Lyons Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Burt County · Population 824 (2020 census) · ZIP 68038 · Founded 1866 · Peak population 1,214 (1980)

About Lyons

Lyons is a city of 824 on US 77 and Logan Creek in northwestern Burt County. It has the Lyons-Decatur Northeast schools, the Lyons Public Library, Island Park Campground on Logan Creek, the Storefront Theater on Main Street and the Center for Rural Affairs.

History

Josiah Everett and his three brothers made the first permanent settlement in July 1866. The town was platted on the land of Waldo Lyon, who came from Arizona precinct in 1869, and a clause in his deed forbids the sale of liquor in town on pain of forfeiture of the lot. The Lyons Roller Mill, powered by a dam on Logan Creek, was built in 1869 and ran until 1931; a brickyard opened in 1878, and the town pool sits in its old clay pit. A trotting track west of town held races from 1891 to 1893.

The railroad reached Lyons about 1880–81, and Lyons incorporated as a village in 1884. The line to Pender was abandoned in 1963 and the line to Tekamah in 1975. Lyons and Decatur schools merged in 1984. The Center for Rural Affairs moved here from Walthill in 2004. Main Street's Storefront Theater has a false front that lowers to form a stage. The population peaked at 1,214 in 1980.

Highways and trails through Lyons

Route	One way	Other way
US 77North–south through town	North to NE 51 (about 5 mi), Rosalie and Walthill	South to Oakland (about 7.5 mi) and Fremont

Nearby towns

Oakland	about 7.5 mi south	US 77
Bancroft	about 9 mi northwest	US 77 and NE 51
Rosalie	about 11 mi north	US 77
Walthill	about 15 mi north	US 77
Decatur	about 16 mi east	US 77 and NE 51
Tekamah	about 21 mi southeast	US 77 and NE 32

Things to see

Island Park Campground and Island Park on Logan Creek · Lyons historical marker at the Island Park entrance · the Storefront Theater and the Byway of Art on Main Street · St. John's Lutheran Church (1882 Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische St. Johannes Kirche), west of town (National Register)

Schools and health care

Schools: Lyons-Decatur Northeast Schools, 400 S. 5th St.: Northeast Elementary at Lyons (pre-K–6) and Northeast Secondary School (7–12)

Health care: No clinic; Franciscan Healthcare Oakland Clinic (about 7.5 mi); nearest hospitals Pender Community Hospital and Franciscan Healthcare, West Point (about 18–19 mi)

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Burt County; History Nebraska; National Register of Historic Places; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska Department of Transportation route mileposts. Distances marked "about" are estimates.