Elsie Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Perkins County · Population 102 (2020 census) · ZIP 69134 · Founded 1887 · Peak population 262 (1930)

About Elsie

Elsie is a village of 102 (2020) on NE 23 and the NKC railroad in eastern Perkins County, about 7 miles east of Madrid, 12 miles west of Wallace and 19 miles south of Paxton and I-80.

History

Elsie grew up about 1887 as a station on the Burlington's new line and was named for Elsie Alice Perkins, daughter of Burlington president Charles E. Perkins (a local account credits a daughter of Grant merchant Joseph Perkins). Its streets carry railroad names: Burlington, Chicago, Perkins and Quincy. In 1890 the gazetteer described it as a station 18 miles east of Grant with about 200 people, two general stores, hardware and implement dealers, a druggist and a physician; Frank L. Pearson was postmaster, and the Elsie Journal had started in 1888. The Commercial State Bank opened in 1907, and the village reached its peak, 262, in 1930.

North of town, the Walpole (North) Cemetery holds pioneer burials of 1889–1896 on land deeded in 1895 by Robert V. and Sarah J. Walpole to the First Baptist Church of Perkins County. Today the Hi-Line Cooperative has its headquarters in Elsie.

Highways and trails through Elsie

Route	One way	Other way
NE 23East–west past the village, beside the railroad	East to Grainton and Wallace (about 12 mi)	West to Madrid (about 7 mi) and Grant

Nearby towns

Grainton	about 6 mi east-southeast	NE 23
Madrid	about 7 mi west	NE 23
Wallace	about 12 mi east	NE 23
Blanche	about 11 mi south	County roads
Grant	about 18 mi west	NE 23
Paxton	about 19 mi north	County roads

Things to see

Elsie Cemetery, about 1 mi east on a hill north of NE 23, with marked burials from 1885 · Walpole Cemetery, about 5 mi north-northeast on the Elsie–Paxton road · Church of the Resurrection (Catholic), 202 Grant St. · the Hi-Line Cooperative, 203 S. Perkins Ave.

Schools and health care

Schools: Elsie is in Perkins County Schools; its schools are in Grant, about 18 mi: Perkins County Elementary (PK–6) and Perkins County Junior-Senior High School (7–12)

Health care: Nearest hospital: Perkins County Health Services, 900 Lincoln Ave., Grant, (308) 352-7245, a 20-bed critical access hospital, about 18 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Lilian L. Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890–91); Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; History Nebraska (Perkins County records; Perkins County Museum spotlight); National Register of Historic Places nominations (Perkins County Courthouse, Grant Commercial Historic District, Grant City Park, Venango Public School); Nebraska Association of County Officials; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska Department of Revenue; OmniTRAX; Grant Tribune-Sentinel; Nebraska DHHS rosters; Perkins County and school, hospital and library websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.