Editing Seneca, Nebraska (section)

==History==
The [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]] was constructed along the [[Loup River|Middle Loup River]] in the late 1880s. Construction was halted for the winter of 1887&ndash;88 in western [[Thomas County, Nebraska|Thomas County]], and the town of Seneca was established at that point in January 1888.<ref name=casde>Hanson, Sandy.  [http://www.casde.unl.edu/history/counties/thomas/seneca/index.php "Seneca--Thomas County".]  [http://www.casde.unl.edu/history/index.php Nebraska... Our Towns.]  Retrieved 2014-07-02.</ref><ref name=survey>Hugly, Christina, John Kay, David Anthone, and Robert Kay (1989).  {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20061116020045/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/histpres/reports/thomas_county.pdf "Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey: Reconnaissance Survey Final Report of Thomas County, Nebraska".]}}  {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110307215553/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/index.shtml Nebraska State Historical Society.]}}  Retrieved 2014-07-02.</ref>

Seneca became a division point on the railroad, with a depot, [[rail yard]], and [[Railway roundhouse|roundhouse]], employing over 70 people.  Railroad operations brought a measure of prosperity to the town, and promoted its growth.  Between 1918 and 1923, the Potash Highway, running from [[Grand Island, Nebraska|Grand Island]] to [[Alliance, Nebraska|Alliance]], was constructed parallel to the Burlington's route; it ran through the center of Seneca.  The town boasted a number of retail businesses, including hotels, banks, a lumberyard, a railroad cafe, and an automobile dealership.  For some years, it was the largest municipality in Thomas County, reaching a peak population of 476 in 1920.<ref name=survey/><ref name=casde/><ref name=hwy>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20040717090001/http://nebraskahistory.org/histpres/historic_highway_book-web.pdf ''Nebraska Historic Highway Survey''.]}}  {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110307215553/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/index.shtml Nebraska State Historical Society.]}}  Retrieved 2011-10-05.  pp. 87&ndash;99.</ref>

In 1926, the Potash Highway was reconfigured as [[Nebraska Highway 2]].  In the early 1940s, a re-alignment to reduce the number of railroad crossings shifted the highway to the south of Seneca.  The railroad moved its operations out of the town, eliminating jobs and causing the loss of population and the closing of additional businesses.<ref name=casde/><ref name=hwy/><ref name=rr>Sources differ on the dates on which railroad facilities in Seneca were closed.  According to {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20061116020045/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/histpres/reports/thomas_county.pdf Hugley et al. (1989)]}}, "the railroad pulled out of the town in the [sic] 1922".  According to [http://www.casde.unl.edu/history/counties/thomas/seneca/index.php Hanson], the roundhouse closed "[n]ot long after the highway moved" (in the late 1940s), and "[i]n 1973, Seneca ceased being a crew-change point".</ref>

In about 2013, a dispute arose over the village board's passage of an ordinance prohibiting the keeping of horses in the town.  It gave rise to a petition to disincorporate Seneca. In May 2014, the residents voted 17&ndash;16 for disincorporation, and the village was dissolved by the Thomas County Board at the end of June 2014.<ref name=tiny>Hansen, Matthew.  [http://www.omaha.com/columnists/hansen/hansen-how-tiny-seneca-nebraska-torn-apart-by-bitterness-voted/article_feb222a2-9255-5c90-90c6-0eb61d141e00.html "Hansen: How tiny Seneca, Nebraska – torn apart by bitterness – voted itself out of existence".]  [http://www.omaha.com/ ''Omaha World-Herald''.]  2014-06-25.  Retrieved 2014-07-02.</ref><ref name=nobody>Hammel, Paul.  [http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/nobody-wins-here-tiny-village-of-seneca-ceases-to-exist/article_bf75e341-33e6-534b-bcbe-cc9cb4060f52.html "'Nobody wins here': Tiny village of Seneca ceases to exist — and the end comes with last-minute bitterness".]  [http://www.omaha.com/ ''Omaha World-Herald''.]  2014-07-02.  Retrieved 2014-07-02.</ref>