Hershey (Nebraska)

Hershey is a town of 660 people (2019) in rural Lincoln County, Nebraska, midway between North Platte and Sutherland in the Platte River valley.

Understand
While the first Union Pacific Railroad tracks were laid in 1867, it wasn't until 1892 that the farmers and ranchers met to organize a town site company so they could have a post office and a railroad siding from which they could ship hay and potatoes. The town was named in honor of one of the owners of the Paxton & Hershey Land and Cattle Company, J.H. Hershey, originally from Pennsylvania. It wasn't until 1909 that Hershey was incorporated as a village.

Get in
The primary means of getting to Hershey is Interstate 80, which runs east-west; Highway 30, named the Lincoln Highway Scenic Byway, runs east-west. Lincoln is 3½ hours east on I-80; Cheyenne is 3½ hours west on I-80; Denver is 3½ hours west on I-80 and I-76.

North Platte Regional Airport with connecting flights from Denver International Airport.

Get around
A car makes life easier, but the village is small enough that you can walk anywhere you need to go.

Sleep
There are more than 1500 sleeping rooms available in North Platte, eleven miles east, and the Park Motel, with about 20 rooms in Sutherland, six miles west.