Today Ogallala is a quiet little city of fewer than 5000 residents that’s popular with Lake McConaughy visitors. But at one time it was a true wild west town where a man was likely to be shot over something as simple as an argument over a card game. While it’s difficult to imagine, the town of Ogallala was once the most dangerous town in Nebraska.

In the mid-1870s, Ogallala became an important center of the cattle industry. Cowboys drove their herds here, either to load them onto Union Pacific trains headed east or to rest before continuing on to the west. It was a rare oasis on a long, lonely, rough trail, and the cowboys were known to let loose in a big way.
flickr/Jessie Bhangoo
Pictured above: the modern-day Front Street attraction.
The cattle town's businesses reflected the needs and wants of its summertime visitors: there were plentiful saloons, dance halls, gambling houses, and brothels. Rowdy cowboys made this a dangerous place to be during the cattle drive months of June through August. Polite people knew to steer clear of Ogallala; one trail boss from Texas even told his men to avoid the town. This became a point of pride, and Ogallala was called "The Town Too Tough For Texas."
flickr/Dave Clark
Pictured above: Boot Hill Cemetery.

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Ogallala was also famously called the "Gomorrah of the West" by one trail driver. Along with all of the rowdiness came the inevitable cowboy violence. The town had the second-largest jail in the state, right behind Omaha. Boot Hill Cemetery began to fill up with the remains of those who ran afoul of the law or other cowboys. They were buried with their boots on, which is how the cemetery got its name.
flickr/J. Stephen Conn
This large bronze sculpture, known as The Trail Boss, overlooks the graves here. Many of the plots are occupied by cowboys who lost their lives in disputes or cattle thieves who were stopped by a bullet. But some Civil War veterans and early Ogallala citizens are buried here as well.
flickr/Dave Clark
Today Ogallala is far calmer, but the town's colorful history is preserved here in the Cowboy Museum on historic Front Street. The entire Front Street is a throwback to this wild history, and if you stop by in the summer you can catch a show at the Crystal Palace Saloon, where locals perform in period costume - there's even a simulated gun battle in the street!
flickr/Dave Clark

By the first decade of the 20th century, the atmosphere in Ogallala began to calm. To this day the cattle industry is an integral part of the city’s commerce.

Ogallala sure has changed from its rough early days, when it was considered the most dangerous town in Nebraska. Today it’s a rather delightful tourist destination that lets visitors experience a side of Nebraska’s history that they can’t find anywhere else. Have you ever visited? Tell us what you thought in the comments!

For a fun way to experience the area, you can come out to visit Ogallala and then camp right on the beach at nearby Lake McConaughy.

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most dangerous town in Nebraska

Beth C. | September 15, 2021

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Ogallala, NE 69153, USA