Elk Creek Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Elk Creek Area Cameras

Village · Johnson County · Population 69 (2020 census) · ZIP 68348 · Founded 1872 · Peak population 347 (1900)

About Elk Creek

Elk Creek is a village of 69 in southeastern Johnson County, on spur S-49B off NE 62 near NE 50, about 6.5 miles southeast of Tecumseh. It takes its name from the nearby creek, named for the elk once seen along its banks.

History

The Atchison & Nebraska Railroad Company laid out the town in the early 1870s; its trains reached Tecumseh, up the line, in April 1872. By 1882 Elk Creek had about 200 people, a water-powered flour mill, a hotel, an elevator, a lumber yard, about a dozen stores, a large schoolhouse and a Methodist church, and the population peaked at 347 in 1900. Harpsichord maker David Jacques Way was born here in 1918. NioCorp plans an underground mine for niobium, scandium and titanium about 3 miles west of the village, where early construction had begun by 2026.

Highways and trails through Elk Creek

Route	One way	Other way
NE 62Passes the village; spur S-49B leads in	West to NE 50 south of Tecumseh	East to NE 105 in Nemaha County

Nearby towns

Tecumseh	about 7 mi north-northwest	NE 62 and NE 50
Table Rock	about 8 mi south-southeast	NE 50 and NE 4
Steinauer	about 8 mi southwest	NE 50 and S-67B
Johnson	about 11 mi northeast	NE 62 and NE 105
Pawnee City	about 12 mi south	NE 50

Things to see

St. Peter Lutheran Church, 71955 NE 50, organized in 1871 · Grandview Cemetery, about 3 mi north-northeast · Table Rock's museums, about 8 mi south-southeast

Schools and health care

Schools: Johnson County Central Public Schools: Johnson County Central Elementary–Tecumseh (PK–3) and Johnson County Central High School (9–12), 358 N. 6th St., Tecumseh; Johnson County Central Elementary–Cook (4–5) and Johnson County Central Middle School (6–8), 407 N. 1st St., Cook

Health care: No clinic in Elk Creek; Johnson County Hospital, 202 High St., Tecumseh, 402-335-3361 (critical access hospital), with Tecumseh Family Health in the same building, 402-335-2811

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Nebraska State Gazetteers (1885, 1890); History Nebraska; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nemaha NRD; Nebraska Department of Transportation; county, school, museum and parish websites; Nemaha Valley Observer. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.