Wilson Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Wilson Area Cameras

Former rural community · Colfax County · post office 1875–1892

About Wilson

Wilson is a former rural community in Wilson Township, western Colfax County, about 10 miles north-northwest of Schuyler. It had two centers about 4 miles apart: the post office, school and Methodist church in the township's west side, and the Catholic Wilson church on County Road N. Both cemeteries remain.

History

John L. Cushman kept the Wilson post office on his farm from 1875 to 1892, and the Wilson school and a Methodist church met nearby; the Methodist congregation ended about 1894. Another post office, Fulton, ran from 1875 to 1900 near the Catholic church site. In 1882 thirteen German and twenty Czech families built a small Catholic church, served first from Heun and from 1914 from St. Mary's in Schuyler.

A new church of 76 by 40 feet, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, was consecrated in 1918. Weekly Masses ended in 1977, the church was listed on the National Register in 1982, and it appeared as a backdrop in a film of O Pioneers! A storm wrecked it in 1999; its stained glass went to St. Patrick's in Fremont, the building was demolished by 2021, and it was removed from the National Register in 2023.

Nearby towns

Heun	about 7 mi east-northeast	County roads
Leigh	about 9 mi north-northwest	County roads
Schuyler	about 10 mi south-southeast	County roads and NE 15
Clarkson	about 10 mi north-northeast	County roads
Richland	about 10 mi south-southwest	County roads

Things to see

Wilson–St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, County Road N · Wilson School Cemetery (Methodist), about 4 mi west-northwest, marked by pines (in poor condition)