Holbrook Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Holbrook Area Cameras

Village · Furnas County · Population 201 (2020 census) · ZIP 68948 · Founded 1870 · Peak population 488 (1930)

About Holbrook

Holbrook is a village of 201 in northern Furnas County, on US 6/34 near the mouth of Deer Creek on the Republican River, about 6 miles west of Arapahoe and 8 miles east of Cambridge. It was once called the "City of Beautiful Elms."

History

In 1870 Isaac "Ben" Burton, called the first permanent settler of Furnas County, settled on a bend of the Republican at the 100th meridian and, with his partner H. Dice, kept a trading post for buffalo hunters; Sioux and Cheyenne still hunted the valley, and Army patrols used the Fort McPherson Trail. A post office named Burton's Bend opened on August 27, 1872. Norwegian settlers came up Deer Creek in 1873 and organized a Lutheran congregation in 1877. The Burlington built through in 1880, and on March 16, 1881, the post office was renamed Holbrook for a railroad official.

A fire that began in a livery barn on April 24, 1907, destroyed most of the business district. The village reached its largest population, 488, in 1930. The 1935 flood swept away Burton's abandoned building. The Holbrook Observer merged into the Arapahoe paper in 1924, and a cemetery district still carries the Burton's Bend name.

Highways and trails through Holbrook

Route	One way	Other way
US 6 / US 34East–west through the village	East to Arapahoe (about 6 mi)	West to Cambridge (about 8 mi)

Nearby towns

Arapahoe	about 6 mi east	US 6/34
Cambridge	about 8 mi west	US 6/34
Hendley	about 12 mi south	US 6/34, US 283 and NE 89
Edison	about 12 mi east	US 6/34 and US 136
Wilsonville	about 14 mi south-southwest	US 6/34 and NE 47
Beaver City	about 15 mi southeast	US 6/34, US 283 and NE 89

Things to see

The Burton's Bend state historical marker on US 6/34 · the pioneer log cabin in Holbrook Park, built in 1874 near the present Medicine Creek Dam and rebuilt here in 1932 · the Norwegian Lutheran Church of 1903–04 and its cemetery on Deer Creek, about 2½ mi north-northwest · Holbrook Days in late June, with a parade, a river volleyball tournament and a poker run

Schools and health care

Schools: Holbrook is in Arapahoe Public Schools (Arapahoe Elementary and Arapahoe High School, 610 Walnut St., Arapahoe)

Health care: No clinic in Holbrook; nearest: Arapahoe Medical Clinic (Tri Valley), 305 Nebraska Ave., Arapahoe, (308) 962-8495, about 6 mi, or Tri Valley Health System (Cambridge Memorial Hospital), 1305 US 6 & 34, Cambridge, (308) 697-3329, about 8 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890); Who's Who in Nebraska, Furnas County (1940); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); Southwest Nebraska Genealogical Society and NEGenWeb Furnas County; Furnas County website and 2025 Comprehensive Plan; History Nebraska and its historical markers; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska Department of Revenue; Nebraska Library Commission; school, hospital and city websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.