Why visit Friend
Townapedia lists 2 museums and landmarks and 3 parks and trails in and around town.
Highlights include Richard R. Kiddle House, Warren's Opera House and Friend Country Club.
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 84°F; January lows average 13°F, and about 24 inches of snow fall in a normal year.
Weather in Friend
Forecast from the National Weather Service. Full forecast
About Friend
Friend is a city in Saline County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 954.
From the Wikipedia article Friend, Nebraska (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Museums and landmarks2
Richard R. Kiddle House
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places
Historic house in Friend, Nebraska
Warren's Opera House
Cinema and theater · National Register of Historic Places
Friend, Nebraska
Parks, trails and playgrounds3
Churches and places of worship5
Schools, colleges and libraries4
History
The city is named for Charles E. Friend, who homesteaded the land and initially named the community Friendville. He operated a dry goods store and post office. In 1873 the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad named its new train station there "Friend."
The National Greyhound Association was founded in the community in 1906 (called at the time National Coursing Association).
The Friend Police Department, which was initially housed in a tool shed during construction of U.S. Route 6, was reported by Ripley's Believe It or Not! to be the smallest police station in the world. In the 1960s, the shed doubled in size so the Nebraska State Patrol could also be stationed there to issue traffic citations and make arrests. Afterwards, Friend still claimed to have the smallest combined police station. It was demolished in 2015 and replaced with a neon Friend sign.
From the History section of Friend, Nebraska on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Healthcare1
Map of Friend
15 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Climate by month
Monthly table
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33°F | 13°F | 0.7 in | 5.9 in |
| Feb | 38°F | 16°F | 0.8 in | 6.6 in |
| Mar | 50°F | 26°F | 1.6 in | 2.7 in |
| Apr | 62°F | 36°F | 2.4 in | 1.0 in |
| May | 72°F | 50°F | 4.9 in | 0.1 in |
| Jun | 82°F | 60°F | 4.2 in | 0.0 in |
| Jul | 84°F | 64°F | 3.5 in | 0.0 in |
| Aug | 83°F | 61°F | 3.4 in | 0.0 in |
| Sep | 77°F | 52°F | 2.8 in | 0.0 in |
| Oct | 65°F | 39°F | 2.3 in | 0.9 in |
| Nov | 50°F | 26°F | 1.3 in | 1.6 in |
| Dec | 36°F | 17°F | 1.1 in | 5.1 in |
U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 for Friend 3E (3 mi away), NOAA NCEI.
People and cost of living
American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, U.S. Census Bureau. Estimates have margins of error, larger for small towns.
Disaster history
Saline County has had 15 federal disaster declarations since 2000, most often for severe storms.
- 2025-10-22: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding (Severe Storm)
- 2025-05-21: Severe Winter Storm And Straight-Line Winds (Winter Storm)
- 2022-02-23: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes (Severe Storm)
- 2020-04-04: Covid-19 Pandemic (Biological)
- 2020-03-13: Covid-19 (Biological)
- 2019-03-21: Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding (Flood)
OpenFEMA disaster declarations summaries.
Getting there and nearby towns
Lincoln Municipal Airport (LNK) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 31 miles away.
- Exeter 9 mi west, about 14 min by car
- Crete 17 mi east, about 28 min by car
- Lincoln 34 mi east, about 54 min by car
- Fairbury 35 mi south, about 57 min by car
- Beatrice 38 mi southeast, about 1 h by car
- Aurora 41 mi west, about 1 h by car
- David City 42 mi north, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Central City 49 mi northwest, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Columbus 54 mi north, about 1 h 30 min by car
- Ashland 55 mi northeast, about 1 h 30 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB, the NEMICO news database.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- NCES EDGE (Public domain): public schools
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (Public domain): climate by month
- OpenFEMA (Public domain): disaster declarations
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- U.S. Census Bureau (Public domain): population, income, housing, education, commute
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Friend, Nebraska police station from SW 1, Ammodramus, CC0
- Richard R. Kiddle house from N 1, Ammodramus, CC0
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