Fremont Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

City · Dodge County · County seat · Population 27,141 (2020 census) · ZIP 68025 · Founded 1856

About Fremont

Fremont is the county seat of Dodge County and Nebraska's sixth-largest city, with 27,141 people at the 2020 census. It lies between the Platte and Elkhorn rivers, where US 30 crosses US 275 and US 77, about 37 miles northwest of downtown Omaha. It has Methodist Fremont Health, Midland University, Fremont Public Schools and Archbishop Bergan Catholic School, the Louis E. May Historical Museum, the public library and a historic downtown. Fremont Lakes State Recreation Area is 3 miles west.

History

The Mormon Trail passed here in April 1847, followed by the military road to Fort Kearny. Fremont was laid out in August 1856 in expectation of the railroad and named for John C. Frémont, that year's Republican presidential nominee. It became the county seat in 1860, when Fontanelle was cut off into Washington County. The Union Pacific reached it at the end of 1865, the Sioux City & Pacific in 1868 and the Elkhorn Valley line in 1869, making Fremont a rail junction, and it incorporated as a city in 1871. Midland College moved here from Atchison, Kansas, in 1919.

Hormel bought the Fremont meatpacking plant in 1947 and ran it until 2018, when it was sold to the farmer-owned WholeStone Farms; Costco's Lincoln Premium Poultry plant opened in 2019. An explosion at the Hotel Pathfinder killed 20 people on January 10, 1976. In 2010 Fremont voters passed an ordinance on renting to people without legal status, kept in a 2014 revote. The March 2019 floods on the Platte and Elkhorn cut the city off by road for several days. The 2020 census count was the city's highest. Strobe-photography pioneer Harold Edgerton was born in Fremont.

Highways and trails through Fremont

Route	One way	Other way
US 30Lincoln Highway, east–west across the north side	East to Arlington (about 8 mi) and Blair	West past Ames to North Bend (about 19 mi) and Schuyler
US 275West Dodge Expressway east of town	Northwest to Hooper (about 15 mi), Scribner and West Point	Southeast to Omaha (about 37 mi)
US 77North–south through Fremont	North to Nickerson (about 8 mi), Winslow and Oakland	South across the Platte to Wahoo (about 20 mi) and Lincoln

Nearby towns

Inglewood	about 2 mi south	US 77
Ames	about 7 mi west	US 30
Nickerson	about 8 mi north	US 77
Arlington	about 8 mi east	US 30
Hooper	about 15 mi northwest	US 275
North Bend	about 19 mi west	US 30
Wahoo	about 20 mi south	US 77
Omaha	about 37 mi southeast	US 275

Things to see

Louis E. May Historical Museum, 1643 N. Nye Ave., in the 1874 Nye House (April–December, Wednesday–Saturday 1:30–4:30 p.m.; $5) · Love-Larson Opera House, 543 Broad St. (1888) · the Fremont Historic Commercial District, with antique shops · Dodge County Courthouse, 435 N. Park Ave. (1918; National Register) · Mormon Pioneer Trail marker at Barnard Park · Lueninghoener Planetarium at Midland University · Splash Station · Five.0.Five Brewing

Events in Fremont

John C. Fremont Days
Annual Fremont community festival celebrating the city's namesake. Parade, entertainment, food vendors, and family activities each June.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Fremont Public Schools: Fremont High School, Fremont Middle School, Johnson Crossing Academic Center and seven elementary schools; Archbishop Bergan Catholic School (pre-K–12), 545 E. 4th St.; Trinity Lutheran School; Midland University, 900 N. Clarkson St.; Metropolitan Community College Fremont Area Center

Health care: Methodist Fremont Health, 450 E. 23rd St. (hospital with emergency care); Methodist Urgent Care, 1240 E. 23rd St.

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Buss and Osterman, History of Dodge and Washington Counties (1921); History Nebraska; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska Department of Transportation route mileposts. Distances marked "about" are estimates.