Duncan Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Platte County · Population 392 (2020 census) · ZIP 68634 · Founded 1871 · Peak population 410 (1980)

About Duncan

Duncan is a village of 392 people (2020) in southern Platte County, at 1,496 feet between the Loup and Platte rivers, on US 30 about 8 miles west of Columbus. The Union Pacific main line runs beside the highway, with about 60 freight trains a day. All Dorothy Lynch salad dressing is made here, at the Tasty Toppings plant on 158th Street (opened 1979). Duncan is on Central Time.

History

The Union Pacific reached the site in 1866, and Polish and Swiss settlers followed. The post office opened in June 1869 as Cherry Hill, and in October 1871 the railroad platted a townsite called Jackson; in 1879 Jackson became the southern end of the Omaha, Niobrara & Black Hills Railroad, until an ice jam took out its Loup River bridge in 1881. In February 1880 both were renamed Duncan, for Wood B. Duncan (sources call him a general or a Union Pacific engineer). The village was incorporated on March 4, 1913. The Lincoln Highway came through that year, north of the tracks; in 1928 it moved south of the tracks, today’s US 30. St. Stanislaus Catholic Church was founded by Polish families, with a first church in 1882 and the present church in 1939. The Dorothy Lynch recipe came from St. Paul, Nebraska; it was bought in 1964 and has been made in Duncan since 1979.

Highways and trails through Duncan

Route	One way	Other way
US 30Through the village, south of the railroad	East to Columbus	West to Silver Creek and Central City

Nearby towns

Oconee	about 6 mi north-northwest	County roads
Columbus	about 8 mi east-northeast	US 30
Monroe	about 8 mi northwest	County roads
Lakeview	about 10 mi northeast	County roads
Platte Center	about 10 mi north	County roads
Silver Creek	about 10 mi west-southwest	US 30
Genoa	about 13 mi west-northwest	County roads
Shelby	about 14 mi south-southeast	County roads

Things to see

the Lincoln Highway–Duncan West segment, on the National Register (2007): 2.4 miles of the 1913 road along North Boulevard and 145th Street, with an avenue of hackberry trees and a concrete Lincoln Highway marker at 8th Street and Main Avenue · St. Stanislaus Catholic Church (1939) · Duncan Ribfest, held in late June in past years

Health care

Hospital: Columbus Community Hospital, 4600 38th St., Columbus, about 8 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Phillips, Past and Present of Platte County (1915); Curry, History of Platte County; Platte County (plattecounty.ne.gov); National Register; History Nebraska; Loup Power District; Nebraska Game and Parks; Columbus Community Hospital; Platte County Visitors Bureau; Norfolk Daily News; Columbus Telegram. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.