Wahoo Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Saunders County · County seat · Population 4,818 (2020 census) · ZIP 68066 · Founded 1870

About Wahoo

Wahoo is the county seat of Saunders County, a city of 4,818 on US 77, NE 92 and NE 109 about 35 miles west of Omaha and 28 miles north of Lincoln. It has Saunders Medical Center, Wahoo Public Schools, Bishop Neumann and St. Wenceslaus Catholic schools, the public library, the Saunders County Historical Society Museum and the county fairgrounds. Lake Wanahoo lies just north of town.

History

J. M. and J. R. Lee settled on Wahoo Creek in 1869, and a town company surveyed the site in 1870. The name comes from the wahoo shrub, or burning bush, that grew along the creek; it was spelled "Wauhoo" until 1877. Wahoo incorporated on September 1, 1874. In the 1873 county-seat election it beat Eldred and Alvin, and the county offices moved from Ashland that December. The Omaha & Republican Valley Railroad arrived about 1876, and by 1915 the town had three railroads. Czech, German and Swedish settlers built its churches, and John F. Kennedy College (1965–75) won the first three Women's College World Series.

The present courthouse was built in 1904–05 and is on the National Register, with a memorial to the submarine USS Wahoo on its lawn. Wahoo calls Baseball Hall of Famer "Wahoo Sam" Crawford, composer Howard Hanson, Nobel geneticist George Beadle, film producer Darryl F. Zanuck and illustrator C. W. Anderson its five famous sons. From 1996 the town was the "home office" of David Letterman's Top Ten list. Lake Wanahoo opened north of town in 2012, and the 2020 census count was Wahoo's highest.

Highways and trails through Wahoo

Route	One way	Other way
US 77North–south through town	North to Fremont (about 16 mi)	South past Swedeburg and Ceresco to Lincoln (about 28 mi)
NE 92Runs with US 77 north of town, then east	East through Mead to Yutan and Omaha	West to Weston and David City
NE 109North from Wahoo	North through Colon to Cedar Bluffs	Ends at US 77 in Wahoo

Nearby towns

Swedeburg	about 6 mi south	US 77
Ithaca	about 6 mi southeast	County roads
Weston	about 7 mi west-southwest	NE 92
Malmo	about 6 mi west-northwest	NE 92 and spur
Colon	about 6 mi north	NE 109
Mead	about 7 mi east	NE 92
Ceresco	about 11 mi south	US 77
Fremont	about 17 mi north-northeast	US 77
Lincoln	about 28 mi south	US 77

Things to see

Saunders County Courthouse, Chestnut St. between 4th and 5th (1904–05; National Register), with the USS Wahoo memorial · Saunders County Historical Society Museum, 240 N. Walnut St., with a depot, church, schoolhouse and log cabin (Tuesday–Saturday, 10–4, free) · the Howard Hanson House and the Burlington depot (both National Register) · Lake Wanahoo NRD Recreation Area: a 662-acre no-wake lake with 95 electric campsites, tent sites and cabins (NRD permit required) · Wahoo Aquatic Center · Hilltop Country Club golf

Events in Wahoo

Saunders County Fair
Saunders County Fair, a county fair in Wahoo, Nebraska.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Wahoo Public Schools: Wahoo Elementary, Wahoo Middle School and Wahoo High School; Saunders Catholic Schools: St. Wenceslaus School (pre-K to 6), 108 N. Linden St., and Bishop Neumann Jr./Sr. High School, 202 S. Linden St.

Health care: Saunders Medical Center, 1760 County Road J (critical access hospital with an emergency room)

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.