Palmer Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Village · Merrick County · Population 439 (2020 census) · ZIP 68864 · Founded 1880s · Peak population 588 (1930)

About Palmer

Palmer is a village of 439 people (2020) in northwestern Merrick County, at about 1,795 feet, 2 miles north of NE 92 by a short spur and about 4 miles south of the Loup River. St. Paul is about 10 miles west and Central City about 15 miles east-southeast. Palmer has its own school district, a public library, a bank, ball fields and a village board; the nearest clinics and hospital are in Central City and St. Paul. Palmer is on Central Time.

History

Palmer began in the 1880s when the Lincoln and Black Hills Railroad was built through the area, and was named for H. E. Palmer, a railroad official. The Palmer Journal has been published since about 1912. The village reached 588 people in 1930. In 2017 Palmer became Nebraska's 20th Leadership Certified Community, rebuilt Commercial Street and won a housing rehabilitation grant. North of town, partly in Howard County, is the Palmer Site, an early-1800s Skidi Pawnee village and National Historic Landmark on private land, believed to be the home of the Pawnee leader Petalesharo.

Highways and trails through Palmer

Route	One way	Other way
NE 92Two miles south, reached by a spur	West to St. Paul and US 281	East to NE 14 and Central City

Nearby towns

Archer	about 7 mi east-southeast	County roads
St. Paul	about 10 mi west	NE 92
Chapman	about 15 mi south-southeast	County roads and US 30
Central City	about 16 mi east-southeast	NE 92
Dannebrog	about 17 mi west-southwest	NE 92 and NE 58
Fullerton	about 18 mi east-northeast	NE 92 and NE 14
Grand Island	about 21 mi south-southwest	NE 92 and US 281
Clarks	about 22 mi east	NE 92

Things to see

the ball fields that host district baseball · the Fall Festival and Old Fashioned Christmas · the Loup River, about 4 miles north

Schools and health care

Schools: Palmer Public Schools, 202 Commercial St., (308) 894-3065: Palmer Elementary (PK–6) and Palmer Junior-Senior High (7–12)

Health care: Nearest: Central City Medical Clinic and Merrick Medical Center, Central City, about 15 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Merrick County (history, offices); History Nebraska (markers); National Register listings; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska DHHS; Central City Republican-Nonpareil; KOLN 10/11; KSNB; WOWT; TrailLink; VisitNebraska; Nebraska Passport. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.