| Swayzee, Nebraska | |
|---|---|
| — Former village — | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nebraska |
| County | Holt |
| Established | c. 1925 |
| Destroyed | May 5, 2008 |
| Named for | Swayzee, Indiana |
| Population (2000) | 109 |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central (CST)) |
| - Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) (UTC) |
| ZIP code | 68713 (shared with Atkinson) |
| Area code(s) | 402 |
Swayzee was a village in Holt County, Nebraska, United States. Established in 1925 and named for Swayzee, Indiana, where several founders of the town had been born, the town gradually grew to have a population of 500 by 1950, making it one of the largest communities in the county. Starting later in the 1950s, the village entered into a period of decline, with the population dropping to 107 by the 2000 census.
The village, which by that point had been reduced to a couple dozen mobile homes, only two occupied permanent homes as well as a Dollar General, was completely destroyed by a deadly EF4 tornado on May 5, 2008, and was never rebuilt, with the village board voting to disincorporate in 2011 after the decision was made that it would be impractical to rebuild. As of 2022, all that remains of the village is the former graveyard, one abandoned farm and the town's street network, as well as a statue of Ronald Reagan erected during the late 1980s in the village. In addition, in 2017 a memorial plaque dedicated to Anthony Wilkinson and others killed in the 2008 tornado was installed on the foundation of Wilkinson's former house.
History[]
Swayzee was platted in 1925, named for the small town of Swayzee, Indiana, where several of the early settlers of the village had moved from, and was incorporated in 1928 (with a population of 78). The village gradually grew in the 1930s, and though it was hit moderately hard by the Great Depression as well as droughts and other extreme weather that impacted much of the Great Plains during the decade, it still managed to grow to have over 200 people by 1940, with the village being described as having a motor lodge, general store and restaurant in 1945, with a firearms factory being built north of the town during World War II and further contributing to the village's exponential growth. By 1950, the population was surveyed at 502, making it one of the largest communities in Holt County, as well as one of the fastest growing communities in Nebraska, however the village would enter into a period of steady decline later in the decade after the firearms factory which was the largest employer in the village closed, causing many people to begin to leave the town for larger cities (especially Omaha and Sioux Falls), and by 1960 the population had dropped to 469, a 6.6% decrease from the previous decade. In 1967, the motel closed as business declined substantially, further accelerating the village's decline, and on May 16, 1969 the restaurant, as well as several homes on the east side of Swayzee were destroyed by a long-track F4 tornado that killed 3 people in the village. These two incidents, among other incidents, led to the rate of the village's decline picking up substantially by the 1970 census, with the village's population that year surveyed at 365, a 22.2% decline from 1960 and a 27.3% decline from 1950.
Despite attempts from the village board to revitalize the village, the decline would continue through the 1970s, and only accelerate after the local school district would shut down (only serving 19 students by that time) and redirect students to schools in Atkinson, while many people would continue to leave the village in search of opportunities in larger towns and cities, and by 1980 the population was surveyed at a meager 219, a whopping 40% drop from the 1970 census and a 67.3% decline from 1950. In 1982, the residents of the village elected Republican Eliza Amelia McClain as mayor, and she would serve as the village's mayor until the disincorporation of the village in 2011. On July 3, 1985, the village was devastated by flash flooding after several rounds of slow-moving thunderstorms gave the village as much as 15 to 20 inches (381-508 cm) of rain in 24 hours, inundating many homes and leading to much of the population rebuilding in mobile homes as opposed to permanent standing homes. The village's final stable form of income was cut off in 1987, after a local farming family that had been active in the region since before the village's establishment announced that it would be relocating. In 1988, the village controversially spent much of the money it had left on building a large statue of president Ronald Reagan, someone who McClain "greatly admired", in an attempt to gather media attention and potentially gather funds to help manage the town. This plan, however, was largely unsuccessful, as the statue was widely criticized and mocked for numerous inaccuracies, and in 1989 the village government officially ran out of money, getting a loan from the government to continue operating the village's water and power.
