Axtell Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Kearney County · Population 732 (2020 census) · ZIP 68924 · Founded 1883

About Axtell

Axtell is a village of 732 people (2020), its largest census count, in western Kearney County, at 2,225 feet on US 6/34 about 9 miles west of Minden. NE 44 joins US 6/34 here, running south to Wilcox and north to the city of Kearney, about 16 miles away. Axtell has Axtell Community Schools, a public library, the Thunderhead Brewing brewery and taproom and the Mosaic campus on the hill north of town. Axtell is on Central Time.

History

Swedish homesteaders settled in Mirage Township from 1873, and by 1876 they had formed Bethany Lutheran, which a state historical marker calls the first church in the county. The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad arrived in 1883; by tradition the town was named for the engineer of the first train. Axtell was incorporated on December 14, 1885, and in the early 1900s it was known as “Windmill Town.” Rev. K. G. William Dahl founded Bethphage Mission here in 1913 to care for people with disabilities; its campus of Swedish-style buildings, designed by Olof Z. Cervin and built from 1916 to 1951, is on the National Register, and the mission became part of Mosaic in 2003. In 1952 Axtell formed Nebraska’s first reorganized school district. Gary Anderson, Olympic rifle champion in 1964 and 1968 and later a state senator, graduated from Axtell High School.

Highways and trails through Axtell

Route	One way	Other way
US 6/34Through the village with NE 44	East to Minden	West to Funk and Holdrege
NE 44Runs with US 6/34 through Axtell	North to I-80 and Kearney	South to Wilcox

Nearby towns

Funk	about 7 mi west	US 6/34
Wilcox	about 8 mi south-southwest	NE 44
Minden	about 9 mi east	US 6/34
Hildreth	about 11 mi south-southeast	County roads
Holdrege	about 13 mi west-southwest	US 6/34
Kearney	about 15 mi north	NE 44
Upland	about 16 mi southeast	County roads
Norman	about 18 mi east	US 6/34 and NE 74
Heartwell	about 19 mi east-northeast	US 6/34

Things to see

the History Nebraska marker on Main Street · the Bethphage Mission campus (National Register), now Mosaic · Thunderhead Brewing brewery and taproom · Nebraska Dunes Golf Course (formerly Awarii Dunes), 18 holes · the Area 51 Disc Golf Course

Schools and health care

Schools: Axtell Community Schools, 500 Main St., (308) 743-2415: Axtell Elementary (PK–6) and Axtell High School (7–12)

Health care: Nearest hospital: Kearney County Health Services, Minden, about 9 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Kearney County (kearneycounty.ne.gov); City of Minden; History Nebraska (Lowell, Axtell, Dobytown, Fort Kearny markers); HMdb; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Who's Who in Nebraska (1940) via NEGenWeb; National Register; Nebraska Game and Parks; National Park Service; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; UNL climate office; Nebraska 211; SchoolDigger; Central Nebraska Today; 1011 Now. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.