CUSTER COUNTY WEATHER
Southern Custer County Road Map
Northern Custer County Road Map

Custer County, Nebraska

County seat: Broken Bow · Created: February 17, 1877 · Named for: Gen. George Armstrong Custer · License plates: prefix 4 · Population: 10,545 (2020 census); peak 26,407 in 1920 · Area: 2,576 sq mi, second largest in Nebraska after Cherry County · Time zone: Central

About Custer County

Custer County lies near the geographic middle of Nebraska, where the Middle Loup and South Loup rivers cross the county from northwest to southeast and the Sandhills begin in the northwest corner. It has two cities, Broken Bow, the county seat, and Sargent; the villages of Callaway, Arnold, Ansley, Merna, Mason City, Oconto, Anselmo, Berwyn and Comstock; and the communities of Westerville and Weissert. It borders Blaine County on the northwest, Loup and Valley on the northeast, Sherman and Buffalo on the southeast, Dawson on the south, Lincoln on the southwest and Logan on the west.

The county was created on February 17, 1877, and named for Gen. George A. Custer, killed at the Little Bighorn the year before. Milo F. Young’s log ranch house near present Callaway served as the temporary courthouse until Broken Bow won the seat in 1883. Homesteaders poured in during the 1880s, many living in sod houses, and Solomon D. Butcher’s photographs of them made Custer County the “Sod House Capital of the World.” The Burlington built through Ansley, Broken Bow and Anselmo in 1886 and up the Middle Loup to Sargent in 1899, and the Union Pacific reached Callaway in 1890 and Arnold in 1912. The county peaked at 26,407 people in 1920.

Towns of Custer County

Cities and villages

Broken Bow

City · County seat · Pop. 3,506 · ZIP 68822
NE 2 · NE 92 · NE 21 · NE 70

Custer County seat of 3,506 near the middle of Nebraska, named for a broken Indian bow: the courthouse square, the Custer County Museum and Solomon Butcher photographs, the 1928 Arrow Hotel and the Sandhills Journey byway visitor center.

Ansley

Village · Pop. 459 · ZIP 68814
NE 2 · NE 92 · US 183

Village of 459 where NE 2, NE 92 and US 183 meet in southeastern Custer County, founded on the Burlington in 1886: Lake Ansley, the Muddy Creek Festival and its own PK-12 school.

Arnold

Village · Pop. 592 · ZIP 69120
NE 92 · NE 40 · NE 47

Village of 592 on the South Loup River in western Custer County, where NE 92, NE 40 and NE 47 meet: the Finch Memorial Library, Arnold Lake and the Sandhills Open Road Challenge each August.

Callaway

Village · Pop. 563 · ZIP 68825
NE 40

Village of 563 in the South Loup valley on NE 40, with a hospital, the Seven Valleys Museum and Custer County's first courthouse, an 1876 log ranch house in Morgan Park; Pioneer Picnic in June, Kite Flight on Labor Day weekend.

Sargent

City · Pop. 500 · ZIP 68874
US 183

City of 500 on the Middle Loup River and US 183 in northeastern Custer County, laid out in 1883 by future governor Ezra P. Savage; the self-styled Antique Capital of Nebraska.

Merna

Village · Pop. 343 · ZIP 68856
NE 2 · NE 92

Village of 343 where NE 92 joins NE 2, 8 miles northwest of Broken Bow, named for the postmaster's daughter: the Brenizer Library, Anselmo-Merna schools and Heritage Days around the Fourth of July.

Anselmo

Village · Pop. 108 · ZIP 68813
NE 2 · Spur S-21A

Village of 108 on NE 2 at the edge of the Sandhills, platted on the Burlington in 1886: St. Anselm's "Cathedral of the Sandhills" and Victoria Springs State Recreation Area 6 miles east.

