Ashland Nebraska

Ashland is a small city in Saunders County, Nebraska, with a total area of only 1.1 square miles. It rests along the busy roadway of Interstate 80, equidistant from the metropolis areas of Omaha and Lincoln. As of the 2000 Census, Ashland's population was 2,262. Ashland is the home of vital business and industry that provides support to local residents and tourists alike, such as Innovative Laboratory Systems, Nebraska Army National Guard Training Center, Linoma Software, and Trade Well Pallet.

History

The Oxbow Trail, a variant route of the Oregon Trail, ran from Fort Kearny on the Platte River (where the Oxbow Trail joined the Oregon Trail) to Nebraska City on the Missouri River.

The limestone bottom of Salt Creek, which is where Ashland is now located, served as an excellent fording site. Saline Ford, a trading post, developed there. Flora City was platted on the hills overlooking the ford. These towns, Saline Ford and Flora City, were later incorporated as Ashland.

Modern Ashland

Ashland benefits today from its close proximity to Interstate 80 and to the much larger nearby cities of Omaha and Lincoln. In some ways Ashland is becoming an extension of these larger communities, though it still maintains a rural character. In the late 1990s and 2000s, a building boom occurred in Ashland due to the possession of this character coupled with only a 30 minute drive to either of Nebraska's economic hubs.

Ashland provides residents with outstanding options for private and public schooling, with higher education choices always found within driving distance:

• Omaha offers Creighton University, Bellevue University, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
• Lincoln offers the flagship campus of the University of Nebraska, Union College, and Bryan LGH College of Health Sciences.

Three of Nebraska's most popular tourist attractions can be found near Ashland, earning it the name, “The Tourism Capital of Nebraska." The Eugene T. Mahoney State Park, the Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari (owned and operated by the Henry Doorly Zoo), and the Strategic Air and Space Museum can all be found along I-80 in close proximity to Ashland. Also, Ashland is the hometown of astronaut, Clayton Anderson.