McCool Junction, NE

McCool Junction is a York County village that began when the railroad reached the site in 1886. The original name was McCool, after railroad official Daniel McCool; by 1888 the town sat at the meeting of two rail lines. The 2020 census counted 453 residents. That railroad beginning still makes the name legible: the junction was the reason a village formed on the plains.

Today the village’s calendar and recreation carry the same sense of gathering. The annual Mustang Roundup in September brings a parade, barbecue, music, games, and duck races to town, while Bachman Park surrounds the historic town hall. Junction Motor Speedway, a three-eighths-mile dirt oval just west of the village, extends the community’s reach across York County and hosts racing from spring into fall. McCool Junction Public Schools serve local students, and the school building dates to 1916 after an earlier building burned. McCool Junction is a railroad village with a civic festival, a school, and a racetrack all using the same small crossroads.