Belvidere Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Belvidere Area Cameras

Village · Thayer County · Population 51 (2020 census) · ZIP 68315 · Founded 1872 · Peak population 475 (1910)

About Belvidere

Belvidere is a village of 51 in central Thayer County, about a mile east of US 81 and 6 miles north-northeast of Hebron. It is home to the Thayer County Museum and the Belvidere Train Watching Station.

History

Belvidere was surveyed and platted in 1872 as the "B" station of the St. Joseph & Denver City Railroad's alphabetical series; the name may come from Belvidere, Illinois, or Belvidere, New Jersey, and means "beautiful to see." The Elm Grove post office moved here, and by 1882 the town had about 375 people and a graded school. The population peaked at 475 in 1910, and the 1953 Hebron tornado continued north past Belvidere.

The Thayer County Historical Society opened its museum in the village's three-story brick school in 1970. The line through town is now a double-track Union Pacific main line, and in 2012 the village built an open-air platform for train watchers; Belvidere was named a "Train Town USA" in 2013.

Highways and trails through Belvidere

Route	One way	Other way
US 81About 1 mi west, by Spur S-85D	North to Bruning and Geneva	South to Hebron (about 6 mi)

Nearby towns

Bruning	about 6 mi north	US 81
Hebron	about 6 mi south-southwest	US 81
Carleton	about 7 mi west-northwest	County roads
Alexandria	about 9 mi east	County roads
Gilead	about 11 mi southeast	County roads

Things to see

The Thayer County Museum, 110 N. 9th St.: ten buildings on 8 acres, including the old school, a one-room school, a barn of farm machinery, a church moved from Hubbell and a Union Pacific caboose (Sundays and Wednesdays 2–4 or by appointment; free) · the Belvidere Train Watching Station, C and 6th Sts., with the county's last depot · Belvidere Rural Cemetery · Toad Jam in August

Health care

No clinic in Belvidere; nearest: Thayer County Health Services, 120 Park Ave., Hebron, a 17-bed critical access hospital, with its Hebron Medical Clinic

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Who's Who in Nebraska, Thayer County (1940); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1917); History Nebraska and its historical markers; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Little Blue NRD; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Heritage Highway 136; village, school, museum and hospital websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.