Winnetoon Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Knox County · Population 54 (2020 census) · ZIP 68789 · Founded 1891 · Peak population 220 (1910)

About Winnetoon

Winnetoon is a village of 54 at the end of Spur 54B, about 3 miles north of NE 59 and 6 miles northwest of Creighton. The tiny 1907 Winnetoon Jail stands in a park at the edge of town, and Elaine's Tavern & Cafe hosts the Winnetoon BBQ each August.

History

Oscar Norton homesteaded the site. In 1888 Seth Jones came looking for a town site on the proposed railroad from Norfolk to Verdigre; he bought land from Norton in 1891 and organized the town. The post office opened on September 23, 1891, in the Jones and Glimsdal store, with John Culberton as postmaster, and in 1892 the railroad set out a boxcar as the depot. The name is said to be an Indian word meaning "big water"; another account says it came from a Wisconsin farm. Winnetoon was incorporated in 1900.

The village built a waterworks in 1908, and the Winnetoon Pioneer newspaper started in 1910. The population peaked at 220 in 1910. The high school closed in 1941, the depot was torn down in 1965 and the grade school closed in 1967. The 1907 jail, built for $37, and the school are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Read the full History of Winnetoon →

Highways and trails through Winnetoon

Route	One way	Other way
Spur 54BState spur road, 3 mi	South to NE 59	Ends in Winnetoon

Nearby towns

Bazile Mills	about 3 mi east	County road
Creighton	about 6 mi southeast	Spur 54B and NE 59
Verdigre	about 10 mi northwest	County roads; about 16 mi by highway
Center	about 15 mi northeast	Through Creighton, then NE 13
Mars (former town)	about 12 mi southwest	County roads

Things to see

Winnetoon Jail, 1st St. and Sherman Ave. (National Register) · the Winnetoon Public School, 308 Jones St. (National Register; private) · Elaine's Tavern & Cafe, 305 Main Ave. · Winnetoon Historical Society

Events in Winnetoon

Winnetoon BBQ
2026 Event — 10th Annual. Saturday, August 1, 2026, 5 p. m. at Main Street by Elaine's Tavern, Winnetoon, Nebraska (Knox County).

More about this event: Winnetoon BBQ

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Schools and health care

Schools: Creighton Community Public Schools

Health care: Nearest hospital Avera Creighton Hospital, Creighton (about 6 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.