Explore Thayer County’s historic sites and markers on the interactive map below. Zoom in to separate nearby locations, click or tap a numbered marker for details, and use the slider to adjust the 1885 map overlay. A list of markers is below the map.
About the overlay map: The 1885 map shows historic communities, roads, railroads, waterways, township boundaries, and the names of many early Thayer County landowners. Because it was created using nineteenth-century surveying and printing methods, some features may not align perfectly with the modern map.
Thayer County Historical Sites and Markers
The number beside each listing matches the numbered marker on the map above. Click or tap a marker to see its name and description.
- Big Sandy Crossing
Oregon Trail marker pointing toward Big Sandy Crossing, 3.5 miles east.
- Bruning Air Field Pilots Memorial
Memorial to 28 servicemen killed in an aircraft crash near Naper on August 3, 1944.
- Bruning Army Air Field
World War II Army airfield that trained B-24 bomber crews and P-47 fighter pilots.
- Bruning Opera House
Opera house built in 1907 and still used for community and civic events.
- Chester Municipal Auditorium
Municipal auditorium constructed in 1938 as a Works Progress Administration project.
- District 17 Rock School
One-room native-limestone school built in 1873 and operated until 1955.
- First Modern Hot-Air Balloon Flight
Site commemorating Ed Yost’s first free flight of a modern hot-air balloon on October 22, 1960.
- Fort Butler Marker
1930 DAR marker commemorating the 1869 First Nebraska Cavalry stockade built to protect settlers.
- Friedensau
Commemorates the German Lutheran village established near the Little Blue River in 1874.
- Friedensau Church
Historic rural church and cemetery associated with the former Friedensau settlement.
- Gilead Bank Building
Historic 1907 bank building that closed in 1929 and later became the Gilead Post Office.
- Hackney Ranch Oregon Trail Marker
1914 Oregon Trail marker identifying the Hackney Ranch site 2.5 miles east.
- Hebron Bear Tribute
Hebron High School mascot statue honoring the community, its students and its schools.
- Hebron CCC and POW Camps
Commemorates Hebron’s Civilian Conservation Corps camp and its later use as a World War II prisoner-of-war camp.
- Hebron Post Office Mural
National Register post office containing Eldora Lorenzini’s 1939 New Deal mural depicting Hebron’s historic corn train.
- Historic Belvidere Church
Church built in 1886 with its original ornamental tin ceiling.
- Home of Six-Man Football
Chester marker honoring Stephen E. Epler, originator of six-man football in 1934.
- Kiowa Ranch Oregon Trail Marker
1912 Oregon Trail marker identifying the Kiowa Ranch site 100 rods east.
- Majestic Theatre
Historic community movie theatre in downtown Hebron.
- Oregon Trail, Hebron Roadside Park
Marks the Oregon Trail route used by emigrants, gold seekers, the Pony Express and the Overland Stage.
- Oregon Trail, Oak
State of Nebraska Oregon Trail marker erected near Oak in 1912.
- Pony Express Riders, Alexandria
Commemorates the westbound and eastbound riders in the 1960 Pony Express Centennial Re-Run.
- Pony Express Riders, Hebron
Commemorates the riders who participated in the 1960 Pony Express Centennial Re-Run.
- Richard E. Dill House
Modern Movement residence built in 1936 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Thayer County Courthouse
1903 Indiana limestone courthouse combining Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles.
- Thayer County Historical Marker
Tells the history of Thayer County’s formation and its 1871 naming for General John Milton Thayer.
- Thayer County Museum
Museum campus preserving historic buildings and artifacts from Thayer County’s 11 communities.
- Thayer County Veterans Memorial
Honors Thayer County men and women who served their country in war and peace.
- The Forty-Niner Trail
Marks the route followed through Thayer County by California gold seekers, Oregon Trail travelers and the Pony Express.
- Thompson Stage Station
Oregon Trail marker pointing toward the Thompson Stage Station site near Belvidere.
- Women’s Suffrage Marker
Historical marker and mural describing the women’s suffrage movement in Thayer County.
- World’s Largest Porch Swing
Hebron’s landmark 32-foot porch swing in Roosevelt Park.
- Little Boy Blue Memorial
Memorial to the child found near Chester known as Little Boy Blue.
- The Sixth Principal Meridian Markert
The Sixth Principal Meridian Initial Point serves as the legal geographic anchor for over 221 million acres of land across five states.
** Locations are based on historical records, published marker coordinates, and local directions. Some locations are approximate, and some properties may not be open to the public. Please respect private property.
Thanks to the Historical Marker Database website for their data.