Boelus Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Boelus Area Cameras

Village (legally Howard City) · Howard County · Population 181 (2020 census) · ZIP 68820 · Founded 1885 · Peak population 259 (1920)

About Boelus

Boelus is a village of about 181 people (2020) on NE 58 in the southwestern corner of Howard County, at about 1,919 feet in the Middle Loup valley; its legal name is still the Village of Howard City. NE 58 runs east to Dannebrog and west to Rockville and Loup City, and Cairo is about 7.5 miles southeast. Boelus has a grocery, the Gold Nugget Bar & Grill, a bank and churches; there is no school in the village. Boelus is on Central Time.

History

The town was laid out in 1885 as Howard City, when it became clear the Union Pacific would build its Loup City line through, and the junction of two UP branches made it a shipping point; by 1890 it had 250 people, a roller mill, a bank and two hotels. The local name Boelus probably comes from the Belus, a river of ancient Palestine, though local tradition ties it to the Boesen and Larson families. The Boesen School, a one-room country school, taught children from 1877 to 1953. The village reached 259 people in 1920. A grocery has operated in town since 1896.

Highways and trails through Boelus

Route	One way	Other way
NE 58Through the village	West to Rockville and Loup City	East to Dannebrog and US 281

Nearby towns

Cairo	about 8 mi southeast	County roads and NE 2
Dannebrog	about 9 mi east-northeast	NE 58
Farwell	about 11 mi north-northeast	County roads
Ravenna	about 11 mi west-southwest	NE 2
Ashton	about 13 mi north-northwest	County roads
Elba	about 16 mi north-northeast	NE 11
St. Paul	about 16 mi northeast	NE 58
Loup City	about 19 mi northwest	NE 58
Grand Island	about 22 mi east-southeast	NE 2

Things to see

Gold Nugget Bar & Grill, 615 Delaware St. · the Middle Loup River · Harold W. Andersen WMA near Dannebrog

Schools and health care

Schools: No school in the village; Centura Public Schools (Cairo) is the nearest district

Health care: Nearest: Howard County Medical Center, 1113 Sherman St., St. Paul, about 17 mi; hospitals in Grand Island

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); 1890–91 Nebraska State Gazetteer; Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); Howard County (history, offices); History Nebraska (markers); National Register listings; NEGenWeb and the UNL Czech Heritage Project; Nebraska Game and Parks; SABR; U.S. Air Force biographies; KOLN 10/11; KSNB; Central Nebraska Today; VisitNebraska; Nebraska Passport. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.