Wilcox Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Wilcox Area Cameras

Village · Kearney County · Population 331 (2020 census) · ZIP 68982 · Founded 1886 · Peak population 382 (1910)

About Wilcox

Wilcox is a village of 331 people (2020) in the southwest corner of Kearney County, at 2,234 feet on NE 44, about 14 miles southwest of Minden and 8 miles south-southwest of Axtell. It has the Wilcox-Hildreth elementary and junior-senior high schools, a public library and a Thunderhead Brewing taproom. Rainwater Basin wetlands surround the town, including Prairie Dog Marsh and Clark waterfowl production areas to the northeast and the Sacramento-Wilcox WMA to the west. Wilcox is on Central Time.

History

The area’s first post office, Keene, opened in 1872 at Charles Walker’s ranch and was later moved to Wilcox. Henry Wilcox of Alma and W. R. Sapp founded the town in 1886 on Wilcox’s 240-acre townsite, where the Burlington & Missouri River built its depot on the line between Blue Hill and Holdrege; the Bank of Wilcox, with $10,000 in capital, opened that June as the first building in town. Wilcox reached its peak of 382 people in 1910.

Highways and trails through Wilcox

Route	One way	Other way
NE 44Through the village	North to Axtell, US 6/34 and Kearney	South to NE 4

Nearby towns

Hildreth	about 7 mi east-southeast	County roads
Funk	about 8 mi north-northwest	County roads
Axtell	about 8 mi north-northeast	NE 44
Holdrege	about 12 mi west-northwest	County roads
Minden	about 14 mi northeast	NE 44 and US 6/34
Upland	about 14 mi east-southeast	County roads
Kearney	about 24 mi north	NE 44

Things to see

Sacramento-Wilcox WMA, west of town · Northeast Sacramento WMA · Prairie Dog Marsh and Clark waterfowl production areas, northeast of town

Schools and health care

Schools: Wilcox-Hildreth Public Schools, 404 E. Sapp St.: Wilcox-Hildreth Elementary and Wilcox-Hildreth Junior-Senior High School in Wilcox; the Upper Elementary (3–5) is in Hildreth

Health care: Nearest hospitals: Phelps Memorial Health Center, Holdrege, and Kearney County Health Services, Minden, each about 12–14 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.