Wood River Nebraska

City · Hall County · Population 1,172 (2020 census) · ZIP 68883 · Founded 1868 · Peak population 1,334 (1980)

About Wood River

Wood River is a city of 1,172 people (2020) in southwestern Hall County, at 1,965 feet on US 30 just south of the Wood River and about 3½ miles north of the Platte, about 14½ miles southwest of Grand Island. NE 11 runs north to Cairo and south to I-80 Exit 300, past Cheyenne State Recreation Area and Firefly Meadows. The city has Wood River Rural Schools, the Maltman Memorial Library and an aquatic center. Wood River is on Central Time.

History

Road ranches served overland travelers here from 1858 to 1860, kept by the Moore brothers, James Jackson and Joseph E. Johnson. The Union Pacific opened a station in 1866, a town was laid out in 1868, and by 1869 it had a log Catholic church and a school. In 1874–75 the railroad platted a new town about three miles east, and the station, post office and store moved there; the 1920 county history says only St. Mary’s Cemetery and the District 5 school were left at the old site. Wood River filed articles of incorporation in 1882 and had about 700 people by 1884. The Gloe Brothers Service Station on the Lincoln Highway is on the National Register. The population peaked at 1,334 in 1980. Quarterback and coach Scott Frost, born in Lincoln, graduated from Wood River High School.

Things to see

the Gloe Brothers Service Station (National Register), 609 E. 11th St. · Cheyenne State Recreation Area, south at I-80 Exit 300: a 15-acre lake and a 23-site campground · the Wood River West and Martin’s Reach wildlife areas on the Platte · the Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center, east at I-80 Exit 305 · the Wood River Aquatic Center, 13801 W. Wood River Rd. · Wood River Country Club, 9 holes, southeast of town