Saunders County, Nebraska

County seat: Wahoo · Created: January 26, 1856, as Calhoun County; renamed 1862 · Named for: Alvin Saunders, governor of Nebraska Territory · License plate prefix: 6 · Population: 22,278 (2020 census) · Area: 749 sq mi of land

About Saunders County

Saunders County lies in the bend of the Platte River between Fremont, Omaha and Lincoln, with the river along its north and east sides. The territorial legislature created it as Calhoun County in 1856 and renamed it in 1862 for Alvin Saunders, the territory's last governor. Ashland, at the old Saline Ford on Salt Creek, was the first county seat; Wahoo won the seat in 1873, and its courthouse of 1904–05 is on the National Register.

Czech settlers filled the western and northern townships, building the parishes at Plasi, said to be the oldest Czech parish in Nebraska, Cedar Hill and Touhy and the towns of Prague, Weston and Morse Bluff. Swedes settled Swedeburg, Malmo, Mead and Ceresco. Railroads from 1870 to 1906 founded most of the towns. During World War II the Nebraska Ordnance Plant south of Mead loaded bombs and shells; its land is now a University of Nebraska research farm. The county is part of the Omaha metro area, and the 2020 census count was its highest.

Towns of Saunders County

Cities and villages

Wahoo

City · County seat · Pop. 4,818 · ZIP 68066
US 77 · NE 92 · NE 109

County seat of 4,818 on US 77 between Fremont and Lincoln, named for the wahoo shrub on Wahoo Creek. Saunders Medical Center, Lake Wanahoo, the county fair and the hometown of five famous sons.

Ashland

City · Pop. 3,086 · ZIP 68003
US 6 · NE 66

City of 3,086 at the old Saline Ford on Salt Creek, the first county seat, on US 6 near the Platte. Silver Street shops and galleries, Stir-Up Days, and Mahoney State Park and the SAC museum just across the county line.

Yutan

City · Pop. 1,347 · ZIP 68073
NE 92

City of 1,347 on NE 92 near the Platte, platted as Clear Creek in 1876 and renamed in 1884 for the Otoe chief Ietan. Yutan Public Schools and Yutan Days.

Mead

Village · Pop. 617 · ZIP 68041
NE 92

Swedish-settled village of 617 on NE 92 east of Wahoo. The World War II Nebraska Ordnance Plant stood just south; its land is now the University of Nebraska's research center.

Ithaca

Village · Pop. 160 · ZIP 68033
NE 66

Village of 160 on Wahoo Creek southeast of Wahoo, settled in 1866 and named for Ithaca, New York. Its old grain elevator is on the National Register.

Ceresco

Village · Pop. 919 · ZIP 68017
US 77

Village of 919 on US 77 between Wahoo and Lincoln, named for Ceresco, Michigan, and settled by Swedes. Ceresco Days in July and the Jack Sinn wetlands just south.

Valparaiso

Village · Pop. 595 · ZIP 68065
NE 79 · NE 66

Village of 595 in southwestern Saunders County on NE 79, its name Spanish for "vale of paradise." Once a Union Pacific junction with a roundhouse; Sts. Mary and Joseph church and St. Vitus at Touhy.

Prague

Village · Pop. 291 · ZIP 68050
NE 79

Czech village of 291 on NE 79 — say it to rhyme with "Craig" — with Beer Barrel Days each August, Czechland Lake just north and the 1878 Plasi parish nearby.

Weston

Village · Pop. 250 · ZIP 68070
NE 92

Czech village of 250 just off NE 92 west of Wahoo, platted on the railroad in 1877. St. John Nepomucene church and school and the 1894 Kacirek-Woita store.

Malmo

Village · Pop. 94 · ZIP 68040
NE 92 (spur)

Swedish village of 94 northwest of Wahoo, named for Malmö, Sweden. Edensburg Lutheran Church, organized in a dugout in 1870, is called the birthplace of the Augustana Nebraska Conference.

Colon

Village · Pop. 107 · ZIP 68018
NE 109

Village of 107 on NE 109 north of Wahoo, named for Colon, Michigan, and moved to the Chicago & North Western in 1886. St. Joseph's church dates from 1919.

Cedar Bluffs

Village · Pop. 615 · ZIP 68015
NE 109

Village of 615 on NE 109 near the Platte, six miles south of Fremont, named for a cedar-covered bluff. Its own K–12 school; the sacred Pawnee bluff Pahuk is nearby.

Morse Bluff

Village · Pop. 117 · ZIP 68648
NE 79

Czech village of 117 on NE 79 at the Platte bridge to North Bend, platted on the Chicago & North Western in 1887. St. George church and the Rad Plzen Z.C.B.J. hall.

Leshara

Village · Pop. 108 · ZIP 68064
NE 64

Village of 108 north of NE 64, the youngest town in Saunders County, founded on a new railroad in 1905 and named for the Pawnee chief Petalesharo.

Memphis

Village · Pop. 109 · ZIP 68042
NE 66

Village of 109 north of Ashland, founded on the Burlington in 1887, with Memphis State Recreation Area on an old ice-house lake.

Former towns and post office communities

Wann

Unincorporated community · Pop. 102 · post office 1908–1950
County roads, about 7 mi north of Ashland

Railroad hamlet of 102 north of Ashland, named in 1905 by settler Andrew Wilson on condition that no liquor ever be sold there. Post office 1908–1950.

