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Norfolk, Nebraska
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Norfolk, Nebraska
Norfolk is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles (182 km) northwest of Omaha and 76 miles southwest of Sioux City, Iowa, at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,955 at the 2020 census, making it the seventh-most populous city in Nebraska. It is the principal city of the Norfolk Micropolitan Statistical Area.
In late 1865 three scouts were sent from a German Lutheran settlement near Ixonia, Wisconsin, to find productive, inexpensive farmland that could be claimed under the Homestead Act. From the Omaha area they followed the Elkhorn River upstream to West Point. Finding that area too crowded, they continued up the river. On September 15, they reached the junction of the Elkhorn and its North Fork, and chose that area as a settlement site. On May 23, 1866, a party of 124 settlers representing 42 families from the Ixonia area set out for northeast Nebraska in three wagon trains. They arrived at the new site on July 15. A second group of settlers from Wisconsin arrived in July 1867. These collective wagon parties established the first church in Madison County, St. Paul's Lutheran.
The original name of the colony was a variant of "North Fork", but accounts differ on the exact name: "Northfork", "Nor'fork", and "Nordfork" are all suggested. The name was submitted to federal postal authorities, and at some point was transmuted to "Norfolk". Nebraskans typically pronounce it as "Norfork".
The North Fork settlement was named the county seat in 1867. In 1875 a series of elections changed this. In the first of these Norfolk, which at the time had 45 voters, was eliminated. In a subsequent election Madison was chosen over Battle Creek.
The Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad was built after the discovery of gold in the Black Hills in South Dakota. It ran from the Omaha area up the Elkhorn valley, then across northern Nebraska and into South Dakota. Its arrival at Norfolk in 1879 connected the city through Wisner to Blair on the Missouri. The Omaha, Niobrara, and Black Hills branch of the Union Pacific ran north from the railroad's main line at Columbus to Norfolk; it reached the city in 1880. The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad was completed to Norfolk in 1882.
The development of these railway connections led to significant growth in the city. In 1886 Norfolk's population reached 1,000, making it a city of the second class. A street railway system and a public water supply were established in 1887. In 1888 a franchise was granted to the Norfolk Electric Light Company, and the Nebraska Telephone Company was given a right-of-way for "general telegraph and telephone business".
The Nebraska legislature created the Insane Asylum in Norfolk in 1885; it accepted its first patients in 1888. In 1920, the institution's name was changed to the Norfolk State Hospital; in 1962, it became the Norfolk Regional Center. As of 2010, it was a 120-bed institution providing the initial phase of treatment to sex offenders.
In 1900, the city had a population of 3,883, nearly quadruple its population of a decade earlier. By 1910, it had more than 6,000 people, comprising roughly one-third of Madison County's population of 19,101. In 1915, petitions were filed for an election to move the county seat from Madison to Norfolk. The measure, however, failed to secure the necessary number of votes.
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Norfolk, Nebraska
Norfolk is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles (182 km) northwest of Omaha and 76 miles southwest of Sioux City, Iowa, at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,955 at the 2020 census, making it the seventh-most populous city in Nebraska. It is the principal city of the Norfolk Micropolitan Statistical Area.
In late 1865 three scouts were sent from a German Lutheran settlement near Ixonia, Wisconsin, to find productive, inexpensive farmland that could be claimed under the Homestead Act. From the Omaha area they followed the Elkhorn River upstream to West Point. Finding that area too crowded, they continued up the river. On September 15, they reached the junction of the Elkhorn and its North Fork, and chose that area as a settlement site. On May 23, 1866, a party of 124 settlers representing 42 families from the Ixonia area set out for northeast Nebraska in three wagon trains. They arrived at the new site on July 15. A second group of settlers from Wisconsin arrived in July 1867. These collective wagon parties established the first church in Madison County, St. Paul's Lutheran.
The original name of the colony was a variant of "North Fork", but accounts differ on the exact name: "Northfork", "Nor'fork", and "Nordfork" are all suggested. The name was submitted to federal postal authorities, and at some point was transmuted to "Norfolk". Nebraskans typically pronounce it as "Norfork".
The North Fork settlement was named the county seat in 1867. In 1875 a series of elections changed this. In the first of these Norfolk, which at the time had 45 voters, was eliminated. In a subsequent election Madison was chosen over Battle Creek.
The Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad was built after the discovery of gold in the Black Hills in South Dakota. It ran from the Omaha area up the Elkhorn valley, then across northern Nebraska and into South Dakota. Its arrival at Norfolk in 1879 connected the city through Wisner to Blair on the Missouri. The Omaha, Niobrara, and Black Hills branch of the Union Pacific ran north from the railroad's main line at Columbus to Norfolk; it reached the city in 1880. The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad was completed to Norfolk in 1882.
The development of these railway connections led to significant growth in the city. In 1886 Norfolk's population reached 1,000, making it a city of the second class. A street railway system and a public water supply were established in 1887. In 1888 a franchise was granted to the Norfolk Electric Light Company, and the Nebraska Telephone Company was given a right-of-way for "general telegraph and telephone business".
The Nebraska legislature created the Insane Asylum in Norfolk in 1885; it accepted its first patients in 1888. In 1920, the institution's name was changed to the Norfolk State Hospital; in 1962, it became the Norfolk Regional Center. As of 2010, it was a 120-bed institution providing the initial phase of treatment to sex offenders.
In 1900, the city had a population of 3,883, nearly quadruple its population of a decade earlier. By 1910, it had more than 6,000 people, comprising roughly one-third of Madison County's population of 19,101. In 1915, petitions were filed for an election to move the county seat from Madison to Norfolk. The measure, however, failed to secure the necessary number of votes.
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