Hildreth Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Hildreth Area Cameras

Village · Franklin County · Population 377 (2020 census) · ZIP 68947 · Founded 1886 · Peak population 453 (1920)

About Hildreth

Hildreth is a village of 377 in northwestern Franklin County, on a high plateau about 25 miles south of Kearney, reached by the S-31B spur 4½ miles west of NE 10. Its motto is "Small Town, Big Family."

History

German immigrants settled the plateau from about 1873. The village was founded in 1886, when the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad built its DeWitt–Holdrege branch through, and was named for Carson Hildreth (1857–1926), one of the original owners of the town site and later a Franklin banker. By 1890 Hildreth had about 200 people, the weekly Hildreth Telescope, the Franklin County Bank and two hotels. Its Emmanuel, St. Paul's and St. Peter's congregations later joined as Trinity Lutheran Church. The village reached its largest census count, 453, in 1920; the railroad is gone today.

Pierce Lyden was born in a sod house on a ranch near Hildreth on January 8, 1908. He went to Hollywood in 1932, played villains in hundreds of B westerns while doing his own fight scenes, and received the Golden Boot Award in 1992.

Highways and trails through Hildreth

Route	One way	Other way
S-31BState spur into the village	East 4½ mi to NE 10	West end in Hildreth

Nearby towns

Wilcox	about 7 mi west-northwest	County roads
Upland	about 8 mi east	S-31B, NE 10 and S-31A
Macon	about 10 mi south-southeast	S-31B and NE 10
Axtell	about 11 mi north-northwest	County roads
Minden	about 12 mi north-northeast	S-31B and NE 10
Ragan	about 13 mi west	NE 4
Campbell	about 17 mi east	NE 4
Franklin	about 17 mi south-southeast	S-31B and NE 10
Holdrege	about 18 mi west-northwest	County roads

Things to see

The Hildreth Public Library, 248 Commercial Ave., with the Hildreth Centennial Marker beside it · the Golden Years Center, 145 Commercial Ave. · Trinity Lutheran Church, 502 Sanders Ave. · the Quadhamer WPA (604 acres), about 3 mi west and 1 mi south, and the Ritterbush WPA, 5 mi south · the Fourth of July celebration, with a parade, tractor pulls, cardboard boat races and fireworks

Schools and health care

Schools: Wilcox-Hildreth Public Schools: Wilcox-Hildreth Upper Elementary (grades 3–5), 613 Nelson St., Hildreth; the elementary and junior/senior high are at 404 E. Sapp St., Wilcox

Health care: Franklin County Memorial Hospital has listed a clinic at 511 Hubbard St., Hildreth (call to confirm hours); hospital: Franklin County Memorial Hospital, 1406 Q St., Franklin, (308) 425-6221, a 14-bed critical access hospital, about 17 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890); Who's Who in Nebraska, Franklin County (1940); NEGenWeb Franklin County and its county histories; History Nebraska and its historical markers; National Register of Historic Places; SABR; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska Department of Revenue; school, hospital, library and city websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.