banks. The population peaked at 373 in 1930. A German Lutheran church built south of town in 1907 was moved into Crookston in 1952. The school merged into Valentine Community Schools in 2006.

Highways and trails through Crookston

Route	One way	Other way
US 20Just south of the village	East to Valentine	West to Kilgore, Nenzel and Cody

Nearby towns

Kilgore	about 11 mi west	US 20
Valentine	about 11 mi east-southeast	US 20
Thatcher	about 17 mi east-southeast	US 20
Nenzel	about 18 mi west	US 20
Simeon	about 22 mi south	County roads
Sparks	about 25 mi east	US 20 and NE 12

Things to see

the Lutheran church, moved into town in 1952 · Valentine, the Fort Niobrara refuge and the Niobrara outfitters, 11 miles east

Schools and health care

Schools: Students attend Valentine Community Schools

Health care: Nearest hospital: Cherry County Hospital in Valentine, about 11 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Who's Who in Nebraska, Cherry County (1940); NEGenWeb Cherry County; Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names; Nebraska Blue Books (1920, 1926); History Nebraska and its markers; National Register nominations; 49 CFR 71.7 (time-zone boundary); National Park Service (Niobrara National Scenic River); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Forest Service; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska Department of Transportation; FAA via AirNav; FCC; Cherry County; City of Valentine; Valentine Community Schools; Cody-Kilgore Public Schools; Cherry County Hospital; Visit Nebraska; Nebraska Arts Council; Flatwater Free Press; Nebraska Examiner; Rural Radio Network. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.