Swedeburg

Unincorporated community · post office 1873–1972
US 77, about 5 mi south of Wahoo

Swedish farm village on US 77 between Wahoo and Ceresco, settled in 1869 by families straight from Sweden. Its Covenant church dates from 1909, and the Fridhem cemetery from 1877.

Rescue

Former post office · post office 1874–1900, 1903–1933
County roads, about 3 mi west of NE 79

Former post office and Burlington hamlet north of Prague, with an elevator, a garage and a dance hall in its day. Nothing is known to remain.

Touhy

Unincorporated community · post office 1892–1956
Union Pacific line, about 4 mi north of Valparaiso

Czech railroad hamlet of 1892 between Valparaiso and Weston, named for Union Pacific roadmaster Patrick Touhy. St. Vitus Church, dedicated in 1903, still holds Mass.

Plasi

Former Czech village · settled 1867; gone by about 1900
County Road O, near NE 79

Vanished Czech village west of Malmo where Nebraska's oldest Czech parish began. Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church and its cemetery, with burials from 1873, remain.

Cedar Hill

Rural Czech parish community · post office 1872–1888
County Road 27, near NE 79

Rural Czech parish between Prague and Morse Bluff, where Sacred Heart Church, blessed in 1880, may be the only Czech Catholic congregation still worshipping in its original church.

Travel Corridors

US Highway 77 — north–south from Fremont through Wahoo, Swedeburg and Ceresco to Lincoln. NE 109 runs north from Wahoo through Colon to Cedar Bluffs.

NE 92 — east–west across the county from the NE 79 junction near Weston through Wahoo, Mead and Yutan to Omaha. NE 92 Corridor →

US 6 and I-80 — US 6 crosses the Platte at Ashland between Omaha and Lincoln; I-80 runs just south of the county line, with Exit 426 near Ashland. US 6 Corridor → · I-80 Corridor →

NE 79, NE 66 and NE 64 — NE 79 runs from North Bend through Morse Bluff, Prague and Valparaiso toward Lincoln; NE 66 links Valparaiso, Ithaca, Memphis and Ashland; NE 64 passes Leshara toward Valley.

Cameras: View Saunders County cameras → · Road conditions: Nebraska 511

Outdoors

Lake Wanahoo NRD Recreation Area, just north of Wahoo, has a 662-acre no-wake lake, 95 electric campsites, tent sites and cabins (NRD permit). Memphis State Recreation Area has a 48-acre lake and campsites (state park permit), and Czechland Lake north of Prague has a no-wake lake and inexpensive camping. Wildlife management areas include Jack Sinn Memorial (saline wetlands south of Ceresco), Memphis Lake, Larkspur, Bramble and Catfish Run.

Just across the Platte and the county line in Cass County, near Ashland, are Eugene T. Mahoney State Park and the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum.

Saunders County Business Directory

Businesses within 20 miles of: Wahoo · Ashland · Yutan · Prague · Ceresco · All listings →

Adjacent Counties

Dodge County (north, across the Platte) · Douglas County (east) · Sarpy County (east) · Cass County (southeast) · Lancaster County (south) · Butler County (west)

Events

Ashland's Stir-Up Days runs in mid-July (July 17–19 in 2026), and Ceresco Days and Yutan Days are also summer events. The Saunders County Fair fills the Wahoo fairgrounds at the end of July (to August 2 in 2026), and Prague's Beer Barrel Days follows in early August (August 7–9 in 2026).

Events in Saunders County

  • Ashland Stir-Up Days (Ashland)
    Stir-Up Days is Ashland’s annual summer community festival, hosted by the Ashland Chamber of Commerce each July in the town’s historic downtown along Silver Street.
  • Ceresco Days (Ceresco)
    Ceresco Days is held in Ceresco, Nebraska, in early summer (late June or July).
  • Prague Beer Barrel Days (Prague)
    Prague Beer Barrel Days is held in Prague, Nebraska, on the second weekend of August.
  • Saunders County Fair (Wahoo)
    Saunders County Fair, a county fair in Wahoo, Nebraska.
  • Testicle Festival (Ashland)
    Testicle Festival is held in Ashland, Nebraska, on the Saturday of Father's Day weekend or the weekend after.
  • Yutan Days (Yutan)
    Yutan Days is held in Yutan, Nebraska, in mid-summer (July or August).

Know of another event in the county? Tell us about it.

Saunders County at a Glance

Saunders County, Nebraska — in the bend of the Platte between Fremont, Omaha and Lincoln. County seat Wahoo.

Getting there: US 77 from Fremont and Lincoln, NE 92 from Omaha, US 6 and I-80 at Ashland, NE 79 from North Bend.

For visitors: Lake Wanahoo and the county museum in Wahoo, Silver Street in Ashland, Czech Prague and the old parishes at Plasi and Cedar Hill, Memphis State Recreation Area, and Mahoney State Park and the SAC museum just across the line. Saunders Medical Center in Wahoo is the county's hospital.

Vehicles registered in Saunders County carry license plate number 6. See what every Nebraska county number means.

Saunders County Businesses & Places

429 listings in Saunders County.

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