Blue Springs Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Blue Springs Area Cameras

City · Gage County · Population 282 (2020 census) · ZIP 68318 · Founded 1857 · Peak population 963 (1890)

About Blue Springs

Blue Springs is a city of 282 on the west bank of the Big Blue River in southern Gage County, just east of US 77 and a mile north of Wymore; at the 2020 census it was the least populous city in Nebraska. It shares Southern School District 1 with Wymore, and Southern Elementary is here.

History

Settlement began in 1857, a post office opened in 1861 and the town was platted in 1862, named for springs on the north side of town that Native people had long valued for their healing powers. In 1858 Blue Springs challenged Beatrice for the county seat, but an injunction blocked the vote. A mill was running by 1868, and a dam and mill were built in 1886; their remains, with those of a hydroelectric plant, lie below the Broad Street bridge.

The Union Pacific arrived in 1879, but the Burlington, which came through in 1881, founded Wymore a mile and a half south instead, and Wymore soon outgrew its neighbor. The population peaked at 963 in 1890. Football Hall of Famer Guy Chamberlin came from Blue Springs.

Highways and trails through Blue Springs

Route	One way	Other way
US 77Just west of the city	North to Beatrice (about 10 mi)	South through Wymore toward Kansas

Nearby towns

Wymore	about 1.1 mi south	US 77
Holmesville	about 4.4 mi north	County roads
Barneston	about 8 mi southeast	US 77 and NE 8
Rockford	about 9 mi north-northeast	County roads
Odell	about 9 mi southwest	US 77 and NE 8
Beatrice	about 10 mi north-northwest	US 77

Things to see

The Johnson Cabin Museum in City Park, 100 N. A St.: a log cabin built about 1855 by Rev. James H. Johnson, missionary to the Otoe and Missouria, moved here in 1949 and opened as a museum in 1950 (National Register; open on Memorial Day, July 4 and other holidays) · the remains of the old dam and hydro plant below the Broad Street bridge · Blue Springs Cemetery · Blue Springs United Methodist Church, 112 W. Broad St. · the Blue Springs Celebration in August

Schools and health care

Schools: Southern School District 1: Southern Elementary School (PK–6), 315 W. 2nd St., Blue Springs, and Southern Jr.-Sr. High School (7–12), 115 S. 11th St., Wymore

Health care: No clinic in Blue Springs; Wymore Medical Clinic, 116 E. H St., Wymore, 402-645-3310 (Beatrice Community Hospital); nearest hospital: Beatrice Community Hospital and Health Center, 4800 Hospital Pkwy. (US 77 North), Beatrice, 402-228-3344 (critical access hospital with a 24-hour emergency department)

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Dobbs, History of Gage County (1918); National Park Service; History Nebraska; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Lower Big Blue NRD; Nebraska Department of Transportation; city, village, school, museum and hospital websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.