Deshler Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Deshler Area Cameras

City · Thayer County · Population 739 (2020 census) · ZIP 68340 · Founded 1887 · Peak population 1,177 (1930)

About Deshler

Deshler is a city of 739 in western Thayer County, where US 136 runs along the north edge of town and NE 5 begins, about 7½ miles west-southwest of Hebron. Reinke Manufacturing, the center-pivot irrigation maker, is here, and the Thayer County Fair has been held at Deshler since 1913.

History

Deshler was established in 1887, when the Rock Island line (built as the Chicago, Kansas & Nebraska) reached the site. The railroad had been expected to pass through Friedensau, a settlement to the east, but landowner John G. Deshler won the route across his land, and Friedensau's buildings were moved here; the town took his name. A tornado passed a mile west of town in 1908.

The county agricultural society organized at Deshler in 1913 and soon had fairgrounds south of town. The city reached its largest population, 1,177, in 1930, and in the 1950s and 1960s it had what was billed as the world's largest broom factory. Reinke Manufacturing, founded in 1954, builds center-pivot irrigation systems here; an early pivot still stands at the west entrance to town.

Highways and trails through Deshler

Route	One way	Other way
US 136Along the north edge of the city	East to Hebron (about 8 mi)	West to Ruskin and Superior
NE 5Begins at US 136 here	North 11 mi to NE 4 between Davenport and Carleton	South end at US 136

Nearby towns

Ruskin	about 7 mi west	US 136
Hebron	about 7 mi east-northeast	US 136
Byron	about 10 mi south-southwest	County roads and NE 8
Chester	about 11 mi south-southeast	US 136 and US 81
Carleton	about 11 mi north	NE 5 and NE 4
Davenport	about 13 mi north-northwest	NE 5 and NE 4
Superior	about 20 mi west-southwest	US 136

Things to see

Reinke Manufacturing, 1040 Road 5300 (a working plant) · Deshler City Park, with the pool, ball fields and free camping with electric hookups · Centennial Park Arboretum, the Friendship Garden and the 9-hole Rattlesnake disc golf course · the Jennifer Reinke Public Library, 311 E. Pearl St. · the 1914 Oregon Trail marker for Hackney Ranch, about 5 mi north-northeast · the site of Kiowa Station, a Pony Express and stage stop about 7 mi north-northwest (private farmland) · the Thayer County Fair in early August and Deshler Daze in June

Events in Deshler

Thayer County Fair
Thayer County Fair, a county fair in Hebron, Nebraska.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Deshler Public Schools: Deshler Elementary (PK–6) and Deshler High School (7–12), one building at 1402 3rd St.

Health care: Deshler Medical Clinic, 615 4th St. (Thayer County Health Services); hospital: Thayer County Health Services, 120 Park Ave., Hebron, a 17-bed critical access hospital

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.