Wausa Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

WAUSA WEATHER

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Village · Knox County · Population 592 (2020 census) · ZIP 68786 · Founded 1882 · Peak population 754 (1930)

About Wausa

Wausa is a village of 592 on NE 121 in southeastern Knox County, just north of NE 59. Swedish settlers founded it, and a life-size Dala horse stands at the northeast entrance to town. Wausa has a K-12 school, a clinic, a grocery store, Gladstone Park and the Rolling Hills Golf Course.

History

Theodore T. Thorson, a Swedish settler from Minnesota, was the first resident in 1882 and its first postmaster, and the place was called Thorson. About a dozen Swedish families had come by 1885 and founded a Lutheran church, and the settlement was renamed Vasa for the Swedish king Gustav Vasa. When the railroad arrived on November 27, 1890, it was renamed Wausa, keeping the Swedish sound of "Vasa" and joining it with "USA."

The village dug its first water well in 1891 and built a water system in 1903; the brick school dates from 1913. The population peaked at 754 in 1930. Wausa is known for its Swedish heritage, and its community Swedish Smorgasbord, held the fourth Saturday of October, has run for more than 75 years. Nebraska governor Norbert Tiemann was once Wausa's mayor.

Highways and trails through Wausa

Route	One way	Other way
NE 121North–south through Wausa	North to NE 84 (about 7 mi) and Bloomfield (about 12 mi)	South to Osmond and US 20 (about 10 mi)
NE 59Crosses NE 121 just south of town	West to Creighton (about 18 mi)	East into Cedar County

Nearby towns

Osmond	about 10 mi south	NE 121
Bloomfield	about 12 mi north	NE 121, then NE 84 west
Crofton	about 18 mi north	NE 121, NE 84 and county roads
Creighton	about 20 mi west	NE 59
Hartington	about 20 mi northeast	NE 121 and NE 84

Things to see

Dala horse at the northeast entrance to town · Gladstone Park, 608 Webster St., with camping · Rolling Hills Golf Course · Lied Lincoln Township Library

Schools and health care

Schools: Wausa Public Schools: Wausa Elementary School and Wausa High School, 300 S. Bismarck St.

Health care: Wausa Medical Clinic, 100 N. Lincoln St.; nearest hospitals Osmond General Hospital (about 10 mi) and Avera Creighton Hospital (about 20 mi)

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; History Nebraska; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Knox County; Nebraska Department of Transportation route mileposts. Distances marked "about" are estimates.