Homer Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Village · Dakota County · Population 532 (2020 census) · ZIP 68030 · Founded 1871 · Peak population 564 (1980)

About Homer

Homer is a village of 532 just west of US 75/77 in southern Dakota County, about 8 miles south of Dakota City and 7 miles north of Winnebago. It has Homer Community Schools and Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist churches. The Dakota County Historical Society's O'Connor House museum is 2 miles east, and Landmand Golf Club is nearby.

History

Tonwantonga, the Omaha tribe's Big Village, stood near Omaha Creek northeast of today's Homer from about 1775 to 1845. Smallpox around 1800 killed about a third of the tribe, including Chief Blackbird, and Lewis and Clark visited on August 13, 1804. The site is on private land and on the National Register of Historic Places; it can be viewed from a pull-off on US 75/77 about a mile north of town.

John and Joseph Smith opened a store in Homer's first house in 1871. The post office moved here in 1872, the town was platted in 1874 and named for the Greek poet, and it incorporated on February 1, 1875. By 1893 it had about 400 people, five stores and four churches. Omaha Creek has flooded the village several times, including in June 1940. The population peaked at 564 in 1980. Notable people from Homer include James Vincenzo Capone, Al Capone's oldest brother, who worked as a Prohibition-era lawman, and Alvin Saunders Johnson, co-founder of The New School.

Highways and trails through Homer

Route	One way	Other way
US 75/77Passes just east of the village	North to Dakota City (about 8 mi) and South Sioux City (about 12 mi)	South to Winnebago (about 7 mi)

Nearby towns

Winnebago	about 7 mi south	US 75/77
Dakota City	about 8 mi north	US 75/77
Hubbard	about 9 mi northwest	County roads
Nacora	about 11 mi west	County roads
South Sioux City	about 12 mi north	US 75/77
Emerson	about 15 mi west	County roads

Things to see

O'Connor House museum complex, about 2 mi east: the 1870s Cornelius O'Connor House (National Register), a machinery museum and the 1857 Combs School; open Sundays, Memorial Day to Labor Day · Tonwantonga marker on US 75/77 about 1 mi north · Landmand Golf Club, 2073 S. Bluff Rd. · Omadi Bend WMA

Schools and health care

Schools: Homer Community Schools: Homer Elementary (pre-K–6) and Homer High School (7–12), 212 S. 3rd St.

Health care: No clinic; clinics in South Sioux City (about 12 mi); hospitals in Sioux City (about 14 mi)

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Warner, History of Dakota County (1893); National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Department of Transportation route mileposts. Distances marked "about" are estimates.