Visitor & Travel Categories
Business & Economic Categories
Avoca, Nebraska
Avoca is a village in Cass County, Nebraska, with a population of 178 at the 2020 census. It was platted in 1882 along a newly built rail line and takes its name from the River Avoca in Ireland.
History
Like many Cass County towns, Avoca grew up as a small rail-served farming community in the late 19th century. Its best-known modern tradition is the Avoca Quack-Off, an annual rubber-duck race held on the last Saturday of January that has run since 1980 — roughly 400 numbered ducks race for prizes in front of several thousand spectators, with proceeds benefiting the town’s volunteer fire department.
Location & Geography
Avoca sits in southern Cass County amid the county’s farmland.
Today
Avoca remains a small rural village, best known today for its long-running winter Quack-Off fundraiser. Visitors and residents can browse local businesses and services through the categories below or the full Cass County directory.
Adjacent Counties
- Sarpy County — north
- Mills County, Iowa — northeast, across the Missouri River
- Fremont County, Iowa — southeast, across the Missouri River
- Otoe County — south
- Lancaster County — west
- Saunders County — northwest
Nearby Towns
- Weeping Water — 5 miles north
- Elmwood — 9 miles west
- Syracuse — 10 miles south
- Murray — 12 miles northeast
- Louisville — 14 miles north
- Nebraska City — 15 miles southeast
- Palmyra — 15 miles southwest
- Eagle — 16 miles west
- Plattsmouth — 18 miles northeast, the Cass County seat
- Springfield — 19 miles north
Points of Interest and Events
Tefft Community Park, developed in the 1970s on land donated by descendants of Avoca founder Amos Tefft, serves as the village's public park and community gathering space. The Old Avoca Schoolhouse at 505 Garfield St. has been restored as a music venue, hosting concerts, fiddle camps, private lessons, and workshops for community groups and school field trips.
Avoca's best-known tradition is the Quack-Off, a rubber-duck race down the village's main street held every year on the last Saturday of January. What began in 1980 as a tavern wager over whose rubber duck was fastest has grown into an event that draws thousands of visitors — swelling the tiny village's population many times over for a single day — with proceeds benefiting the Avoca Volunteer Fire Department. Residents also take part in the Cass County Fair each August and the Limestone Days Parade in nearby Weeping Water, and the village hosts "Azalea's Voice," a community fundraiser for Rett Syndrome research.
Education
Avoca is served by Weeping Water Public Schools, a PreK–12 district headquartered about 5 miles north in Weeping Water with preschool, elementary, junior high, and senior high facilities. For higher education, Southeast Community College's Lincoln campus and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln are both roughly 32 miles west via US-34.
Health
The nearest hospital is CHI Health St. Mary's in Nebraska City, about 15 miles southeast. Tabitha Healthcare in Weeping Water, about 5 miles north, provides local home health and senior care services.
US-34 and Nebraska Highway 1 Corridors
Avoca sits a few miles north of US Highway 34, reached via county road. US-34 runs west through Palmyra and Eagle toward Lincoln (about 32 miles), and east and south through the Union and Nehawka areas toward Nebraska City and its junction with US-75.
Nebraska Highway 1 runs about 9 miles west of Avoca, passing through Elmwood, Murdock, and Manley before reaching Murray and terminating at its junction with US-34/US-75.
Avoca, Nebraska
Village in Cass County. Population 178 (2020). Platted 1882; named for the River Avoca in Ireland. Home to the annual Avoca Quack-Off rubber-duck race, held every January since 1980.
Designation: Village