Schuyler, Nebraska: The County Got Colfax, the Town Got Schuyler

Name origin: Documented4 sourcesChecked Oct 27, 2026
Detail of an 1899 U.S. Geological Survey map showing the street grid of Schuyler with a railroad crossing it east to west and another line, labeled Burl., running south
Schuyler on the U.S. Geological Survey's David City sheet, 1899. U.S. Geological Survey, David City sheet (1:125,000), 1899. Public domain.

One man’s name got split in two here. Colfax County took Schuyler Colfax’s last name, and its county seat, Schuyler, Nebraska, took his first.

A vice president, cut in half

Colfax County’s own history says it plainly: when the county was created, Colfax was picked for the county’s name and Schuyler for the county seat. Lilian Fitzpatrick, who catalogued Nebraska’s place names in 1925, adds that the town was named, like the county, “for Schuyler Colfax (1823-1885) who was then vice-president of the United States.” She dates the county seat to 1869, the same year the county was carved out of Platte County.

Before it was Schuyler

The town started out as a railroad stop. The county and the Union Pacific both say it was Shell Creek Station, on Union Pacific land, before it got its new name. The railroad says the change came when the county was created in 1869.

Two names, one man

Look at a map of Nebraska and you’ll find the whole name, just split across two labels: Colfax for the county, Schuyler for the town in it. If you ever forget who Schuyler Colfax was, this part of Nebraska spells it out for you.

Sources & further reading

  • Lilian Linder Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (University of Nebraska, 1925). Public domain; organized by county. Schuyler Colfax and the 1869 county seat.
  • Colfax County, “About Our County.” Colfax for the county, Schuyler for the seat, and Platte County’s objection.
  • Union Pacific, “Schuyler, NE.” Shell Creek Station and the 1869 change.
  • GNIS feature 833306 (U.S. Geological Survey). The federal record for Schuyler. Founded 1869; village 1870; city 1887.

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