Editing Friend, Nebraska (section)

==History==
The city is named for Charles E. Friend,<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n131 132]}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ci.friend.ne.us/geninfo.htm |title=Friend, Nebraska -ci.friend.ne.us |access-date=2009-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628195414/http://www.ci.friend.ne.us/geninfo.htm |archive-date=2010-06-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[National Greyhound Association]] was founded in the community in 1906 (called at the time National [[Coursing]] Association).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ngagreyhounds.com/History.asp |title=History of the Greyhound and Greyhound Racing - The Greyhound Review, February 2006 |access-date=January 28, 2009 |archive-date=July 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712185021/http://www.ngagreyhounds.com/History.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Friend Police Department, which was initially housed in a tool shed during construction of [[U.S. Route 6 in Nebraska|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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ci.friend.ne.us/tourism.htm |title=Friend, Nebraska -ci.friend.ne.us |access-date=2010-05-27 |archive-date=2009-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425200120/http://www.ci.friend.ne.us/tourism.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>