Mason City

Village · Pop. 151 · ZIP 68855
NE 2

Village of 151 on NE 2 in southeastern Custer County, platted on the Burlington in 1886 and named for Judge Oliver P. Mason; the 1935 Mason City School and a homecoming held every summer since 1919.

Oconto

Village · Pop. 138 · ZIP 68860
NE 21 · NE 40

Village of 138 where NE 21 crosses NE 40 in southern Custer County, founded as Olax in 1887: the Charles Horn Sculpture Garden, some 70 barn quilts and Pressey Wildlife Management Area 5 miles north.

Comstock

Village · Pop. 68 · ZIP 68828
Spur S-21C · US 183

Village of 68 on the Middle Loup River, "Little Town. Big Heart.", the youngest town in Custer County (1899): the 1900 Dowse Sod House museum 3 miles south.

Berwyn

Village · Pop. 75 · ZIP 68819
NE 2 · NE 92

Village of 75 on NE 2 between Broken Bow and Ansley, platted by the Lincoln Land Company in 1886 and first called Janesville; the Heritage House Inn bed and breakfast.

Westerville

Unincorporated community (CDP) · Pop. 31 · ZIP 68881
US 183 · NE 70

Community of 31 where US 183 meets NE 70, the first town in Custer County (1880): the county's first church, newspaper and county fairs, then bypassed by the railroad in 1886.

Weissert

Unincorporated community
County roads

Rural community 11 miles east-northeast of Broken Bow, whose post office opened in 1892; the Lone Tree (Weissert) Cemetery is a mile south.

Former towns and post office communities

Etna

Former community · post offices 1885–1921
NE 47 · Etna Rd.

Former community in southwestern Custer County on NE 47, 19 miles south of Arnold; post office, store, school and phone exchange from 1885 to 1966, remembered by state marker No. 530.

Cumro

Former post office · post office 1885–1943
County roads

Former post office (1885 to 1943) in southern Custer County, named by Welsh settler William Edmunds; a historical marker stands at the site, 9 miles northeast of Eddyville.

Burr Oak

Rural locale
County roads

Rural place in southern Custer County marked by the Burr Oak Church, about 8 miles north-northeast of Eddyville and 5 miles west of the Cumro site.

Buckeye

Rural locale
County roads

Rural place name in Custer County with no recorded post office, plat or population.

Wescott

Unincorporated community · post office 1888–1901
County roads

Settlement founded in 1886 by Walter S. Wescott, about 2 miles southwest of Comstock; post office 1888 to 1901.

Walworth

Unincorporated community · founded 1892
County roads

Former place founded in 1892 about 11 miles west of Sargent.

Round Valley

Unincorporated community · post office 1880–1935
County roads

Former post office between Broken Bow and Sargent, 1880 to 1935.

New Helena

Ghost town · post office 1875–1910
County roads

One of Custer County’s earliest post offices, 1875 to 1910, about 6 miles east of Anselmo.

Milburn

Unincorporated community · post office from 1887
County roads

Post office set up by James Milburn in 1887, about 10 miles northeast of Anselmo.

Lodi

Unincorporated community · post office 1882–1928
County roads

Former post office between Callaway and Oconto, 1882 to 1928, named for Lodi, Italy.

Lillian

Unincorporated community · post office 1883–1934
County roads

Inland post office about 13 miles north of Broken Bow, named for Lillian Gohean; 1883 to 1934, with a break.

Gates

Unincorporated community · post office 1884–1989
County roads

Inland post office in Lillian precinct, about 16 miles north of Broken Bow, probably named for Stillman Gates.

Finchville

Ghost town · post office 1914–1935
County roads

Former post office in western Custer County, 1914 to 1935, about 7 miles east-southeast of Arnold.

