GREELEY COUNTY
HISTORY
Greeley county was named in honor of Horace Greeley (1811-1872) politician and journalist credited for saying: "Go west young man and grow up with the country." The first settlements in this county were made in 1871-1872. It was organized on March 1, 1871.
COURTHOUSE
Greeley County Court House
101 S Kildare
Greeley, NE 68842
PLACE NAMES
Acme – post office opened August 10, 1885 through October 9, 1891.
Belfast – likely named by Irish immigrants for Belfast, Ireland. Post office opened February 17, 1908 through April 30, 1909.
Brayton - probably named for a railroad official. Peak population 75 in 1910 & 1930. Post office opened February 15,1888 through 1945.
Chase – post office opened January 16, 1880 through June 23, 1886.
Davis Creek – post office opened October 1, 1878 through July 11, 1879 when name changed to Howard.
El Dorado – post office opened March 14, 1876 through January 17, 1881.
Ellsworth – post office opened July 11, 1879 through December 3, 1883.
Enfield – post office opened June 14, 1882 through April 16, 1894.
Floss – post office opened March 28, 1881 through August 27, 1887.
Greeley Center – named for its location in almost the exact center of Greeley county. The post office here is named Greeley, but the town itself is named Greeley Center. It is the county seat of Greeley county. The precinct is named Center.
Halifax – post office opened September 23, 1875 through May 20, 1881 when name changed to Spalding. Named for Halifax, Vermont.
Homestead – post office opened July 18, 1904 through February 18, 1916.
Horace – named in honor of Horace Greeley, the noted editor of the New York Tribune and candidate in 1872 for president of the United States. Post office opened April 8, 1890 through 1943. Peak population in 1910 was 47.
Jacksonville – post office opened July 24, 1878 through January 13, 1880 when moved to O’Connor. Named for an early settler named Charles Jackson.
Lamartine – post office opened April 17, 1873 through May 13, 1881.
Leo Valley – post office opened March 15, 1880 through October 15, 1920.
O’Connor – post office opened January 13, 1880 through June 22, 1904. Peak population in 1880 was 149. Named for Omaha bishop James O’Connor.
Parnell – post office opened September 27, 1881 through June 15, 1915. Probably named for Charles S Parnell, the Irish home rule leader.
Scotia – post office opened December 19, 1873. The town was named by first postmaster Samuel Scott in honor of Scotland, his native country. Scotia is the poetic name for Scotland.
Spading – post office opened October 9, 1885 through August 16, 1887 when name changed to Greeley.
Spalding – post office opened May 20, 1881. The town of Spalding was located by an Irish Catholic association and was named in honor of Bishop John L Spalding who was president of the Irish Catholic Association at that time. Peak population was 878 in 1920.
Summit – post office opened June 4, 1879 through November 3, 1889. Named for the hill on which it is located.
Troy – post office opened December 8, 1879 through December 31, 1904. Likely named for Troy, New York.
Wolbach – post office opened April 27, 1888. Named for S N Wolbach of Grand Island, Nebraska who owned a great deal of land in the area. Peak population in 1820 was 589.
CEMETERIES
Check Findagrave, Billion Graves and nebraskacemteries.org for location and burial listings
Amity Cemetery
Berney Cemetery
Calvary Cemetery
East O’Connor Cemetery
Fish Creek Cemetery
Grand View Cemetery
Greeley Cemetery
Hillside Cemetery
Mount Hope Cemetery, aka Scotia Cemetery
O’Connor Cemetery, aka O’Connor Catholic Cemetery
Pleasant Hill Cemetery
Sacred Heart Cemetery
Saint Michael’s Cemetery
Saint Paul Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
Swedish Cemetery
CHURCHES
Cedar Hills Church – 49301 NE 22, Scotia, 308-245-3216
Chalk Hills Community Church – 206 Doane St, Scotia, 308-245-3371
Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church – 303 W Wicklow Ave, Greeley, 308-428-2855
Scotia United Methodist Church – 103 N Greeley St, Scotia, 308-245-4119
St Joseph’s Catholic Church – Kelso St & Kingston Ave, Wolbach,
St Michael’s Catholic Church – 150 E Marguerite St, Spalding, 308-497-2662
Trinity Lutheran Church – 600 Center Ave, Wolbach 308-246-5638
Wolbach Methodist Church – 604 Drummond Ave, Wolbach, 308-894-3045
Zion Lutheran Church – 201 Scotia Ave, Scotia, 308-245-3151
FUNERAL HOMES
TJ Finn & Sons Mortuary – 103 S Galway St, Greeley, 308-428-2555
LIBRARIES
Greeley City Library – 101 S Kildare St, Greeley, 308-428-2545
Scotia Public Library – 110 S Main St, Scotia, 308-245-3350, scotialibrary@nctc.net, http://libraries.ne.gov/scotia/
MUSEUMS
Greeley County Historical Society Courthouse Museum
Courthouse Square
Greeley, NE 68842
308-428-3115
NEWSPAPERS
Greeley Citizen
207 W O’Connor Ave
Greeley, NE 68842
308-428-2915
Historic Greeley newspapers at Advantage Archives
SCHOOLS
Central Valley Public Schools
304 N Shannon
Greeley, NE 68842
308-428-3145
WEBSITES
Greeley County GenWeb
Greeley County Genealogy Trails
Greeley County Family Search Wiki
Greeley County Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness
Greeley County Cyndi’s List
Greeley County Nebraska Gravestones
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