Columbus, Nebraska

Platte Center

The village of Platte Center was platted on January 22, 1880 by the Omaha, Niobrara & Black Hills Railroad Company. The village was incorporated September 28, 1885.  Like many railroad towns, people from a variety of backgrounds and talents arrived, set up shop, built homes, and established schools and churches.


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Crossing the center of main street, Elm Creek has on occasion forced merchants on either side of the creek to sandbag store fronts following heavy rains. In recent years, work has been done to straighten the creek bed and in 1987 a wider bridge was erected over main street. These measures however were still not enough to prevent serious flooding again in 1990.

One of the first businesses in the new town was a saloon operated by George Scheidel and Frank Stracke. Soon thereafter Dr. Edwards moved his drug store and practice from Silver Creek, and William Bloedorn moved his blacksmith shop into town from his farm six miles away. He also erected one of the first residences in town. At one time there were three hotels in Platte Center. John A.Kehoe, a prominent business man, operated both a drug store and a grain buying business. Following his death in 1905, his widow carried on both businesses. Mr. Bruckner and Mr. Greisen opened a general mercantile store in 1887. Bruckner later bought out the business and in the 1980s the third and fourth generations of the Bruckner family still owned and operated the store.

The Platte Center Water Works was established in 1901 and in 1913 the first electric lighting system was installed. The Platte County Bank was organized in 1879 and the Farmers State Bank in 1910. Both closed following the crash of 1929. In 1935 the Platte County Bank was reorganized as a cooperative and in 1945 it became a regular bank, known as Platte Center Bank.

The area was settled primarily by German and Irish immigrants of deep religious faith. A testament to their faith is the number of churches erected and serving the town.  St. Joseph Catholic church was erected in 1884. The first church quickly became too small, the second church burned, and so, in 1924 a third building, that serves about 230 families, was dedicated and stands proud on a hill in the east part of town. A few blocks down the street, the Grace Lutheran Church ministers to approximately 60 families. A Baptist Church that served the area for many years closed in 1968 due to declining membership, but has been repurposed and remodeled into a private home.

At one time there were two schools, public and parochial, in Platte Center. For many years St. Joseph’s operated a 1st-12th school. Gradually the secondary grades were dropped and in 1968 the elementary school also closed its doors. District 24′s first building was erected in 1886 and the cornerstone for the most recent building was laid on July 5, 1976. In 1969 the district reorganized and a Class VI high school district was formed. Located between Platte Center and Columbus, it is known as Lakeview High. The town continues to operate a K-8 elementary school

The most famous person to come from Platte Center is Alfred N. Gruenther. Born in 1899, he graduated from St. Joseph Catholic High School in 1913. A career soldier, he advanced to the rank of Major General and served as Chief of NATO Forces in Paris, France. After retirement from the service, he served as president of the American Red Cross.

Platte Center’s population reached its peak at just over 500 in 1930. Located about 12 miles from Columbus, the town currently has a growing population of nearly 400. The town supports a bank, general merchandise store, several automotive repair shops, service stations, and bars, in addition to a bowling alley, a grain elevator, a building contractor with lumber yard, an irrigation pipe business, the Farmer Co-op business with fertilizer, and numerous small shops.

Adapted from a story by Mrs. Arno E. Mark

Additional material: “The Franciscans in Nebraska,” by Rev. Eugene Hagedorn, O.F.M. Some information gathered from the recollections of a descendant of George Scheidel, and conversations with other local residents.