Travel Corridors

NE 2 — the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway, through Mason City, Ansley, Berwyn, Broken Bow, Merna and Anselmo. Highway 2 Corridor →

NE 92 — through Arnold and Merna, then with NE 2 to Ansley and east to Loup City. Highway 92 Corridor →

US 183 — north–south through Ansley, Westerville and Sargent. US 183 Corridor → NE 21 runs from Broken Bow south through Oconto; NE 40 from Arnold through Callaway and Oconto; NE 70 from Broken Bow east through Westerville; and NE 47 from Arnold south to Gothenburg. No Interstate enters the county.

Cameras: View Custer County cameras → · Road conditions: Nebraska 511

Things to See

In Broken Bow: the Custer County Museum with its Solomon D. Butcher gallery, the 1911 courthouse and the 1928 Arrow Hotel on the square, and the Sandhills Journey byway visitor center. In Anselmo: St. Anselm’s, the “Cathedral of the Sandhills.” Near Comstock: the 1900 Dowse Sod House. In Callaway: Custer County’s first courthouse and the Seven Valleys Museum. In Arnold: the Finch Memorial Library. In Oconto: the Charles Horn Sculpture Garden. Fourteen places in the county are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Outdoors

Victoria Springs State Recreation Area, 6 miles east of Anselmo, opened in 1925 and is one of the oldest parks in the state system: a 5-acre spring-fed lake stocked with trout each spring, 21 electric and 6 basic campsites, two cabins, and the 1874 log cabins of Judge Charles R. Mathews, one of them the county’s first post office. Pressey Wildlife Management Area, about 1,700 acres on the South Loup north of Oconto, has free camping and a shooting range; it reopened on August 1, 2026, after the April wildfire. Village parks and lakes with camping are at Arnold, Ansley and Callaway, and Tomahawk Park in Broken Bow has full-hookup RV sites.

Custer County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: Broken Bow · Callaway · Arnold · Sargent · Ansley · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Blaine County (northwest) · Loup County (northeast) · Valley County (northeast) · Sherman County (southeast) · Buffalo County (southeast) · Dawson County (south) · Lincoln County (southwest) · Logan County (west).

Events

Each year: the Ansley alumni reunion (even years) and the Nebraska Junkathon in Sargent on Memorial Day weekend; the Muddy Creek Festival in Ansley, the Big Sky Jubilee in Anselmo and the Callaway Pioneer Picnic in late June; Merna Heritage Days around the Fourth of July and the Mason City Homecoming in July; the Custer County Fair in Broken Bow in late July (July 24–30 in 2026); the Sandhills Open Road Challenge at Arnold in August; the Callaway Kite Flight on Labor Day weekend; the Junk Jaunt in late September; and Broken Bow’s Festival of Lights the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Events in Custer County

  • Callaway Kite Flight (Callaway)
    Kite festival on Labor Day weekend east of Callaway, held for the 35th time in 2026.
  • Callaway Pioneer Picnic (Callaway)
    Callaway Pioneer Picnic is held in Callaway, Nebraska, on the last full weekend of June.
  • Custer County Fair (Broken Bow)
    Custer County Fair, a county fair in Broken Bow, Nebraska.

Know of another event in the county? Tell us about it.

Custer County Road Map

Click a map to open the full-size, printable county road map (PDF, Nebraska Dept. of Transportation).

Custer County at a Glance

Custer County, Nebraska — 2,576 square miles of the Loup valleys and Sandhills edge, the second-largest county in the state and the Sod House Capital of the World. County seat Broken Bow. 354 listings across 26 towns. Central Time.

Getting there: NE 2, the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway, from Grand Island; NE 92 and NE 70 east–west; US 183 and NE 21 north–south; I-80 is about 40 miles south at Lexington and Cozad.

For visitors: the Custer County Museum and courthouse square in Broken Bow, Victoria Springs, St. Anselm’s in Anselmo and the Dowse Sod House. Hospitals in Broken Bow and Callaway.

Vehicles registered in Custer County carry license plate number 4. See what every Nebraska county number means.

Custer County Businesses & Places

354 listings in Custer County.

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