This plan succeeded, although the village couldn't make a profit, and in 1990 the village population was surveyed at 165, and several years later the Nebraska state government took over managing the village's water, power and infrastructure while the Swayzee Police Department was disbanded into the Atkinson Police Department. In 1996, after years of declining business, and with the owner's death, the Swayzee General Store officially closed, which was the last business in the declining village. However, the following year, a local resident (Fred Wilkinson) managed to get a franchise on the Dollar General brand, opening a Dollar General in the place of the general store, softening the blow of the loss of the store. By 2000, the village had a population of 109, and the living situation was described as "similar to a third world country", with many mobile homes having holes in their roofs and in a state of disrepair, as the owners could not afford such repairs. Running water and stable electricity were also luxuries that many in the village did not have, with many relying on the well in the center of town as their only source of clean water, and having inconsistent access to electricity, especially during severe weather, which is commonplace in Nebraska. By that point in time, the only residents remaining in the village were "those who couldn't afford to leave", with over 90% of the village's population living below the poverty line. In 2004, it was estimated by the Nebraska state government that over 60% of homes in Swayzee were "unsafe to live in", while 30% were deemed as hazardous, and by 2006 the Census Bureau estimated Swayzee's population at 83, the lowest it had been since its incorporation in 1928. Later that same year, Fred Wilkinson passed away, passing down the operations of the local Dollar General, at this point in hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, to his son Anthony.
2008 tornado, disincorporation[]
See also: 2008 Swayzee, Nebraska tornado
On May 5, 2008, a large wedge, rain-wrapped EF4 tornado containing winds to over 180 mph (290 km/h), estimated at over a mile and a half wide by the National Weather Service, struck the village of Swayzee, killing 46 people and destroying every remaining structure in the village in what became the second deadliest tornado on record in Nebraska and the deadliest tornado of the decade. All but a few of the surviving residents had been gathered in Anthony Wilkinson's storm shelter (the only one in the town), while Wilkinson was killed by the tornado attempting to warn other residents of the approaching storm. Many residents of Swayzee had no way of receiving the warning, with the village's siren system having been decommissioned several years earlier as the village could not afford to maintain the one siren, and power to the town having been cut by a severe thunderstorm earlier in the afternoon. Wilkinson was one of only a few residents in the town that had a weather radio, and he had been reportedly closely monitoring the weather that day, beginning to warn his neighbors and other residents when a tornado warning was issued by the National Weather Service, with survivors recalling that Wilkinson had openly invited residents of the village who wished to ride out the storm in his storm shelter. Of the estimated 29 survivors of the tornado in the village, 26 were found in Wilkinson's overcrowded storm shelter, while two (an elderly man and woman) were found alive in a pile of debris just northeast of the village, and mayor McClain was found alive in a field just north of town, all would survive and later recover from their injuries.
The tornado was highly unusual, as unlike most other tornadoes in the Great Plains, it occurred on a so-called high precipitation supercell, which are uncommon in the Great Plains. This also made the tornado exceptionally dangerous, as unlike most tornadoes in the Great Plains, which are highly visible from even over 10 miles away on occasion, it was noted by storm spotters that the Swayzee tornado had been virtually invisible due to the heavy rainfall, even at ranges of less than a mile away. The surviving members of the village board convened that October, and voted to attempt to rebuild the village. However, by this point the village had no money left and the Nebraska state government declared that they would not offer any more loans to the village government, leading to the village eventually voting to disincorporate in 2011. The Holt County government began the process of tearing down what little remained of the village in 2013, and as of 2022 all that remains of the former village is a highway sign with the village's name on Nebraska Highway 11, the village's street network, an abandoned farm, over 30 empty foundations, and the statue of Ronald Reagan, which was damaged during the tornado but later repaired.
Geography[]
Swayzee was located at 42°17'3.7674"N 98°57'11.0874"W (42.28438, -98.95308).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the village had a total area of 1.07 square miles (2.77 km2), all land.
Demographics[]
U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for Swayzee.
2010 census[]
As of the census of 2010, there were 0 people living in the village, which had already been destroyed by the 2008 tornado. This notably made Swayzee the only incorporated community in the United States to have a population of 0 at the time of the 2010 census (not formally disincorporating until the following year).
2000 census[]
As of the census of 2000, there were 109 people living in the village, in 49 households. The population density was 1.02 per square mile (0.393/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 96.3% White, 2.7% Native American and 0.9% African American. There were no residents from any other race. There were 49 households, of which 6.12% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 91.8% were married couples living together. The average household size was 2.22.
The median age in the city was 59.6 years. 3.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 13.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 16.5% were from 25 to 44; 29.3% were from 45 to 64; and 36.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 44.0% male and 56.0% female.
Notable people[]
- Brycen Ratliff, independent candidate for governor of Nebraska
- Angie Romero, human rights activist
- Eliza Amelia McClain, mayor of Swayzee (1983-2011), state legislator (2019-present), Republican candidate for governor of Nebraska (2022)