Ravenna, NE

Ravenna grew around the Burlington Railroad after the line reached Buffalo County in 1886. The town took its name from Ravenna, Italy, and the street grid kept that decision visible through names drawn from other Italian places. The railroad is more than an origin story here: it helped make Ravenna a town with a long paper trail of families, schools, businesses, and working equipment.

That local memory has a home at 210 Grand Avenue, the city's main street. The Historical Society of Ravenna keeps photographs, family files, school yearbooks, and artifacts connected to business, military, railroad, and fire-department history. The building also gives the town a place to keep track of who lived, worked, and played here. Each June, Annevar - the city's name in reverse - brings a demolition derby, tractor pull, and other activities to the calendar. Put the old railroad town, the Italian street names, and that mid-June gathering together, and Ravenna's personality comes into focus without much fuss.