Historic Superior, Nebraska

Superior's original building, a log cabin, was built by William Louden and several of his friends in 1872. The building served as a home, post office and trading post. It was built near the Republican River near what is now the southwest edge of the city limits. In the 1950s, the cabin was moved to Lincoln Park. Recently it was moved to the Nuckolls County Museum. The building is undergoing a restoration and will house post office equipment from several of the county post offices which have been closed.

Downtown Superior has been designated a National Historic District. Several of the storefronts have been restored to their original appearance or redecorated to accentuate the Victorian motif. The designated area covers four square blocks and is representative of business districts from 1883 to 1937. Basic elements of several buildings are still evident, including a cast-iron building with a steel facade which is rather rare in Nebraska.

The Kendall House, now owned by Wilford and Helen Miller, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1898, the house is generally one of several open for tours during the Lady Vestey Victorian Festival. The home is a Queen Anne Shingle house built by a druggist, Wallace W. Kendall. The three-story house includes a 30 x 40 foot ballroom on the top floor. The house was prefabricated and shipped to Superior in a railroad boxcar. The Millers have carefully restored the house, in which much of the original wood work, beams and wallpaper are intact.

This bungalow house was purchased by Lady Vestey as a retirement home for her mother, Mathilde Brodstone. It was built by Cyrus W. Harvey in 1914. Mrs. Brodstone died before she could move into the home. The present owners are Jon and Kim Bruning.

In the late 1800s, Joseph Hanna built a second home for his family at the very edge of old town Superior. The first family home had been on North Central. Several years later, he built an addition to the front of the house which nearly doubled the size. In subsequent years, the home has had several owners, including one who rebuilt the interior into numerous apartments. This historic home was purchased in July, 1996 by Gale and Marie Mikkelsen. They began restoration of the house in January, 1997.

The Beale House was built in 1881 by L. Uriah Beale. Beale had a ranch of about 1,000 acres northeast of Superior. His first wife died young. The home was built for his second wife. The original structure was much smaller and somewhat plain. Sometime between 1900 and1910 the house was expanded and the Victorian touches were added. The home is now occupied by Lewis and Pamela Hunter.

The Day house, was built in 1879 by George L. Day, a dentist and Superior's first lumber dealer. It was also the first two story home in Superior. The home began as a simple square structure, as did many of the homes. It was enlarged twice. The home was owned by the Days for about 100 years. The current owners are Lewis and Pamela Hunter.

The Crilly House was built by Peter Johnsen, a manager of the Henningsen Produce Company. He had married one of the five Henningsen daughters. The house was built in the Neo-classical style. An artist was brought from Denmark to decorate the interior. Howard Crilly purchased the house in the mid 1930's. The current owners are Dr. Donn and Sylvia Crilly.