Ceresco Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Saunders County · Population 919 (2020 census) · ZIP 68017 · Founded 1886

About Ceresco

Ceresco is a village of 919 just off US 77 in southern Saunders County, about 11 miles south of Wahoo and 17 miles north of Lincoln. It has Ceresco Elementary School of the Raymond Central district, the community library, a park and community building, and holds Ceresco Days each July.

History

Ashel and Horace Andrus settled here in 1868 and named the place for their former home, Ceresco, Michigan; their brother-in-law Ira Nelson became the first postmaster in 1869. Swedish families settled the surrounding Richland Precinct from 1870. When the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad (Chicago & North Western) built through a mile to the east in 1886, the townsite company bought 160 acres and the village moved to the tracks; lots went on sale on October 12, 1886.

US 77 was built past the village in 1937, bypassing the business district. The depot came down in 1976 and the last freight passed in 1991. Swanson Ford, founded in 1909, has been called the oldest Ford dealership in Nebraska. The population peaked at 920 in 2000.

Highways and trails through Ceresco

Route	One way	Other way
US 77Just east of the business district	North past Swedeburg to Wahoo (about 11 mi)	South to Lincoln (about 17 mi)

Nearby towns

Swedeburg	about 5 mi north-northeast	US 77
Davey	about 5 mi south-southwest	County roads
Ithaca	about 9 mi northeast	County roads
Valparaiso	about 10 mi west	County roads
Raymond	about 10 mi southwest	County roads
Wahoo	about 11 mi north	US 77
Lincoln	about 17 mi south	US 77

Things to see

Jack Sinn Memorial WMA, about 1,500 acres of saline wetlands on both sides of US 77 south of town, best for waterfowl and shorebirds from late February to May · Swedeburg and its Fridhem cemetery, about 5 mi north · Ceresco United Methodist Church

Events in Ceresco

Ceresco Days
Ceresco Days is held in Ceresco, Nebraska, in early summer (late June or July).

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Ceresco Elementary School (Raymond Central Public Schools), 114 S. 3rd St.; the high school is in Raymond

Health care: No clinic in Ceresco; nearest hospitals Saunders Medical Center, Wahoo (about 11 mi), and in Lincoln (about 17 mi)

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Phillips, Past and Present of Saunders County (1915); Saunders County, Nebraska History (1983, NEGenWeb); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Lower Platte North NRD; Nebraska Department of Transportation. Distances marked "about" are estimates.