Monroe Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Monroe Area Cameras

Village · Platte County · Population 296 (2020 census) · ZIP 68647 · Founded 1889 · Peak population 315 (1940)

About Monroe

Monroe is a village of 296 people (2020) in southwestern Platte County, at 1,522 feet on NE 22, about 13 miles west-northwest of Columbus and 7 miles east of Genoa. The Loup Power District’s Monroe powerhouse, running since 1936, is about a mile north-northwest. Monroe is part of Twin River Public Schools, whose schools are in Genoa. Monroe is on Central Time.

History

Settlers came to this part of the county in the 1850s, and Monroe Township was created in 1860. The village itself was staked out in 1889 after homesteader James Gleason persuaded the Union Pacific to build a spur and residents raised $900; it is named for President James Monroe. The Postville post office moved to Monroe in 1902. Monroe joined Genoa and Silver Creek in the Twin River district in 2001; its own K–6 school closed in 2007, though the district still uses the Monroe gym. The population peaked at 315 in 1940. The Lee Rupp Wildlife Management Area near Monroe honors Lee Rupp (1938–2025), a Game and Parks employee and state senator.

Highways and trails through Monroe

Route	One way	Other way
NE 22East–west through the village	East to US 81 north of Columbus	West to Genoa

Nearby towns

Oconee	about 4 mi east	County roads
Genoa	about 7 mi west-southwest	NE 22
Platte Center	about 7 mi northeast	County roads
Duncan	about 8 mi southeast	County roads
Tarnov	about 11 mi north-northeast	County roads
Silver Creek	about 11 mi south-southwest	County roads
Columbus	about 13 mi east-southeast	NE 22 and US 81

Things to see

the Monroe Congregational Church and New Hope Cemetery at O’Kay, about 5 miles north-northwest, on the National Register (1990) · the Postville Welsh Church and Cemetery (First Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church, 1884), about 8½ miles north, on the National Register (1999) · the George D. Syas Wildlife Management Area, about 5 miles west-southwest, and the Lee Rupp WMA

Schools and health care

Schools: Twin River Public Schools, 816 Willard Ave., Genoa, (402) 993-2274

Health care: Hospital: Columbus Community Hospital, 4600 38th St., Columbus, about 13 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.